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Beyond the Bite

The Official Blog of the Florida Dental Association

Tag: membership

Are You Renewal Ready?

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By Brooke Martin, FDC Meeting Coordinator

As an FDA member, you have access to exclusive benefits to help you through the license renewal process for the upcoming 2014-2016 biennium. Membership has its perks, and we want to make your renewal process as seamless as possible! Below are some of the benefits the Florida Dental Association (FDA) offers to assist you in the renewal process.

CE Broker
The Florida Department of Health (DOH) now automatically reviews your continuing education (CE) records in the DOH’s electronic tracking system — powered by CE Broker — at the time of license renewal. It is mandatory for all Florida-licensed dentists to renew their license through CE Broker for the 2014-2016 biennium by midnight on Feb. 28, 2016. The FDA provides an exclusive members-only discount for CE Broker accounts.

  • Basic Account: FREE
  • Professional Account: $24 (non-members $29)
  • Concierge Account: $90 (non-members $99)

Click here to learn more about your account options. Contact Brooke Martin at bmartin@floridadental.org or 850.350.7103 for the discount code. Did you know you can update your CE credits on the go? Click here to download the FREE iPhone CE Broker app today.

Renewal by Mail
Your license should be renewed online through CE Broker. However, certain situations require you to renew by mail:

  • You need to change the status of your license.
  • You do NOT have a credit card or debit card to complete the transaction online and need to pay using a cashier’s check or money order.
  • Your license is in an Active Military status.
  • Your license is in a Volunteer status.
  • You need to request a name change.

To renew by mail, you must properly log into www.FLHealthsource.gov and print your renewal notice by selecting the Renew License link, then click on the Renew by Mail option.

Online CE
The FDA offers a variety of FREE 1-, 2- and 3-hour online CE courses to help you get the CE hours you need to renew your license. Course topics include: aesthetics, communication, treatment planning, sleep apnea, restorative dentistry, practice management and much more. Along with these courses, the FDA offers two legal CE guides and bimonthly “Diagnostic Discussion” articles in Today’s FDA.

Click here to learn more about the FREE FDA online CE courses.

FDA CE Courses
All CE-eligible courses taken at the 2014 or 2015 Florida Dental Conventions have been automatically reported to CE Broker on your behalf. FDA online CE credits are reported to CE broker the first Friday of each month. Courses taken by a national CE provider must be self-reported to CE Broker.

CE@RENEWAL
The Florida DOH is a great source for renewal information! Click here to access a helpful 30-minute webinar to learn more about how to report your CE credits through CE Broker as well as other useful information. Don’t have time to join the webinar? Click here to learn more about the renewal process, how to report CE credits, the benefits CE Broker has to offer and much more!

Questions?
For the FDA CE Broker discount code, information on the biennium, the renewal process, CE Broker or your FDA-earned CE credits, contact Brooke Martin at bmartin@floridadental.org or 850.350.7103.

The Life of the FDA Concierge: How May I Help You Succeed Today?

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By Christine Mortham, FDA Membership Concierge

My journey with the Florida Dental Association (FDA) began a little over nine years ago when I joined the Governmental Affairs Office as the receptionist for an outstanding crew of lobbyists. Fast-forward to 2011 — I had the honor of being promoted to our headquarters office as the receptionist where I learned even more of what the FDA does for the dental profession. In 2013, the FDA went through a major transformation. The FDA welcomed Drew Eason as our new executive director (hooray for Drew!) who brought about a lot of opportunities for many. This is where the life of the membership concierge began.

The initial purpose of implementing the concierge benefit was to make sure that applicants felt welcome and began to experience the benefits of membership immediately. We also were in great need of making changes to how we interacted with our current members. Oftentimes, a constituent will call for details about membership before submitting an application. I’m always happy to speak to future members to explain why they need to be a member of the FDA. After the applicant becomes a member, the concierge personally welcomes the new member by mailing a welcome kit to them. Our welcome kit contains various brochures and publications that explain their member benefits as well as programs and opportunities that are available exclusively for members. The benefit of having a membership concierge has been so well-received that other state dental associations have inquired about implementing their own membership concierge!

FDA members are the best and we believe that you should be recognized! I’m always keeping an eye out for FDA members that are featured in local newspapers or online media for representing dentistry in a positive way — we are proud to have you as part of our family.

If you’re not sure of what benefits are available to you or need help accessing your benefits, you can count on me for assistance. Not only do I provide a warm welcome, I also assist in processing membership applications, provide dues quotations and take dues payment, as well as providing our privileged members with the necessary information as they begin their retirement. I’m also tasked with other projects that require the member’s perspective of the FDA and are based on your questions, comments and suggestions, so please feel free to let me know how we are doing — I’m all ears!

I enjoy every moment of being here at the FDA and look forward to speaking with many of you. I’m always glad to help wherever I can!
Have a question about your membership? Contact Christine at 850.350.7136 or cmortham@floridadental.org.

Celebrating Our Diversity

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By Yolanda Marrero, SFDDA Executive Director

The South Florida District Dental Association (SFDDA) boasts one of the most diverse communities in Florida — and we love it! One needs only to travel US 1 from the Southernmost Point in Key West to South Broward to experience the various foods, music and entertainment that make up our district. The cuisine includes an amazing mix of Floribbean and Latin fusion from the islands of the Caribbean, including: Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad and Haiti, to name a few; and foods ranging from South and Central American to French, Italian, Asian, Middle Eastern Greek and Jewish fare. And our languages, religions and pastimes are as varied as the foods above.

Consequentially, the SFDDA membership is comprised of several cultures, ethnicities and religions, and almost is equally divided in gender and age. It is rich and wonderful, and has provided us with opportunities to become aware of each other — giving us a sense of pride for the diversity in which we thrive and an understanding of how important it is in our personal and professional growth.

The SFDDA leadership reflects this diversity, and that is “powerful stuff.” To have a great understanding of the community and to be able to forge a strong bond between the public and the association is a benefit of embracing our diversity. Each day, we are eager to welcome dentists who have not yet experienced the value of this wonderful organization and know we can learn a thing or two from each other.

We have many events and dinner lectures where you and your colleagues can experience the diversity of our district. We invite you to attend and experience what membership in the American Dental Association and Florida Dental Association through the South Florida district is like. There truly are many benefits for everyone.

Visit our website for a complete listing of events and meetings at www.sfdda.org.

4 Simple Ways to Give a Little Time and Make a Big Impact

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By Dr. David L. Russell, Florida Dental Association Foundation President

On a daily basis, approximately 10,000 Florida dentists have a positive influence on the state’s health care, policies, education and people. In fact, it’s estimated that each of Florida’s dentists may donate as much as $30,000 in free care and treatment each year. Unfortunately, the public often is unaware of our profession’s generosity and policymakers don’t recognize the sacrifices we make to fill in the gaps in care for our patients.

In the early 1980s, the Florida Dental Association (FDA) Board of Trustees created an organization to lead a larger and more organized philanthropic effort for all individuals in the Sunshine State. Thirty-five years later, the FDA Foundation is the preeminent charitable organization for oral health in Florida. The Foundation organizes and supports philanthropic programs statewide that promote our profession and offer alternative opportunities for organized dentistry to speak on key issues while the FDA addresses them through advocacy.

Since its establishment, the FDA Foundation has sponsored a number of innovative programs and given professionals in our industry countless opportunities to volunteer their time. These include, but are not limited to, the Florida Mission of Mercy, Project: Dentists Care and Give Kids A Smile®. Additionally, the Foundation offers disaster grants and administers a scholarship program.

If you are interested in donating your time and expertise to treat those less fortunate in Florida, I suggest you look to one of the four programs shown below. Each offers dental professionals an opportunity to give back and make a big impact.

1. Florida Mission of Mercy
The Florida Mission of Mercy (FLA-MOM) event is a massive two-day dental clinic with a goal of treating as many as 3,000 patients. Approximately 500 dentists and hygienists, as well as 1,000 community service volunteers, donate their time and expertise to provide almost $2 million dollars in donated care. Starting in 2016, the FLA-MOM event will be held annually in a different location throughout the state.

2. Project: Dentists Care
Project: Dentists Care Inc. (PDC) consists of numerous organizations in Florida that offer a safety net of preventive and restorative dental care to those in greatest need. The Foundation provides grant funding to these orga­nizations that provide oral health care to the underserved. Last year, PDC affiliates reported more than $11 million in donated dental care.

3. Donated Dental Services
Donated Dental Services (DDS) is a program jointly funded between the Foundation and Dental Lifeline Network Florida. DDS provides access to comprehensive dental care for people with disabilities or who are elderly or medically fragile and cannot afford treatment. Since its founding in 1997, 1,500 Floridians in need have received nearly $6 million in donated treatment through 400 generous Florida DDS volunteer dentists and 200 volunteer dental laboratories.

4. Give Kids A Smile®
Launched by the ADA and supported locally by the Foundation, Give Kids A Smile® (GKAS) is a month-long program that provides free, easily accessible dental services to local qualifying children. This program seeks to raise awareness of the epidemic of untreated dental disease, and to create public and private partnerships to increase access to oral health care to solve this crisis.

These programs are funded by the FDA Foundation, which is largely funded by FDA-member dentists who make tax-deductible charitable contributions with their membership dues payments. We call these “sustaining membership” contributions and are critical to help us provide this important care.

I’d like to personally thank those of you who have contributed to the Foundation over the years through your sustaining membership dues. We understand you have choices about the organizations you support, and we appreciate the trust you’ve placed in us. We believe we are offering programs and services that address the causes you care about and reflect your values.

As you send in your membership dues, please be sure to include your $125 sustaining membership payment. Or, please take a moment to educate your office managers and accountants so that they include this payment when submitting on your behalf.

Thank you for your time and we hope you will continue to support the important work the Foundation is doing in Florida.