Presidents Message

The AAOP council and committees have continued to be busy with issues that concern our membership as we move forward as a specialty.

As summer comes to an end, I hope everyone had an enjoyable time with family and friends and the opportunity to relax a bit.  The AAOP council and committees have continued to be busy with issues that concern our membership as we move forward as a specialty.

The planning for our upcoming annual meeting in Orlando is progressing well with an excellent lineup of speakers on a wide array of topics.  This is being held at the recently remodeled Disney Grand Floridian Resort which is a wonderful setting to enjoy the meeting as well as an opportunity for a family vacation for all ages.

The Access-to-Care committee continues to be very active in addressing issues with specialty recognition as well as investigating insurance, licensing, and coding concerns.  These issues take a great deal of time and effort for the members who volunteer their time and energy to help all the membership as well as the patients we treat.  They all deserve our appreciation and thanks for doing an excellent job with such important concerns.

The AAOP is continuing to collaborate with as many outside groups as possible.

The AAOP is continuing to collaborate with as many outside groups as possible, particularly focusing on other specialty academies in order to further our specialty recognition as well as work for the betterment of the profession overall.  This is important as we move forward in order to represent the field of Orofacial Pain and our interests as it integrates into the field of dentistry.  This includes working to increase the number of postgraduate academic programs across the country in our dental schools as well as to increase interest in the field among the undergraduate dental student population.

One of our primary concerns is to provide educational opportunities to general dentists and help to promote evidence-based knowledge in OFP.  This will help to increase membership in our Academy and provide a mechanism to offer the most appropriate content possible for our field.  As the authoritative body it is incumbent upon us to be the source of the most current and informed continuing education.  To this end I continue to call upon the membership to provide content for our website that would be appropriate for both professionals and the public.  We can extend our reach in both these areas utilizing our website as a portal to provide knowledge in OFP.  One only has to look at the information that is available on the various social media outlets to quickly appreciate why the AAOP must step up and provide content that allows patients and professionals alike to make informed decisions regarding the diagnosis and treatment of the conditions within our purview.

We are also working on developing a marketing strategy to increase the visibility of our specialty to the public, the insurance industry, state dental boards, and allied health fields.  I believe each of us can help in this endeavor as well through interaction with other professionals, providing lectures to large and small study groups, reaching out to state boards and medical directors.  Grass-roots efforts can be highly effective when the message is delivered in a consistent and meaningful way.  We hope that all our members will put forth an effort in this way to not only help grow our membership but to further the specialty and the influence we can have on our profession.

The annual AAOP sleep meeting is just around the corner with a lineup that promises an excellent educational opportunity.

The annual AAOP sleep meeting, November 12th, 2022, is just around the corner with a lineup that promises an excellent educational opportunity (Visit the 2021 reacap).   The content provided continues to demonstrate how the AAOP is taking a leading role in providing education in sleep-related issues that influence our patients.  We all understand how sleep and pain are intimately related and having a meeting that is completely focused on sleep is important to the field.  Our sleep committee continues to work diligently to keep the AAOP membership informed on the latest in the field of sleep and the upcoming meeting demonstrates this well.

I would like to thank the many who volunteer their time to the AAOP, without whom we would not exist.  The amount of work that goes into keeping the Academy running smoothly and supporting the membership is significant, but I know I speak for all of them when I say it is rewarding in so many ways.  I encourage anyone who has an interest to reach out to any of the Council members, we welcome new and old members alike to get involved in your Academy and help to further our new specialty.

Bob

Robert W. Mier, DDS MS
AAOP President