News and meetings

The National Commission invites public comment on the following application that has been submitted for dental specialty certifying board recognition:

The American Certifying Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology has submitted an application (PDF) requesting recognition as the national certifying board for Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology.

Comment Period and Deadline

The National Commission policy provides that public comment on an application’s compliance with the ADA Requirements for Recognition of National Certifying Boards for Dental Specialists is to be solicited for a sixty (60) day period. Accordingly, written comments will be accepted through 5:00 pm Central Standard Time (CST) on Friday, November 13, 2026.  
 
Any comments received after the 5:00 pm (CST) deadline on November 13, 2026 will not be considered by the National Commission.

Important to know before submitting comments

The National Commission will only accept comments submitted by electronic mail. Written comments that are mailed to the National Commission via the United States Postal Service will not be accepted.

Please review the comment guideline sheet designed by the National Commission below. It is intended to better assist the communities of interest with interpreting the Requirements for Recognition of National Certifying Boards for Dental Specialists and providing comments on applications for recognition. 

Guidelines for submitting comments (PDF)

Comments must be objective and pertain only to the applicant’s compliance with the Requirements for Recognition of National Certifying Boards for Dental Specialists.

The National Commission will disregard these types of comments: 

• that are not related to the Requirements for Recognition of National Certifying Boards for Dental Specialists
• that are not objective
• that include Protected Health Information (PHI)
• that include Personally Identifiable Information (PII) 
• that violate the American Dental Associations’ Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct 
• that contain any unprofessional remarks

If the National Commission receives form letters with duplicate content signed by different individuals, the letters will be counted as one (1) letter signed by multiple submitters.

Comments should be submitted to the director, National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards at: nationalcommission@ada.org 

The National Commission on Recognition of Dental Specialties and Certifying Boards (National Commission) seeks two public members:

• one to serve as a Commissioner
• one to serve on the National Commission Appeal Board

Both positions are a four-year term beginning October 2026 and concluding in the fall of 2030. The application for submitting nominations is now available, and self-nominations are welcome. The deadline for submission is September 25, 2026. The National Commission will review candidates in September of 2026, with a decision announced in early October 2026.

The National Commission's mission is to protect the public and the profession through objective and transparent review of the recognized and prospective dental specialty sponsoring organizations and certifying boards based on the Requirements for Recognition of Dental Specialties and National Certifying Boards for Dental Specialists.

Public members play a vital role in bringing the public/consumer perspective to the deliberations of Board of Commissioners and Appeal Board Hearing Panel. This perspective allows the public member to function as the Board member with the least amount of inherent bias, nor are they subject to potential undue influence from an appointing organization. Candidates should have an interest in, or knowledge of, health professions related to education matters but must not have a formal or informal connection to the profession of dentistry. 

The representative of the public should not have any formal or informal connection to the profession of dentistry. To serve, the public member must not be a:

• Dentist or member of an allied dental discipline
• Dental educator or allied dental educator
• An employee of the American Dental Association
• An employee or member of a governing board of any dentally related corporation, business, organization, or association
• An employee of a state dental board
• A patient of record of a past or current commissioner or past or current officer of a group petitioning for recognition; or
• A spouse, parent, child, or sibling of an individual identified above (a through f)

Nominees interested in being considered can submit a completed nomination form (link below) to NationalCommission@ada.org no later than September 25, 2026. 

We invite you to share this information with individuals who meet the qualifications and encourage them to apply! Your assistance is critical in helping the National Commission identify an individual who will be committed to the mission and vision of protecting public health and the dental profession. For questions or additional information, please contact the National Commission director at NationalCommission@ada.org. 

The National Commission's published newsletter is available to download. Articles include information on the Annual Report of the Recognized Dental Specialty Certifying Boards, a Message from the Chair of the National Commission and other topics of interest.

View the National Commission Newsletter (PDF).