ADA CE Online offers new courses

For those making plans to fulfill continuing education requirements, ADA CE Online offers a variety of free and low-cost options for general dentists, specialists and members of the dental team.

Online CE is gaining in popularity, too. In a 2008 ADA survey, more than 76 percent of respondents said they were likely to take an online CE course this year.

There are now more than 110 courses in the ADA CE Online library, which provides an extra boost to users in a down economy. Members pay $28 per credit hour and nonmembers pay $45 per credit hour. Dental team members can take any course, but 16 courses have been specifically designed for the dental team. Those courses are offered at a great price, too: $15 per credit hour.

Online courses enable users to learn in the office or at home at their own pace and convenience. ADA CE Online offers several convenient options for free courses to assist users with educational needs, including MP3 downloads (audio only), timely topics, and lunch and learn programs.

ADA CE Online highlights courses in four categories, with new free courses rotating periodically to meet members’ needs. Current offerings include:

• Practice Management Courses鈥擳hese courses are designed to help dental practices become more patient-centered. A featured course, compliments of CareCredit, is “The Economics of Endodontics,” an MP3 download program. In this course, Dr. L. Stephen Buchanan discusses how general dental practices can increase production and profitability through the gradual incorporation of endodontic procedures.
• Timely Topics鈥擳hese courses include current health topics. A featured course in this category is “A Guide to Sports Dentistry,” which includes a thorough discussion of the prevention and treatment of athletic-related orofacial injuries and associated oral diseases, including preseason oral screenings and the fitting and fabrication of protective devices.
• Lunch and Learn Courses鈥擳hese are short “how-to” courses. The current feature is “The Latex Allergy,” which examines critical issues, management protocols, product choices, dermal reactions common in dentistry, risk factors and clinical manifestations of latex allergies for patients and health care workers, diagnostic methods, management strategies and regulatory requirements.
• Members Only Courses鈥擳his section includes the leadership course, “Understanding Associations,” which was聽developed by the ADA Committee on New Dentist and the peer-review course, “Overview of ADA Recommendations on the Organization and Implementation of Peer Review,” by the Council on Dental Benefit Programs, which describes the ADA’s recommendations on the organization and implementation of dentistry’s peer review system and the general process of peer review and mediation.

All course topics are categorized at www.adaceonline.org. Click on a topic and view all related courses.