Let’s Talk Professional Dental Organizations. Are they primarily how you keep up with new advances in dental science?

Dr. Jackson: There are lots of ways. Definitely continuing education is the first way. Everyone here in our office attends multiple continuing education meetings each year. We usually go to at least one a month. On a daily basis, I get information from the American Dental Association and The Academy of General Dentistry. This helps me to stay on top of trends within dentistry, and keeping up to date with all the latest procedures and advancements within dentistry.

You mentioned the ADA, which everybody knows because the commercials on TV are talking about the ADA, but what is the  Academy of General Dentistry?

Dr. Jackson: The Academy of General Dentistry is a group that specializes in general dentists and gives a wide array of different subjects that a general dentist may come in contact with. It’s very similar to the American Dental Association, but only it focuses on general dentistry as opposed to all different specialties within dentistry. Since I am a general dentist, this is the professional group that applies to my work. It’s important that any professional dentist you work with is a member of the appropriate organizations relevant to the specific type of dentistry they perform.