The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) is deeply committed to patient health and safety through orthodontic care provided by qualified specialists. Our mission — to advance the art and science of orthodontics through education, advocacy, and research — has never been more important.
We continue to grow our advocacy innovation, influence, and success on a range of policy issues through regulation and legislation at the Federal and State levels. With a few minutes of your time, you can help the AAO Legal & Advocacy team plan for possible future work and important positions on relevant and timely issues with potential impact on our members. We want every AAO member’s voice to be represented in this survey.
All questions are optional. Information you provide will not be specifically shared and will be used only by the American Association of Orthodontists to benefit AAO members and AAO policy priorities.
1. Please rank the most important issues that AAO should be working on in the next two years. Select as many as you like - ranked in order from highest to lowest priority
Order the items from the following list. First select an item with the spacebar to show a menu of possible ranking positions. Next, click a ranking position to order it in the ranked list. Note the menu will display more ordering options as you add items to the ranked list.
Drag items from the left-hand list into the right-hand list to order them.
Foreign-trained dentist policy changes are being debated at the federal and state levels. Policy considerations include changes to visa requirements, licensure pathways, and CODA-accredited education standards. Policymakers and stakeholders have varying views on policy updates in this topic area. Some see them as a potential strategy to strengthen the dental workforce, while others are focused on maintaining consistent training and educational standards across all practitioners. Because this issue has implications for orthodontic education, practice, and workforce policy, the AAO would like to better understand members’ perspectives to help guide future advocacy and policy positions.
Beginning in July 2026, new federal loan limits established under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will cap how much funding graduate and professional students can borrow through federal programs (maximum lifetime aggregate of $257,500, including undergraduate loans but excluding Parent PLUS loans). These changes may make it more difficult for dental students to finance advanced specialty training, including orthodontics.
At the same time, the AAO continues to support federal and state student loan solutions, including state-level student loan reimbursement and forgiveness initiatives designed to help new orthodontists manage educational debt and encourage practice in underserved areas.
Because these federal and state policies could affect who enters the specialty, where orthodontists choose to practice, and how practices transition or grow, the AAO would like to better understand members’ perspectives on these upcoming changes.
The AAO National Advocacy Network (NAN) was established in 2023 to maximize grassroots engagement of AAO members across the U.S. and Canada for the benefit of our AAO advocacy work.
In 2025, we are celebrating 125 years of AAO through support of the AAO’s Political Action Committee (AAOPAC) helping to fuel AAO Advocacy success. The AAOPAC is the Voice of Orthodontists, and through it we are growing relationships with Members of Congress to benefit all AAO Members and our advocacy work across the country. Yet only 6% of eligible AAO Members in the U.S. contribute to AAOPAC.
Note: It is helpful if you can share your name and contact information in this survey for follow-up with you to consider maximizing your relationships for AAO advocacy priorities.
All questions are optional: Information you provide will not be specifically shared and will be used only by the American Association of Orthodontists to benefit AAO members and AAO policy priorities. Your cell number and/or email address are important to help activate your grassroots engagement for advocacy.