members from that time if what we were told actually happened. Within a couple years, CAM was dissolved and the SmileCon meeting was being completely run by ADA staff. The individu- als who run large meetings across the nation were told they were no longer needed to help organize and run the annual meeting. Guess what? Within two years SmileCon is going to end. It’s a sad time, especially for those faithful attendees of the meeting and for those who put lots of blood, sweat and tears into helping run it.


I can only be optimistic that the ADA Board will figure out how to bring back an annual meeting that every- one can attend, whether that is one big meeting or regional meetings. It is important to have face-to- face time with our peers in building relationships that will last a lifetime.


The current Board of the ADA has a lot of work ahead of them to start digging out of a hole that’s been created over the last few years. I am confident they will do so, and I think it will require a new level of transparency we haven’t had yet. They must remember there are thousands of members who have every right to know. The wool must be removed from our eyes so we can all work together to build membership confidence and strength.


Contact Dr. Wyckoff at editor@


modental.org.


Moral Action and Professionalism


M


y name is Dave Chambers. I am a fac- ulty member at the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry and was the editor


of the American College of Dentists for 27 years. I have an abiding interest in dental ethics. (I earned my undergraduate, EdM, MBA and PhD degrees from Harvard and Stanford and have been a visit- ing scholar in philosophy at Cambridge Univer- sity, the London School of Economics and UC Berkeley.)


I have watched as the level of interest in ethics is drifting from its peak of enthusiasm a few decades ago. I don’t understand all the reasons, but hours of instruction in dental schools and published pa- pers have dropped by 20 percent. The real action remains at chairside and through state associa- tions and component societies, and that is where the attention should be focused.


I am convinced that dentists have a fundamental interest in treating others well and see this as a collective (professional) matter. It seems that they like to be reminded of this in small, periodic, prac- tical doses. You are among those who can make a difference.


I have been trying to make contact where it mat- ters most. For the past year I have been sending out monthly, one-page thoughts about Moral Action and Professionalism (MAP). Practical, actionable — not theoretical. I started with a few friends and added names in response to inquiries and recommendations. There are now about 650 folks on the list. Recently, I learned two compo- nent dental societies and one state Council on Ethics have started including the MAPs as part of their regular member distributions. The MDA took an interest in these columns and is planning to run MAP installments in the Focus, beginning this issue.


DOING GOOD COMES IN 3 FLAVORS, DEPENDING ON WHO YOU WORK WITH


• Ethics is the theoretical study of the good and the right. This can be mastered by read- ing books or listening to experts. It is the relationship between individuals and what they think about abstract principles.


• Morality is actions that mutually improve our lives and the lives of others. It is interper- sonal and active. It is what one does, not what one says about it.


• Professionalism is moral action in the con- text of all those affected. For the dentist this includes patients and those in need of oral health care, staff, colleagues, vendors, payors, regulators, and all others who benefit from one’s good moral actions and suffer from our bad decisions.


We can make a surprisingly significant impact by following just two rules:


Don’t cheat. Cheating is engaging in behav- ior that benefits us while damaging others, provided this is not something we would approve of others doing. Fair compensation for good work is not cheating. Overtreat- ment, just not doing a good job, “adjusting” benefits clams, abusive workplace environ- ments, commercialism before service, not giving patients choices, and using unproven techniques or equipment are some examples of cheating.


Be professional. Professionalism means contributing one’s fair share to the com- munity and not taking more than one is entitled to. Communities, such as the dental profession, naturally build a common good or surplus of reputation, scientific knowl- edge and advancing technology, legislative support and protection from unnecessary regulation, as well as a common sense of identity and self-help that are available to all in the organization.


Although we can imagine that we are ethical if we can recite the principles, we have to prove it by the way we act, and our professional colleagues are there to help us do that.


If you’d like to receive these as I write them, email me at dchamber@pacific.edu and I’ll add you to the list.


ISSUE 3 | FALL 2025 | focus 7


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