Responses to Frequently Asked ADHA Membership Questions

Listed below are responses to frequently asked questions about membership in the American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

1. What are the benefits of membership?

Security—Through ADHA membership, you will help to secure a future for dental hygiene. ADHA is working to protect the value of your educational credentials and to preserve the integrity of your license. Only through uniting in one voice can ADHA continue to represent dental hygienists successfully.

Access to Information—Members receive a subscription to the Journal of Dental Hygiene, ADHA’s official publication that brings you scientific and technical articles on clinical practice, research, and education. In addition, members receive the association’s magazine, Access, that helps you stay on top of the issues that are critical to the dental hygiene profession.

Continuing Education— ADHA membership offers you a discount on continuing education through self-study courses, courses the ADHA offers at annual session, and constituent and component continuing education events.

Employment Assistance— Members benefit from state employment job referral services, national classified advertising, and employment reference materials. ADHA is your professional partner, supplying you with foreign employment contacts, information on state licensing authorities, lists of accredited dental hygiene programs, and details on research grants and scholarships.

Professional Contacts—As part of your dues, you automatically become a member of your state constituent and local component organizations. These groups sponsor meetings and activities for your personal and professional benefit. By attending local, state, and national membership functions, you have the opportunity to form new friendships and develop professional contacts.

Insurance—Your membership will provide you with the opportunity to apply for various types of insurance—professional liability, disability, and major medical—at competitive premiums.

ADHA Credit Card Program—Offers members competitive interest rates and the opportunity to earn points toward travel with every purchase when combined with the mileage program. The program also offers members financial planning tools.

Leadership Opportunities—Becoming active in ADHA gives you the opportunity to acquire and develop new skills and interests, such as leadership and public speaking.

Recognition—You can make contributions to your community’s oral health standards through professional activities with your local association. Professional membership builds an identity for you and the dental hygiene field. You can also become a role model for recruiting candidates into the dental hygiene profession.

Discounted Hotel Rates—Members may take advantage of discounted hotel rates at over 4,000 hotels across the nation.

2. I can’t afford the dues.

• How can you afford not to be a member when dental hygiene is facing a professional crisis and legislative tactics that allow on-the-job-trained dental assistants to perform dental hygiene functions that are threatening the value of the RDH credential and the future of dental hygiene?
  
  
• How would you be able to afford ADHA’s many benefits and services purchased separately?
  
  
• After all the time and hard work you’ve put into your career, doesn’t $4.62 a week (or 66 cents a day) seem like a small investment to protect your future and improve the quality of oral health care for the public, which is part of the dental hygienist’s professional commitment?

3. I don’t have the time. What is expected of me if I join?

• A member is expected to adhere to ADHA’s Principles of Ethics and Bylaws, and members are counted upon to support the mission and goals set forth by the ADHA.
  
  
• The benefits of membership are limited only by your involvement. The value placed on your career goes hand-in-hand with the value placed on membership in your professional association.
  
  
• You are not required to actively participate in ADHA. In today’s fast paced world, not all members are able to do so. Some members are only able to support ADHA and the dental hygiene profession by contributing through membership dues.
  
  
• Becoming active in ADHA can give you the opportunity to acquire and develop new skills and interests, such as leadership, public speaking, etc.
  
  
• No state makes it mandatory to belong to ADHA in order to hold a dental hygiene license; however, it is beneficial to become a member of ADHA so that you will be informed on the issues that affect you and your profession.

4. I only want the publications. Can I just get those?

• Considering what the subscriptions cost versus the cost of membership dues, it is more advantageous for you to join ADHA as an active member because you will receive a subscription to both publications, as well as have access to all other benefits offered. A subscription to Access is $48 a year (10 issues) and a subscription to the Journal of Dental Hygiene is $45 a year (4 issues) for nonmembers.

5. Can I join only the state and local organizations?

• No. According to ADHA bylaws (voted upon by the house of delegates), tripartite membership is required of members. That means that members must belong to their national, constituent, and component (if one exists) associations. Annual dues pay for membership in all three organizations.

6. What does ADHA do for me?
In addition to all the benefits listed above, ADHA works to expand the dental hygiene scope of practice, and increase the number of dental hygiene career options in addition to working in a private dental office. For example:

• In 46 states, dental hygienists may provide services under general supervision in some settings.
• In 14 states, dental hygienists may provide services in certain settings under various forms of unsupervised practice and less restrictive supervision.
• In 31 states, dental hygienists can administer local anesthesia.