Orthodontic Products Podcast

This episode of the Orthodontic Products Podcast, hosted by Alison Werner, focuses on the support services offered by the College of Diplomates of the American Board of Orthodontics (CDABO) to help orthodontists during the board certification process and throughout their careers. Featuring Jane Wright, DDS, MS, a board-certified orthodontist and CDABO Council member, the episode delves into various aspects of board certification and professional support. 

Listeners will learn about:

🔹Wright's journey to board certification and her experiences with initial certification and recertification.
🔹The differences between the American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) and the College of Diplomates of the American Board of Orthodontics (CDABO).
🔹The resources and support provided by CDABO, including annual meetings with high-caliber lectures and family-friendly activities.
🔹The importance of board certification for enhancing professional credibility and confidence.
🔹How to join or reinstate CDABO membership and the value of maintaining membership for continuous professional development.

Wright emphasizes the benefits of CDABO's support services, including comprehensive preparation courses and an intimate, collegial atmosphere at annual meetings, which provide valuable opportunities for professional growth and networking. 

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Creators and Guests

Host
Alison Werner
Editor-in-Chief, Orthodontic Products

What is Orthodontic Products Podcast?

Introducing the "Orthodontic Products Podcast", a journey into the dynamic realm of orthodontic innovations. Each episode dives into fresh research, transformative technologies, and the methodologies redefining the field. Expert interviews seamlessly blend with in-depth analyses, offering listeners a comprehensive look into the ever-evolving world of orthodontics. This isn't just a podcast—it's a portal to the future of orthodontic practices and breakthroughs.

Alison Werner: Hello and welcome
to the orthodontic products

podcast. I'm your host. Alison
Werner. For this episode, we're

going to talk about board
certification and the support

services available to you
throughout your career to make

the process of certification
easier and more beneficial to

your practice. To talk about
this, I'm joined by Dr Jane

Wright, a Board Certified
orthodontist in private practice

at Crawford and Wright
Orthodontics in Kenosha,

Wisconsin. Dr Wright is also a
member of the College of

Diplomates of the American Board
of Orthodontics Council. Dr

Wright, thank you for joining
me.

Dr Jane Wright: Thank you,
Alison. I'm happy to be here.

Alison Werner: Great. So to get
started, can you talk about your

practice and how long you've
been practicing?

Dr Jane Wright: Yes. So I am in
practice with my father and I

joined him 13 years ago. So we
practice together. We have kind

of a one and a half doctor sized
practice. It's not a full two

doctor practice, but it works
really well for both of us to

work side by side and in tandem.

Alison Werner: Oh, cool. So how
far into your career did you

decide to get board certified?

Dr Jane Wright: It was kind of
my plan all along. I grew up

going to college of diplomates
meetings with my dad and I, you

know, I watched a lot of the
board certified orthodontists

meet every year. So from early
on in residency, I knew it was

important to me and some things
that I always wanted to do.

Alison Werner: So can you talk
to me about what the process was

like for board certification for
you?

Dr Jane Wright: Yes. So when I
got board certified, we had to

take a written exam, which is
the standard today, there's

still the written component to
board certification, but I had

to prepare six cases with
plaster models and traced cephs

and fully worked up and little
black binders. And I flew down

to St Louis and presented them
to examiners. So I had that one

on one kind of clinical exam
aspect. That's changed a little

bit now. And there's another
written test, but it's a

clinical based test that has
changed a little bit since when

I certified. And we do have to
recertify every 10 years, so

there's initial certification,
is the written exam. And then,

like I said, I had the clinical,
actual model exam. So it was a

little stressful, maybe a little
more prep work on the front end

as the exam exists now,

Alison Werner: Okay, okay, and
so you just did your

recertification a couple years
ago then,

Dr Jane Wright: Actually just in
October.

Alison Werner: Okay, yeah. So
what was that process like for

you?

Dr Jane Wright: I wasn't sure
what to study. Um, it's a little

daunting when you haven't, you
know, been in residency. You're

not fresh out of residency
anymore. I've been in clinical

practice now for I mean, at the
time, it was 12 years and I

thought, Where do I begin? What
do I study? How do I prep for

this? There weren't a lot of
resources out there, so I just

read a lot. I read a lot of
research. I reread my Proffit

textbook. Probably a bit
overkill. I feel like I did

really well on the exam. I feel
like what I actually got, but

the re-exam was easier than I
thought. But maybe because I was

over prepared, I don't know.

Alison Werner: Okay, okay. Well,
the reason I wanted to have you

on is because we really wanted
to talk about the differences

between the American Board of
Orthodontics, which is what you

do the testing through, and the
College of Diplomates of the

American Board of Orthodontics.
So most orthodontists who are

boards, especially the ones who
are board certified, are very

familiar with the ABO. They
handle the testing, the

certification, the
recertification process, and if

orthodontists, once they pass
their boards, they will pay a

quote, unquote membership fee to
keep their ABO board status

active. And they also do get
resources and patient education

materials, tools, their plaques,
their certificates. But the

College of Diplomates is
actually a separate organization

and but a lot of board certified
orthodontists will think they're

already a member because they're
board certified. So can you

explain, as a member of the
Council of the College of

Diplomates, how does the College
of Diplomates come into play,

into this process, and what does
the organization bring to

doctors who are board certified?

Dr Jane Wright: Yes, and that's
a great question, because that

is our biggest hurdle right now,
is helping to differentiate

ourselves from the American
Board of Orthodontics, and

really help orthodontists
understand the support that we

bring and what we can do to help
everybody who wants to and

already is board certified. So
we are, we have an annual

meeting, which is probably our
biggest event of the whole year.

It's usually in July, and
they're at really amazing

locations, cool resorts, places
that you wouldn't necessarily

otherwise maybe go to. They're
very family friendly meetings

and high caliber lectures. I
mean, these are people that have

written textbooks. They're doing
the latest research. It's very

evidence based, very research.
There's, you know, it's not just

theorizing or the trendiest new
things. They're really excellent

lectures. And so the annual
meeting is one thing that we

provide all CDABO members.
They're invited to come to this

great meeting every year. We
also do resident case displays.

So we invite the residents to
prepare cases, kind of like a

mock board exam, almost, where
they're doing little binders

full of the cephs and their
panos and their treatment plan

workups. They bring their
models, and we grade them

blindly based on the excellence
of the case. And then there is

an award, and the winning
resident gets published in the

Journal of Clinical
Orthodontics. I believe they are

allowed to present their case
and it gets published. Another

thing that we do is help people
prepare for the initial board

exam and to, you know, to become
board certified, and also the

recertification, which is every
10 years. So there are two

separate courses that we offer
for people as well. So we're,

we're a fun group, you know? We
have the big party, the annual

meeting, but also a lot of
resources and help throughout

the year to become board
certified and to help maintain

your status.

Alison Werner: Okay? And
actually, you took part in

developing that recertification
course, because, I'm guessing

there's a lot of orthodontists
out there who are already board

certified, who, again, assume
they're already members of the

College of Diplomates. Can you
talk about what that

recertification course took to
develop and what they can expect

from that?

Dr Jane Wright: comfort of our
own homes. The challenge is

knowing how to prepare for that
and what's on it. It is a

clinically based exam. So you
know, if you're in clinical

practice, you really should have
no problem, but there are some

research based, evidence based
questions, so you need to be up

to date on the latest research
as well. So what I did is I read

a lot of systematic reviews and
studies, and I reread Proffit

and I tried to help summarize
this information for

orthodontists so that they maybe
don't have to do as extensive

preparation as I did for the
recertification exam, because I

really had no idea what to
study. So now we offer a course.

It's a one hour course, and you
can either take it in person at

the AAO meeting annually, or
we're about to offer a web-based

version, a Zoom version, at the
end of July. And once again, you

know from the comfort of your
own home, you can sit and

participate in this training so
that you're better prepared for

the recertification exam.

Alison Werner: Okay. And then
you mentioned the annual meeting

that takes place, and next year
is going to be in Colorado

Springs, Colorado. You talked a
little bit about, you know, how

it's very evidence based in
terms of the lectures. What else

do those annual meetings offer?
Because I know you grew up going

to those meetings with your
father. So it sounds like it's a

very family focused opportunity,
especially since it's in the

summer, when you know a lot of
kids are home from school and

everything. So can you talk
about that aspect of the annual

Alison Werner: Can you talk
about, you know, I'm assuming

Dr Jane Wright: Yes, well, it is
honestly like, I know there's

meeting.

the old saying, work hard, play
hard, but that's what these

meetings are. The lectures are
kind of intensive, very

informative, morning meetings,
morning lectures, but they're

only in the mornings, and then
the afternoons are filled with

all sorts of fun family
activities. You know, they'll

have gondola rides or hot air
balloon rides. All these are

optional. You can sign up for
any activities that you feel

like doing tours, depending on
what city you're in, they've had

pub crawls, so the whole
afternoon is usually open to

enjoy with your family. But
what's cool is it's a very

small, intimate group of
orthodontists, and so we're

literally rubbing elbows and
sitting next to some of the

leaders in our field as we're
being shuttled from one activity

other, or at morning breakfast,
you know, I'm sitting across

from somebody who wrote the
textbook that I used to study,

you interact a lot with a lot of
orthodontists, especially

and it's like, holy cow, I can't
believe we're just chatting

like, this is no big deal. So
it's really a cool, intimate

group of not just our peers, but
the leaders in our field. So

that's really amazing.

starting out in their careers.
Can you talk about why they

should move forward with getting
board certified, and then how

the College of Diplomates can
serve them? Because, you know,

you're starting out; you're
trying to decide if you should

devote your resources and your
time to getting board certified.

Can you talk a little bit about
that?

Dr Jane Wright: Yeah, well, I
think the general public assumes

that we're all board certified,
and when a patient finds out

that it's not mandatory, they're
actually shocked. I think that

that an orthodontist wouldn't
choose to become board

certified, and I remember having
a physician's wife come in for

an exam with me, and she was
questioning, you know, Oh, I see

you and your dad are board
certified, but isn't everybody?

And I said, No, it's optional.
And her question was, because

her husband's a physician, why
wouldn't everybody just, you

know, it almost makes those that
are not board certified seem

like, not lazy, but just like,
Well, why, why wouldn't

everybody become board
certified? Almost like there's a

different level or standard of
practice. And for me personally,

I wanted to meet the highest
standard that was set, you know.

So if there's a level of
expectation that the ABO sets, I

wanted to make sure that I was
meeting it or exceeding it. So

for me personally, it was really
important to become board

certified. And I never wanted to
be in a position where somebody

was comparing me, if I was un
board, if I was not board

certified, to another board
certified orthodontist, saying,

why didn't you do it? I never
wanted to have to answer that

question. Yeah. So I would
encourage any young orthodontist

to become board certified, yeah.

Alison Werner: On a day to day
level, back in your office, what

does being board certified bring
to your practice? You talked

about there with a patient who
has a husband who or husband

who's a physician, but just on a
day to day level, what does it

mean for you clinically?

Dr Jane Wright: Well, I feel
more confident knowing that I

have knowledge of the most
recent research studies, the

latest techniques, the lectures
that come to us are coming from

all over the world. So these are
not just US-based lectures and

presenters that are coming to
speak to us. It really is the

cutting edge around the world of
what's going on. And so I come

back with a different level of
confidence, feeling really good

about the choices I'm making for
patients and the treatment plans

that I'm presenting. But you
know, I can also very proudly

display my ABO pamphlets in our
welcome brochures for patients.

And, you know, I've got my back
on the wall. It just It means a

lot to me knowing that I that
I've done this extra training,

and I think it means a lot to my
patients as well.

Alison Werner: Well, I'm
actually curious, how did you

decide to go beyond just
membership in the College of

Diplomates and actually join the
council?

Dr Jane Wright: Well, I was
asked to join by Ashok Kothari,

an orthodontist in Illinois, and
I remember when he called me one

cold February night and asked me
if I would consider being on the

council just I was blown away. I
mean, I think that my name was

probably brought up because of
my dad, and people would always

see me at meetings. They knew
that I grew up coming to College

of Diplomate meetings, so they
probably knew that I had a

vested interest in the College
and helping maintain and promote

and encourage membership, so
that's probably why I was asked.

And I really had to think about
it, because, you know, I'm a

busy mom and running a practice
and full time orthodontist, but

it is, it's, it's a really
powerful, meaningful position,

and I really enjoy being on the
College Council.

Alison Werner: For those who are
eligible to join the College of

Diplomates or who have left
their membership lapse, how can

they join or get their
membership reinstated?

Dr Jane Wright: Yes. So this is
what we've noticed has been

happening. Is the, you know, the
AAO sends out membership fees,

saying you need to renew your
membership. And then the ABO

sends an email saying your
membership is due. And even

between those two, you start to
think, didn't I just pay this?

But then the College of
Diplomates send an email saying

your membership payment is due,
and some of us have support

staff or front desk team or
spouses that are helping us pay

our membership dues, and it's
really easy for these do slip

through the cracks. And a lot of
active CDABO members have

accidentally, you know, been
dropped from membership. Not

accidental on our side,
accidental on their side, where

they don't realize they get
renewed. So if you aren't sure,

or if you know for sure you've
been dropped and you want to

renew, you would email our
executive director, and it's

just info at cdabo.org, and we
can either check on your

membership status or reinstate
you. And there is, I think, a

one year's like log, almost like
a penalty fee to read to be

reinstated. But otherwise, our
membership fees are phenomenal,

especially compared to AAO and a
lot of other larger membership

fees. So it's worth it. It's
certainly worth it. Yeah.

Alison Werner: well, Dr Wright,
thank you so much for joining me

today and kind of explaining the
differences and the importance

of board certification, I really
appreciate.

Dr Jane Wright: Absolutely.
Thank you for having me.

Alison Werner: As always. Thank
you for joining us. Be sure to

subscribe to the Orthodontic
Products podcast to keep up with

the latest episodes. And be sure
to check out

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news. Until next time, take care.