Dear Colleagues,

As 2025 comes to a close, I want to extend my gratitude to all of you for your continued commitment to our profession and to the patients we serve. This has been a meaningful and productive year for the District of Columbia Dental Society, and I’m proud of the progress we’ve made together.

This year brought important advocacy wins for dentistry in the District. We saw long-overdue increases in Medicaid reimbursement rates for 125 dental codes and our continued engagement with the DC Council and the Board of Dentistry helped keep key issues—such as staffing, licensing, and scope of practice—at the forefront. These improvements do not happen on their own. They happen because our members show up, speak up, and share their experience and expertise. Your involvement truly makes a difference.

We also had the privilege of hosting a wildly successful SmileCon and DCDS Symposium for Licensure—the final SmileCon in its current form. It was wonderful to see many of you join us, reconnect with colleagues, and learn from our outstanding speakers. If you were unable to attend, or if you’d like to revisit any of the material, please reach out to the DCDS office about purchasing access to the session recordings.

As we wrap up the year, I hope you’ll join us for our final CE event of 2025 next Tuesday (note, we are close to selling out):

“Proven Methods to Build a World-Class Practice: How to Increase Production Every Year”
Presented by Dr. Roger Levin
Tuesday, December 9
Maggiano’s Little Italy, 5333 Wisconsin Avenue, NW

It’s a fantastic opportunity to gather one more time this year for education, conversation, and community.

Thank you all for your engagement, your advocacy, and your commitment to strengthening dentistry in the District. I’ve truly enjoyed working alongside you throughout 2025, and I look forward to all that we will accomplish together in the year ahead.

Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a wonderful start to 2026.

Warmly,

Hillary Rosse Abel, D.M.D.
President, District of Columbia Dental Society