ADA Holds Second Annual Dental Olympics at SmileCon® 2023

CHICAGO, August 7, 2023 — Dental Olympics is back for a second year at SmileCon® 2023. Students from dental schools in Florida and Puerto Rico will go head-to-head in a series of competitive events, which will take place on Oct. 6 and 7 during SmileCon in Orlando, Fla. at the Orange County Convention Center.

Opening this year’s Dental Olympics will be Dr. ArNelle Wright, an Orlando dentist, speaker and co-host of the American Dental Association’s Dental Sound Bites podcast. The Dental Olympics are sponsored by Pacific Dental Services (PDS).

“I’m excited that Pacific Dental Services is once again sponsoring the Dental Olympics at SmileCon this year,” said Gary Pickard, senior director of government & industry affairs for PDS. “It is an honor to support this incredible new concept, and I look forward to seeing it continue to grow, getting bigger every year with more dental schools and students participating. As they are the future of our industry, we need them to feel welcome and be engaged as soon and as much as possible.”

This year, teams from the University of Florida College of Dentistry, LECOM School of Dental Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, and University of Puerto Rico School of Dental Medicine will take part in several competitive events that will test their skills and put their knowledge to the test. Students will participate in a Social Media Competition and face off in dental trivia and other challenges throughout the two-day event. The winning team will be announced on the last day of SmileCon on Oct. 7.

“Our first-ever Dental Olympics brought a lot of fun to SmileCon last year, and we’re excited to continue this tradition in Orlando,” said Dr. George R. Shepley, 2022-2023 president of the ADA. “We welcome these young, aspiring dentists from across the U.S. into our community to foster comradery with their peers and inspire them as they get a chance to connect with industry professionals all while enjoying a little friendly competition during the events.”

Located in Dental Central South Hall A and B, the four teams will participate in events at the ADA Hub and around Dental Central. Attendees are welcome to cheer on their favorite teams and enjoy the competition with provided refreshments.

SmileCon’s Dental Olympics 2023 will adhere to the following schedule of events: 

• Day 1: Friday, Oct. 6, from 2-3:30 p.m. at the ADA Hub, includes the kickoff of the Social Media Competition, which runs from Friday afternoon to Saturday at noon and invites students to post from specific areas at SmileCon and around Orlando. Also on Friday is the first round of Dental Trivia, pitting LECOM against the University of Florida and Nova Southeastern against the University of Puerto Rico.
• Day 2: Saturday, Oct. 7 from 9 a.m. at the Dental Team Hub and ADA Hub, includes a variety of other challenges as well as the Dental Trivia Finals, featuring the winners from Day One’s events. The overall winners of this year’s Dental Olympics will be announced during the Dental Central Closing Party, from 1-2:30 p.m. in the ADA Hub.

For additional information about the above event, contact mediarelations@ada.org.

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.