ADA Holds First-Ever Dental Olympics at SmileCon™ 2022

CHICAGO, September 15, 2022 — Show your support for the Longhorns, applaud for the Aggies, or root for the Red Raiders at the first-ever Dental Olympics during ADA SmileCon™ 2022, where Texas dental students participate in a series of competitive events. Opening the new Dental Olympics will be Tara Peterson, D.D.S., a member of the U.S. National Curling Team who participated in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Dental Olympics will take place on Oct. 14 and 15 during SmileCon in Houston, Texas at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Dental students from all four Texas dental schools, including Texas A&M University, UT Health Science Center at Houston, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio and Texas Tech University Health Science Center El Paso will take part in three events: “Dental Jeopardy”, Social Media Competition and “Putt for Points.” The Dental Olympics are sponsored by Pacific Dental Services (PDS), and the winning team will be announced at SmileCon’s closing session on Oct. 15 and receive the first-ever Dental Olympics trophy.

“The ADA is eager to begin a new tradition at SmileCon this year with the addition of our first-ever Dental Olympics,” said Cesar R. Sabates, D.D.S., president of the ADA. “We’re looking forward to cheering on local dental school students alongside the Texas Dental Association (TDA) and the Greater Houston Dental Society (GHDS) by engaging the surrounding communities in this exciting, new competition.”

The local students from all four Texas dental schools will participate in the events at Dental Central Hall C., booth 2303, where attendees can cheer on their favorite teams.

The first-ever Dental Olympics will adhere to the following schedule of events:

• Day 1: Friday, Oct. 14 from 2:30-3:30 p.m., includes the first round of Dental Jeopardy and the Social Media Competition where team members work to get the most likes or followers from Friday morning to Saturday morning.
• Day 2: Saturday, Oct. 15 from 10-11 a.m., includes the “Putt for Points” contest and final round of Dental Jeopardy between the top two teams.

“Supporting the growth and development of organized dentistry elevates the entire dental industry, which better serves oral healthcare professionals and ultimately their patients,” said Gary J. Pickard, Senior Director of Government and Industry Affairs at Pacific Dental Services (PDS). “The Dental Olympics at SmileCon 2022 will offer all attendees a truly unique experience, an innovative way to participate in our industry’s biggest meeting, and a new opportunity to engage with their colleagues. We are honored to help bring this exciting event to life.”

“SmileCon is a way for the ADA to celebrate our members and association’s camaraderie,” added Dr. Sabates. “We’re excited to embrace our future dentists to include them in our community early on and support them as the future of our industry.”

Editor’s Note: Reporters are invited to follow the ADA on Twitter @AmerDentalAssn and #SmileCon2022 for updates from SmileCon

About the American Dental Association
The not-for-profit ADA is the nation's largest dental association, representing 159,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public's health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA's state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance has long been a valuable and respected guide to consumer dental care products. The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA), published monthly, is the ADA's flagship publication and the best-read scientific journal in dentistry. For more information about the ADA, visit ADA.org. For more information on oral health, including prevention, care and treatment of dental disease, visit the ADA's consumer website MouthHealthy.org.

The ADA Forsyth Institute was founded in 1910 as the Forsyth Dental Infirmary for Children (later, the Forsyth Institute), to provide dental care to the disadvantaged children of Boston. While continuing to serve children in need, yet recognizing the ultimate goal is to prevent dental disease, the Institute in 1915 began to focus on scientific research and is today the world’s leader in oral health research. In October of 2023, the Institute joined with the American Dental Association to form the ADA Forsyth Institute, a 501(c)(3) entity dedicated to improving people’s oral and overall health and powering the profession of dentistry through cutting-edge basic research, creative translational science, innovative clinical technologies, and global public health outreach. Consistent with the Institute’s founding mission, the ADA ForsythKids mobile dental program continues to serve children in need.

About Pacific Dental Services
Founded in 1994, Pacific Dental Services® (PDS) is one of the country’s leading dental support organizations, providing supported autonomy that enables dentists to concentrate on clinical excellence and the highest levels of cost-effective comprehensive patient care. PDS originated the Private Practice+® model to enable dentists to focus on their passion: serving patients. PDS also pioneered the concept of Modern Dentistry so that dentists are equipped to combine advances in the latest technology with the best operational practices and procedures, highly skilled support staff and a commitment to ongoing training and education. PDS continues to grow, with more than 890 supported dental offices across the United States. PDS has been on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest growing private companies in America 14 times. PDS-supported dentists aim to be the provider of choice in all the markets they serve and to develop Patients for Life™. For more information, visit us at pacificdentalservices.com or follow us on Facebook: @pacificdentalservices, Instagram: @pacific.dental, LinkedIn: @pacific-dental-services, Twitter: @pacificdental, and YouTube: @pacificdentaltv.