Believe I’mPossible—Highlights From the 2023 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition

ADEA continued the celebration of its Centennial Year at the 2023 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition in Portland, OR with a remarkable 2,300 deans, program directors, faculty, corporate representatives, students, residents and fellows from the United States, Canada and overseas for four days of robust programming, including visionary plenary sessions, dynamic keynote speakers, exclusive education and networking opportunities and more. 

Several exhibits and events commemorating ADEA’s Centennial Year Celebration were woven into the meeting. Micro-exhibits highlighted important milestones in ADEA’s history with a focus on the themes of ADEA; ADEAGies Foundation®; allied dental; diversity; and students, residents and fellows. An #ADEA100 digital memory wall was created so attendees and non-attendees alike could share their favorite stories and memories of ADEA. Additionally, an electronic photo mosaic was built with images taken throughout the meeting.  

Visit the 2023 Session Daily webpage for highlights from each day of the conference and view the full list of award, scholarship and fellowship recipients here. You can also browse the 2023 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition photo gallery on the ADEA website, a photo album on ADEA’s Facebook page and all the #ADEA2023 videos, including ADEA TV broadcasts, Plenary Sessions and Chair of the ADEA Board Symposia recordings, on ADEA’s YouTube channel. Attendees have until April 30, 2023 to complete the conference evaluation and obtain CE Credit. The following is a recap of just a few highlights from #ADEA2023.

Saturday, March 11

ADEA President and CEO Karen P. West, D.M.D., M.P.H., highlighted ADEA’s activities in 2022 at the ADEA House of Delegates Opening Session. These activities and accomplishments are further documented in the 2022 ADEA Annual Report.

Also on Saturday, the 13th Annual ADEA GoDental® Recruitment Event attracted more than 450 prospective dental students. Attendees heard from two current dental students who shared their different pathways to the profession. Attendees also were invited to attend the ADEA GoDental Short Talk Series, where experts shared their insight and wisdom on the following topics: “Helpful Hints to Financing Your Dental Education”, “Finding Your Best Dental School Fit From an International Student Viewpoint”, “Effective and Professional Communication TBH, It’s Easy!”, and “Tip for Overcoming Common ADEA AADSAS® (ADEA Associated American Dental Schools Application Service) Hang-ups”. After lunch, predental students had the opportunity to meet one-on-one with admissions officers from 50+ U.S. and Canadian dental schools and organizations. Attendees also created video messages for future dentists and snapped photos in white coats to celebrate their future profession. View the photo album on the ADEA GoDental Facebook page.

Sunday, March 12

Sunday started with an opening plenary session that focused on the theme with Believe I’mPossible: Burn Bright and Blaze a Trail for Others. Guest speaker Allison Massari, an entrepreneur, celebrated artist and executive coach, focused on compassion, healing and resilience. Ms. Massari also shared in detail how those in the health professions—from doctors to nurses to her own dentist—helped her through one of the most challenging events in her life.

In 1996, Ms. Massari was driving home alone one night and suffered a high-speed car crash. Her car caught fire and the turpentine she had stored in her trunk for her art exploded. As a result of the vehicular inferno, she suffered second- to third-degree burns on 50% of her body but she noted that at the time, she cared less about the pain of being burned alive.

“The anguish of my loneliness was more potent than my burning,” Ms. Massari said during the talk. “I didn’t want to die alone. It told me how much we as human beings need each other.”

Ms. Massari said miraculously, she didn’t have any broken bones from the car crash but “when I was in the burn unit, I had a chipped tooth in the back of my mouth that was driving me crazy.” She said her dentist, Dr. Reynolds, heard about it. He came on his day off and drove the long distance to the hospital to fix her tooth. “I felt so loved. It was so sweet,” she said.

“You are the healers of the world. Anyone who eases pain is a healer. Anyone who supports anyone else in this is a healer,” Ms. Massari said.

The theme of self-empowerment continued with the ADEA Chair of the Board of Directors Symposium: Harnessing the Oral Health Profession to Tackle the Climate and Health Crisis. During the symposium, presenters emphasized that health professions students should be educated to prevent and respond to climate-related health impacts on patients and the health care system. Attendees heard from experts in climate and health as well as oral health students on how dentistry can learn from best practices and respond to climate and environmental risks through education, adaptation and mitigation.

During the Opening Ceremony, the Chair of the ADEA Board of Directors, Nader A. Nadershahi, D.D.S., M.B.A., Ed.D., awarded citations and the  ADEA Distinguished Service Award to those who have demonstrated exceptional service to ADEA and the dental education community. Citations were awarded to the seven members of ADEA’s New Thinking for the New Century Steering Committee. A citation was also given to Hubert K. Chan, D.D.S., Chair of ADEA Annual Session Program Committee and Associate Dean for Integration of Technology, Curriculum and Learning Environments at Western University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine. And, in recognition of her leadership, service and advancement of dental education, Jeanne C. Sinkford, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., FACD, FICD, ADEA Senior Scholar-in-Residence Emerita; Professor Emerita and Dean, Emerita, Howard University College of Dentistry, was awarded the 2023 ADEA Distinguished Service Award.

At noon, the Exhibit Hall opened, featuring nearly 70 exhibitors and a redesigned ADEA Showcase Booth. The new ADEA Showcase featured the ADEA resource hub with information about ADEA publications, member services, the ADEAGies Foundation®, policy and education research publications, advocacy and government relations activities, professional development opportunities—including ADEA Micro-credentials and ADEA eLearn webinars—and the ADEA Connect community. Other activities in the Exhibit Hall included poster and TechExpo presentations (see abstracts in the February issue of the Journal of Dental Education), the Headshot Café, lunch and coffee breaks and the ADEA Quest interactive game where attendees could earn points by answering questions from exhibitors. Attendees who accumulated 2,023 points were entered into daily prize drawings. Finally, attendees were asked to sign the Believe I’mPossible ADEA Commitment Wall to declare their commitment to ADEA’s future and individual personal well-being.

Monday, March 13

On Monday at the ADEA Tapestry Table: Embroidering Within the Boundaries: Weaving Global Change for Women and Girls, sponsored by Haleon and Procter & Gamble, Rangina Hamidi, Former Minister of Education in Afghanistan, shared her experiences in Afghanistan, her book, Embroidering Within Boundaries, Afghan Women Creating a Future, and her hope for a brighter future for girls globally.

“I am so confident that the 21st century does belong to girls,” Minister Hamidi said.

Monday also featured two Chair of the Board Symposia: National Inclusive Curriculum Health Education for IDD—Moving Forward Together and New Thinking for the New Century: Preparing for the Next 100 Years.

At the ADEA Chair of the Board of Directors Symposium: National Inclusive Curriculum Health Education for IDD—Moving Forward Together, experts shared lessons learned from the American Academy of Developmental Medicine & Dentistry National Curriculum Initiative in Developmental Medicine project and current IDD (intellectual and developmental disabilities) initiatives in oral health education. Participants shared their own experiences in implementing IDD curriculum to promote conversation and potential collaboration within the dental education community.

One of the symposium speakers, Allen Wong, D.D.S., Ed.D., DABSCD, Professor and Director of the AEGD Program and Director of Hospital Dentistry Program at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, said this symposium was “truly a collaboration project to elevate all oral health education programs/schools on information the new clinician needs to know to serve the IDD/disability population.” 

During the ADEA Chair of the Board Symposium: New Thinking for the New Century: Preparing for the Next 100 Years, the New Thinking for the New Century Steering Committee members presented the process, findings and recommendations of NTNC subcommittees that studied three identified challenges: faculty and staff recruitment, leadership development and succession planning, and preparing students for the future of collaborative practice.

On Monday evening, the ADEA Centennial Celebration, sponsored by A-dec, DentalEZ, Dentsply Sirona, Envista, Liaison International, and Pacific Dental Services, was held. ADEA marked its Centennial by honoring its past, supporting and celebrating members today and committing anew to the future of dental education. ADEA recognized the awardees and runners up of the ADEA President Centennial Awards for Oral Health Education and premiered a video of interviews with winners and highlights in ADEA history. View ADEA’s Centennial Videos on YouTube.

Tuesday, March 14

The Tuesday plenary session highlighted the importance of taking part in global health initiatives. Plenary speaker Patricia Mechael, Ph.D., writer, public health specialist and pioneer in the field of mHealth, helped attendees learn why their work to advance global health initiatives regarding general health access, oral health access, gender equity and social justice are ripe for input, and how attendees might make a difference through their work. Whether looking at the landscape in low-income countries across the spectrum to high-income countries, Dr. Mechael argued that our call is to make a difference.

At the Closing Session of the House of Delegates, the results of the election for the 2023-24 Chair-elect of the ADEA Board of Directors were announced. The House of Delegates elected Susan H. Kass, M.Ed., Ed.D., RDH, Program Coordinator, Dental Hygiene, and dental hygiene educator and program director of over 46 years at Miami Dade College.

With her election, Dr. Kass completes the roster of the 2023-24 ADEA Principal Officers of the ADEA Board of Directors, which includes Ana N. López-Fuentes, D.M.D., M.P.H., Chair of the ADEA Board of Directors and Professor and former Dean of the University of Puerto Rico School of Dental Medicine, and Nader A. Nadershahi, D.D.S., M.B.A., Ed.D., Immediate Past Chair of the Board and Dean of the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.

View the Plenary Sessions and Chair of the ADEA Board Symposia videos on ADEA’s YouTube channel.

We hope to see you next year!

We are looking forward to the 2024 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition on March 9-12 in New Orleans, LA. The theme is New Beginnings, Endless Opportunities. ADEA is accepting proposals for education sessions until June 1 and proposals for posters and TechExpo sessions until Sept. 4. 

Published on April 12, 2023