I m p ressio n s
Membership —
Value Beyond Measure
by Dr. Stephen T. Radack III, Editor
Welcome to this very special membership
issue of your Pennsylvania Dental Journal.
In this issue you can read about the
benefits of belonging as well as stories
of your colleagues and their experiences
of belonging. This issue is also being sent electronically to all
the non-member dentists in Pennsylvania.
Membership in the Pennsylvania Dental Association is very
unique in that it is a tripartite membership, which means you
are also automatically a member of both the American Dental
Association and your district and local dental associations.
There are many benefits that are a part of being a member of
each of these levels and that is part of what this issue will
highlight. I know there are always new and improved benefits
or ways the associations are working behind the scenes to
protect our profession and the way we chose to practice it.
I am always seeing that!
I can remember when I graduated from dental school back in
1986, one of the major benefits of belonging to the ADA was
the cost of their group life insurance policy from Great West.
That is still true today, but since those days PDA has had our
own insurance company, PDAIS, that has served our members,
nonmembers and the public, and returned thousands of
dollars back to the association over the years. PDAIS has been
my company for both malpractice and disability policies for
over 20 years.
Please note the section in this issue about PDA Perks, which
is the newest benefit from PDAIS. Think of PDA Perks as a giant
group buying club that has all your favorite dental supplies.
Since the program was introduced last year, we have been
using it and noted a savings of up to 30 percent off from our
previous dental suppliers. Depending on how much you spend
a year on supplies, you could easily pay the annual association
dues on the savings. If that is not a return on your investment
I don’t know what is. It seems everything these days boils down
to ROI and this is real folks!
I don’t know about you, but it seems like every two years when
it is time to renew our licenses there is a new continuing
education course we need to take that is in addition to the
already required 30 hours and CPR. The two most recent were
“Child Abuse Recognition and Reporting” (Act 31) and “Pain
Management Alternatives and Identification of Abuse” (Act 124).
PDA was at the forefront of developing these courses as soon
as the laws were passed and the courses were required. In the
case of the child abuse CE, a course had already been developed
before Act 31 was passed in 2014 thanks in large part to our
P.A.N.D.A. program from years past and our CEO Camille
Kostelac-Cherry, Esq.! While not required for relicensure the “Pa.
Code, Section 221.11(b) requires that dentists and their staff
(those that are involved with X-ray procedures) maintain
continuing education (CE) in radiation safety, biological effects
of radiation, quality assurance and quality control.” PDA has had
a “Radiology Update” course online for you and your staff to
view for years and at no additional fee, all part of membership.
Speaking of CE, one of the big changes that occurred when the
PDA Annual Meeting morphed into Pennsylvania’s Dental
Meeting in 2015 was the addition of continuing education to
the meeting. PDA has always tried to provide high quality CE in
several locations around the commonwealth and at many of
our district and local dental meetings, and it is now is available
at the annual meeting. The PDM is being held this April in
Gettysburg and next year in Pittsburgh.
As part of the tripartite we also can attend and learn at America’s
Dental Meeting, one of the largest dental meetings in the
country, and visit a great city at the same time. This year the
ADA Annual Meeting is in San Francisco on September 4-8. If
you have never attended this meeting make it a point to attend.
Many of our members attend the meeting and have the
opportunity to learn from the top speakers in the county, and
this year the world.
Can you put a value on camaraderie and networking with your
colleagues? What is the ROI? These are a couple of the
questions that always come up these days when discussing the
value of investing in PDA membership. I have thought long and
hard about this and believe that some of the most valuable
benefits of belonging can’t have a dollar amount attached to
them. I know from personal experience that I have made the
best friends because of organized dentistry. I met them at my
local (Erie County) dental meeting over 30 years ago and we are
still friends today. The same can be said for being a part of PDA
MARCH/AP RIL 2019 | P EN N SYLVAN IA DEN TAL JOURNAL
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