The ADA Standards Committees on Dental Products and Dental Informatics (SCDP and SCDI) and the U.S. Technical Advisory Group for ISO Technical Committee 106 on Dentistry (U.S. TAG) are being transformed into 12 new Consensus Bodies that will address both national and international standards, each with their own focused scope of work. Working Groups will still be the ones writing national standards and will now also assist in formulating the U.S. position on ISO documents. Members of the Consensus Bodies will cast the vote to officially approve national standards and the U.S. votes on international standards.
The New ADA Standards Program
Learn about the changes and how you can participate and have your voice heard in national and international dental standards
The ADA Standards Program is reorganizing to enhance alignment between national and international standards, provide better utilization of subject matter experts and to better address new and emerging technologies.
The ADA Standards Program is the driving force behind establishing a dental profession that works in sync with the dental industry. Participation in this program puts you on the leading edge of:
- Establishing how dental products and technologies are defined;
- Setting expectations on how certain products and technologies should perform; and
- Understanding the big picture of how these products and technologies work together.
As a Standards Program volunteer, you have a voice in benefiting the entire dental community by setting the standards for dental materials, products and technologies, that improve the safety and health of both patients and professionals.
The impact of the voluntary dental standards produced by the ADA Standards Program is far reaching, and your participation is vital to ensure the needs of U.S. consumers and manufacturers are heard. In the U.S., the FDA relies on the standards from the ADA Standards Program to evaluate products to go to market and in many countries, ISO standards are adopted into regulation.
Standards ensure predictability, reliability, safety, quality and efficiency in dental products, processes and systems we rely on every day and helps ensure products work effectively together (interoperability).
Technological advancements in dentistry have begin to blur the lines between products and informatics. Additionally, the global marketplace has increasingly brought participation at the international level to the forefront. The revitalized program brings the national and international programs together and is organized in a more subject-matter focused structure which will put your expertise to good use focusing only on the subjects that you have an interest in. In addition, subject-matter experts are the ones voting on the content of standards.
The ADA, as the leader in dental standards development for the United States, will remain accredited by ANSI to develop national dental standards in a rigorous consensus process ensuring all voices are heard. The ADA will remain accredited by ANSI as the entity that formulates the U.S. vote on all international dental standards. Standards are still developed at the Working Group level.
The ADA Standards Committee on Dental Products (SCDP) and ADA Standards Committee on Dental Informatics (SCDI) will be dissolved and 12 new Consensus Bodies will be formed effective January 1, 2024 that will be subject-matter specific. The work of the U.S. TAG for ISO/TC 106 will be combined with the affiliated Consensus Bodies. Members of Consensus Bodies will be able to participate at both national and international levels automatically.
The new structure calls for you to choose your new Consensus Body(ies) and Working Group(s). Membership on a Consensus Body can be as a designated representative of an organization, company or as an Individual Expert. Membership in Working Groups is at the individual expert level.
Ready to sign up?
Read Before Starting Application (PDF)
Sample Letter of Support for Organization/Company Representative (WORD)
Government employee?
Download list of Consensus Bodies and Working Groups you can join.
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