A Special Message from the Molar Bear!

Posted on Nov 05, 2018 12:12 am by asdohasdablog Hi Everyone! I’m the Molar Bear–ASDA’s mascot for all things advocacy! #NationalASDA #ASDAAdvocacy On October 12th, I was lucky enough to attend the 3rd annual Pontics and Politics Debate between Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health and Midwestern University. This year the teams entered a fiery debate on two topics: ‘Should Implantology be considered a dental specialty?’ and ‘Should adult dental benefits be included in Medicare?’ 📷 📷 The debate was so riveting and I learned so much! I could tell both teams worked very hard to prepare for this night by researching the most current evidence available to support their argument. My biggest takeaway was not necessarily who had the better argument, but that the students did such a great job of utilizing skills that are important when thinking about legislation (and that is what I am all about!) Pontics and Politics encourages students to be involved in advocacy by: encouraging evidence-based researchconsidering the other side of the argumentchoosing a stance on a policy/issueencouraging critical thinking about issues the dental field facesinspiring meaningful discussion about the future of the dental professionThank you, ASDOH, for having me. I made new friends, listened to some great advocacy efforts, and even met the ADA President, Dr. Jeffrey Cole. 📷P&P Judges: Dr. Robert Roda, Dr. Jeffrey Cole, Dr. Brad Smith, Dr. Robert Trombly 📷 📷 📷 📷📷 I hope Pontics and Politics has inspired all the dental students who attended to get more involved with state and national legislation in the near future. Remember tomorrow, November 6th, is Midterm Election Day! I will see everyone at the polls! If you are voting in Arizona, here are some resources to get ready for voting in the election: www.arizona.vote azsos.gov/elections/voting-election 📷 Molar Bear, National ASDA