As a D1, during your very first week of school, you probably sat in an unfamiliar classroom and had several presentations about all the resources available to you as a dental student. Whether you’re a D4 or a D1 starting Spring Semester now, that first week of school seems like a blur! Though if you think hard enough, or if you’ve been to a single ASDA event since, I guarantee you that you’ve seen the California Dental Association as a sponsor, speaker or supporter, because that is exactly what the CDA does. Whether you are involved in your chapter as an ASDA officer or CDA representative, or have a cabinet position at the ASDA District level in California, you may not realize nor recall how much CDA can and will do to support you, as they mentioned during that first week of presentations.
CDA is over 150 years old and is committed to offering professional support to dentists all across California, to help better the oral health care of our state. Dentists work together to ensure that the career you have chosen, with all its glorious debt, remains a career that you can be proud of. If you take a trip to the CDA website and check out the resources available to you, you might be surprised at how much they offer! From price comparisons on dental products for your office, to setting you up with TDIC (The Dental Insurance Company), to educational opportunities like CDA Presents, online courses and Risk management resources, their one goal is to genuinely be there for us, as dental professionals. One of my personal favorite ways CDA gives back is through their CDA Cares events; and as professionals who want to help people, I can’t think of a better organization to team up with.
District 11 is honored to have the CDA’s support, especially for the upcoming Advocacy and Public Health Academy on January 12th in San Francisco. For those of you attending, we encourage you to reach out to the CDA representative who is there and make a connection, especially if you are planning on staying in California! Take a moment during your hectic schedule to build a relationship with those who are trying to help you be successful. We have committed 3-4 years of our lives for this profession, why not ensure we do it right? For those who are not attending the conference, we encourage you to head on over to cda.org and play around with their resources! Find time to volunteer at one of their CDA Cares events, or attend CDA Presents! If anything, just remember to not spend these 4 years in dental school without looking into your resources. If they weren’t valuable, they wouldn’t be there for you, and CDA is there for you.
Ashtin Alves District 11 Newsletter Co-Chair
D3-Western University of Health Sciences