ADA Elections 2024

Second vice president candidate

Viren L. Jhaveri, D.D.S.

Campaign statement

I have been a loyal grassroots member of the ADA for close to 30 years. I am running because I believe our “members in the trenches” deserve to be represented by one of their own.

My platform encompasses three issues:

Membership: Improve marketing of the ADA member brand. We know that brands that engage the public with consistency and focus eventually win. Nonmembers don’t see the value the ADA brand provides to the individual or its impact on the profession. I will work to better communicate tangible member benefits. Also, I want my ADA to become my virtual dental service organization, providing me with the tools I need to run my practice.
Workforce issues: Data shows, besides supporting Action for Dental Health, we need to keep developing toolkits to assist members with staff fulfillment, practice efficiency and work/life balance.

We need to provide guidance to our members and aid states in developing auxiliary dental programs.
Artificial intelligence: Our most valuable intelligence is not artificial, it’s human. I will work with the board to develop a code of ethics for AI in dentistry, to develop policies and seek legislation that requires AI oversight by licensed dentists.

Profile

Current residence: Old Westbury, New York

Dental school attended: NYU College of Dentistry

Year received dental degree: 1994

Postgraduate education/specialty: None

Years of ADA membership: 28

Other professional memberships:

International College of Dentists.
American College of Dentists.
Pierre Fauchard Academy.
American Academy of Implant Dentistry.
Indian Dental Association (USA) Inc.

Volunteer posts/elective offices held in organized dentistry:

ADA delegate.
Review committee member, CODA.
Board of trustees, New York State Dental Association.
Delegate, NYSDA House.
President, Queens County Dental Society.

What are your main qualifications for the office you seek?

Practicing general dentistry for over 29 years in Queens, New York, arguably the most diverse community in America, has given me cultural sensitivity and unique insight into the problems dentists and the public face daily. I have served on various levels of the tripartite and on CODA. I’ve attended the ADA House for over 25 years, gleaning many valuable lessons about the needs of our delegates, the House and the ADA. Over the years, I have developed a deeper understanding of why the ADA exists and its positive impact on its members and the profession, understanding that the world is looking to us for leadership. We are loved, admired and, most of all, trusted all over the world. My commitment to organized dentistry is lifelong. I believe in the miracle of our collective power.

Why do you want to be an ADA officer?

I have been a loyal grassroots member of the ADA for almost 30 years and a faculty member at the NYU College of Dentistry and Flushing Hospital residency program for over 15 years. I’m running because I believe I’m in a unique position. The diversity of my community, along with my experiences, has given me an intimate understanding of the varied needs and issues facing our grassroots members with their multitude of backgrounds. I’m confident I will be able to communicate these issues to the Board of Trustees in such a manner as to create policy that will transcend the cultural and generational diversity of our membership, making the ADA more relevant to the new generation of dentists