At the 2022 AAO House of Delegates meeting, the delegates called for orthodontic software makers to embrace more openness and interoperability.

The 2022 American Association of Orthodontists House of Delegates met in Miami Beach on May 20 and May 23, in conjunction with the 2022 Annual Session, taking action on numerous resolutions that will impact member orthodontists.

During the meeting, delegates announced that going forward, the AAO’s position will be that developers of orthodontic software should implement open and non-proprietary standards for data interoperability when available.

The delegates also encouraged the development of new open, non-proprietary data standards by stakeholders.

Additionally, the HOD approved a limited orthodontic treatment definition at the meeting.

The AAO’s orthodontic treatment information will be augmented by the following definition of limited orthodontic treatment:

“Orthodontic treatment utilizing any therapeutic modality with a limited objective or scale of treatment. Treatment may occur in any stage of dental development or dentition. The objective may be limited by:

  • Not involving the entire dentition
  • Not attempting to address the full scope of the existing or developing orthodontic problem
  • Mitigating an aspect of a greater malocclusion ( i.e. crossbite, overjet, overbite, arch length, anterior alignment, one phase of multi-phase treatment, treatment prior to permanent dentition, etc.)
  • Decision to forgo comprehensive treatment.”

Another HOD resolution changed the position of the board certification designation on the AAO orthodontist locator. It is to be placed directly below the other credentials listed on the second page of listings of Board-certified members, on the AAO orthodontist locator, instead of the seal.

HOD Speaker Dennis Hiller, DDS, is tasked with creating a Special Committee on Constituent Collaboration.

The purpose of the committee will be to allow constituents to learn from each other, share information about what is working, and offer solutions to challenges that each constituent may be facing, thus creating opportunities for efficiency and innovation.

The committee is composed of a leadership representative from each constituent, an AAO trustee, and an AAO staff liaison.

The policy directing the board of trustees to submit a budget to the HOD for the upcoming year’s AAO operations has been updated.

The board will no longer be required to submit a balanced budget to the HOD but instead, in the event “a deficit budget is proposed to the HOD, the board of trustees will propose recommendations to all constituents before the yearly ad interim meetings for how a balanced budget could be achieved.”

The HOD also directed the AAO Committee on Conferences (CCon) to investigate the creation of a meeting revenue-sharing model for all AAO constituent societies when an AAO Annual Session or Winter Conference is held in that constituent’s territory.

Established in 2021, CCon is charged with planning all future AAO meetings starting with the 2023 Winter Conference.

Lastly, the AAO will assign all student members to a component based on the location of their orthodontic residency programs.

Military members based in North America will be assigned a component based on their addresses on file with the AAO.

These assignments do not imply membership in the component organizations but are meant to provide a means for component organizations to remain in contact with student and service members who reside in their states.

Photo via AAO