Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Winter 2023 - 10

PCSO News and Events
Trustee Report
Advocacy: The Collective Voice of Our
Members
Dr. Trista Felty
Abbotsford, British Columbia
PCSO Trustee on the AAO
Board of Trustees
The mission of the AAO, as defined in the 2023-
2027 Strategic Plan, is to advance the art and science
of orthodontics through education, advocacy,
and research. Member surveys have shown us that
the AAO's advocacy efforts remain a top member
benefit and an important priority for our association.
Advocacy efforts reach both local component
issues as well as larger federal concerns at a national
level. As you may know, political advocacy is an essential
cornerstone of the AAO's efforts to promote
and defend the orthodontic specialty. The input
provided by the AAO advocacy efforts strengthens
patient health and safety, corrects misinformation,
and promotes orthodontists as specialists.
Orthodontic Advocate
A new publication that you would have first seen
mailed to you this fall is the Orthodontic Advocate.
Published twice per year, this easy-to-read magazine
will keep you informed of AAO's advocacy initiatives
to protect and defend the specialty at the component
and federal levels and will be shared with AAO members
both digitally and in print.
Given the overwhelming amount of advocacy initiatives
currently underway with the support of component
organizations and AAO staff and leadership, the
Orthodontic Advocate will serve as a quick and efficient
way to inform and engage the AAO members who
make these efforts possible.
OrthoFacts.Org
OrthoFacts.org is a public-facing web page that
includes resources based on reliable, peer-reviewed
scientific evidence. The AAO provides these resources
to support laws and regulations that best protect patients.
This also addresses an objective of our strategic
plan to " increase awareness of the profound health
and cosmetic benefits of specialized orthodontic care. "
Advocacy works to address mail-order orthodontic
concerns and ensure patient protections are a top
priority. Some of the resources included on this site
include the following:
◾ AAO position paper on direct-to-consumer (DTC)
orthodontics
◾ Handout on the importance of in-person examinations
◾
Handout on the importance of radiographic
imaging
◾ Concerns about patient consent in DTC orthodontic
treatment: a position paper
◾ Testimony by a former DTC doctor
◾ AAO clinical practice guidelines
◾ What you need to know before participating in a
partner program
◾ Educating patients about mail-order orthodontic
treatment
◾ Myth versus fact about DTC treatment
Medical Loss Ratio for Dental Insurance Plans
Initiative
On November 8, 2022, the Medical Loss Ratio for Dental
Insurance Plans Initiative passed in Massachusetts.
This requires dental insurance companies to spend
83% of premium dollars collected on dental services
or refund the difference to patients. The American
Dental Association and the Massachusetts Association
of Orthodontists, along with the AAO, supported the
passing of this bill via outreach resources and financial
support. This initiative will likely have wider implications
across the country in the future.
Council on Governmental Affairs
The Council will make a request to change its name
to the Council on Government Advocacy (COGA) at
the 2023 House of Delegates to better reflect its focus.
COGA has instituted an annual fall survey to gather
members' perspectives on key advocacy issues and
topics. They are also developing advocacy dashboards
to provide more meaningful updates and communication
about AAO advocacy. These will be updated
quarterly and can be shared easily as one-page
summaries and handouts.
Historically, federal legislative advocacy has been
the focus, but in recent years there has been a move
toward increasing such efforts at the local state and
provincial levels. The AAO has increased its monitoring
of state and provincial regulatory boards,
and along with the support of the component legal
support funds, we have been able to achieve several
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PCSO Bulletin Winter 2023
http://www.OrthoFacts.Org http://www.OrthoFacts.org
Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Winter 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists Bulletin Winter 2023
