Advocacy
Thank You for Being an FDA Advocate! By Joe Anne Hart DIRECTOR OF GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
Yes, I’m talking to you. At some point in your dental career, you’ve talked to someone about the importance of maintaining routine dental care, the significance of brushing and flossing, the risks affiliated with smoking, the benefits of community water fluoridation, how to prevent baby bottle tooth decay and the list goes on. That’s called ADVOCACY! So, thank you for being an advocate for organized dentistry! No, you don’t have to be a registered lobbyist to advocate for dentistry — you have the Florida Dental Association’s (FDA) professional staff for that. No, you don’t have to be in Tallahassee to advocate for dentistry — you are a health care expert with direct ties to your local community. No, you don’t have to be “political” to talk to politicians — they are regular people just like you, who attend the same church or synagogue, shop at the same grocery stores and whose children attend the same schools as yours.
You are an advocate for organized dentistry when you speak to your patients about their oral health and educate them on the proper way to maintain a healthy mouth. Legislators are not exempt from being a patient. Many of you have been treating legislators in your practices long before they thought about running for office. Now that they are elected officials, it doesn’t give them a pass from going to the dentist. In addition to the legislator as your patient, you may be treating their whole family — which can be an extension of their opinion on dentistry. This is just a microcosm of the numerous opportunities you may encounter with a legislator and are able to help advocate for organized dentistry. After the November elections, the Florida Legislature will be filled with a brand new class of legislators, eager to serve and represent the interest of their constituents. This is where you — as an FDA member — can really help. You are their constituents, and we need all hands on deck to educate these new legislators and provide them with factual information on organized dentistry. You will be a sounding board for many of these new members, so take the time to help them understand how policy decisions in Tallahassee could impact your ability to practice at the local level. Your advocacy efforts at home will result in more informed legislative proposals and recommendations.
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You are their constituents, and we need all hands on deck to educate these new legislators and provide them with factual information on organized dentistry.
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So, do you get it now? You are an advocate for organized dentistry! For more information on how you can get involved, contact the FDA’s Governmental Affairs Office at gao@floridadental.org or 850.224.1089.
Ms. Hart is the FDA Director of Governmental Affairs and can be reached at jahart@ floridadental.org or 850.350.7205.
RE: FDA Council on Ethics, Bylaws & Judicial Affairs CEBJA helps the FDA keep its professional and ethical reputation intact. The council maintains and enforces the Code of Ethics; the patient relations peer review program; ensures the FDA’s Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws and Manuals are correctly drafted and procedurally correct; advises the House of Delegates on potential conflicts with association policies, procedures and bylaws; reviews FDA, component, and affiliate bylaws and compares them to the ADA bylaws with the goal of streamlining. 25 — Dr. Ethan Pansick, Speaker of the House/automatic CEBJA member