Washington—Suppliers of the technical component of advanced diagnostic imaging services for Medicare beneficiaries must be accredited to be reimbursed for the claim if the service is performed on or after Jan. 1, 2012. The accreditation requirement applies to suppliers of the images and not the physician's interpretation.

Sacramento, Calif.—Legislation approved by the state senate Jan. 26 would create a dentist-led Statewide Office of Oral Health within the state Department of Public Health charged with addressing the "significant human and financial costs" of unmet dental needs.

Washington—Quality improvement efforts in organized dentistry and throughout the health care system offer opportunities to increase access to care and “improve and maintain the oral health of the U.S. population,” says a report funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and DentaQuest Institute and intended to advance the national health policy dialogue.

The American Association of Dental Boards’ 2012 Mid-Year Meeting takes place April 22-23 at ADA Headquarters.

Indianapolis—Dr. Lloyd J. Phillips, a past ADA trustee who represented the 7th District from 1970 to 1976, died Jan. 15 here. He was 89.

Hyattsville, Md. – Seven percent of American children aged 17 and younger had unmet dental need in 2010 because their families could not afford dental care, the National Center for Health Statistics said in an analysis of data collected by U.S. Census Bureau interviewers and reported in the Vital and Health Statistics series.

The ADA Council on Dental Benefit Programs is launching a new process to maintain the CDT Code.

NBA high five: Denver Nuggets guard-forward Jordan Hamilton greets a young patient at the TeamSmile dental care day held Dec. 17, 2011, at the Pepsi Center in Denver. More than 100 dental professionals and volunteers provided free dental treatment and preventive care to 125 underserved children from 10 local organizations.

Members interested in running for ADA treasurer can go on ADA.org to find the information necessary for filing for candidacy.

The 2011 House of Delegates changed the rules for how an ADA member becomes a candidate for speaker of the House.

Scottsdale, Ariz.—Registration is open for the 24th Annual Meeting on Special Care Dentistry, set for April 26-29 at the Hilton Scottsdale Resort and Villas.

Two new reports are now available by the ADA Health Policy Resources Center.

Washington—For new dentists seeking clinical, practice management and professional issue courses tailored specifically to their needs all in one place, there is nothing like the ADA New Dentist Conference.

Las Vegas—The 2011 House of Delegates adopted a resolution that spells out the ADA’s policy on comparative effectiveness research—also known as patient-centered outcomes research.

Below is a list of how valuable ADA members rated Association benefits in 2011 (with 5 being extremely valuable; 4 very valuable; 3 somewhat valuable; 2 not very valuable; and 1 not at all valuable).

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month and the ADA offers both free resources and products for purchase that encourage elementary and high school children to “Rock Your Smile.”

An updated guide is available in the ADA Catalog to assist dental practices in developing a customized employee office manual.

New York—A research team at the New York University College of Dentistry has been awarded a $2.2 million grant to sequence the genome of lactobacilli strains to look for a relationship to severe early childhood caries.

Dayton, N.J.—Brooke English’s smile was usually directed at Adam Chandler. Or Tad Martin. Or Edmund Grey. Or Tom Cudahy.

Help us celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Give Kids A Smile!