November 2024 President’s Report

Dear AAOP members,

Reflecting on how quickly the past six months have gone by and how much there is to achieve for the AAOP, I realize that, while accomplishments might not seem tangible yet, I am confident that, as a team, we will reach our objectives sooner or later. We have a strong group of dedicated individuals in the council and committees, who feel empowered to make contributions in a respectful and open work environment, and I am very thankful for that. I want to especially recognize the support of president-elect Michele Schultz-Robins, and the hard work of our executive director, Allan O’Bryan, who has demonstrated keen desire in the success of our organization in his first year with us.

At the beginning of the year, I outlined my goals and objectives for 2024-25. Here is an update towards achieving those goals.

In working towards improving recognition of the AAOP and our specialty, we have improved our connections with leaders at ADA, ADEA, AHS, TMJ Association, Facial Pain Association, NASEM and other dental specialty organizations. We continue to provide evidence-based education through our periodic webinars and we are exploring ways to further expand education through an introductory program. We have revamped our marketing and communications committee and pretty soon we will be seeing increased posts in social media by their committee members. Our website is under construction and I am hopeful we will be able to see the results of everyone’s efforts in the next few months. I have received very positive feedback about our new logo and design. For the remainder 6 months, I would like to ensure we continue to work towards a plan to improve recognition of our specialty by medical insurances and State dental boards.

My second goal was to ensure continued success of the AAOP as an Academy, through its leadership and members. We had a good leadership session lead by Tom, secretary elect, with all committee chairs, and asked that committees develop goals and objectives with the intent of ensuring understanding of the roles of each committee. I hope we will continue to build those and have conversations throughout the year. We have been assessing the bylaws and policies and procedures and will continue to update them as needed. I will be sending communications to all members soon, regarding opportunities for leadership positions, and to ensure transparency and membership involvement. Coming up, I will be proposing a change in the bylaws so that non-council members have the opportunity to implement change in our academy.

Goal #3 was financial stability. We are fortunate to have very detailed oriented and dedicated Budget Committee chair, Michele Schultz-Robins, and Treasurer, Isabel Moreno Hay. The accounting background of our executive director, Allan O’Bryan, helps position ourselves for financial success and intelligent use of our resources.

Next goal was to ensure maintenance of our specialty. We have improved communications with the ABOP through periodic meetings and conversations. We will continue to work towards understanding our membership categories better and encouraging active members to become fellows if they qualify. Our new software will facilitate member renewals in the different categories and meeting registration, and ensure accuracy and compliance with different requirements. Our upcoming commissioners representing the AAOP are Drs. Jim Fricton and Jeff Goldberg for the NCRDSCB and Dr. Jeff Shafer for CODA.

My fifth goal was providing exceptional education in OFP. The scientific program of the 2025 annual meeting is close to completion and is looking great. Thank you program chairs Seema Kurup and Steve Benter and the planning committee for all your hard work. Our webinars have been of excellent quality and have been well attended. We will have several sleep medicine webinars in the next few months. As education opportunities continue to grow, we are in the process of evaluating the feasibility of hiring an education coordinator and an education director under the leadership of Tom Weber’s ad-hoc education committee. One less positive piece of news is the proposed revisions to the pre-doctoral CODA standards which would eliminate the need to demonstrate competency in TMD by dental graduates. We have provided comments on the revisions through a CODA hearing and will comment in writing in the next month, opposing to this change. The Resident and Academic Training Committee is in the process of preparing those comments.

Lastly, regarding research, we are evaluating the options for the future of our journal and hope that we continue to have a platform for all members and orofacial pain specialists to publish research and reach out to a large audience. AAOP has been supporting research projects of our members and will continue to do so.

It has been an honor serving during this first half of my presidency and I am very grateful for all the energy that you all as leaders are dedicating to the AAOP.

I am looking forward to the continued growth and success of our Academy.

With gratitude,

Mariona Mulet