Welcome to Practice
Congratulations! You’re on your way to establishing your dental career. So many opportunities are on your horizon. Let us help you! Get connected – with a mentor, or other new dentists like yourself. Join a committee! Attend a social event! There are even resources at the ADA level for you to assist with practice transitions. Read more below or contact Sara Morris, Member Engagement Coordinator, by email or (800) 223-0016 to learn more.
Nominations are now open for the 2026 New Dentist Outstanding Achievement Award. Deadline 12-15-25. Click here to nominate!
View ALL past award winners here.
Becoming a Member
Becoming a Member
Tripartite Membership
When you become a member of the Pennsylvania Dental Association (PDA), you are also joining the American Dental Association (ADA) as well as the local and district societies in your immediate practice area.
How do I join?
Complete this membership application . PDA will forward you a dues invoice if necessary. Once you remit payment of dues, you will receive a welcome email containing details of some of your many membership benefits.
What are my dues?
Recent grads are automatically enrolled in the PDA and ADA Graduate Dues Structure, which offers two years of significant savings on dues as you establish your career.
I’m entering a residency; can I still join?
If you are enrolled in a residency program, you are eligible to join the tripartite for $0 dues. This means that your ADA, PDA, and district/local society membership is complimentary while you are enrolled in your Pennsylvania residency program. You will be eligible for the due’s reductions of the Graduate Dues Structure when you complete your residency program.
Get Involved
Get Involved
There is no better way to support the dental profession than becoming actively involved in your PDA membership.
- Donate supplies to a local clinic,
- provide treatment to an underserved area (children or adults)
- join a PDA committee or advisory group to help achieve the goals of organized dentistry
PADPAC– The bipartisan political action committee of the Pennsylvania Dental Association
Advocacy Grassroots Network– Action Team Leaders and contact dentists play key roles in informing Pennsylvania state and federal lawmakers about how health-care legislation affects the dental profession and patients’ access to quality care.
New Dentist Committee
The mission of the PDA New Dentist Committee is to be the voice of new dentists within organized dentistry, to demonstrate the value of membership, to promote new dentist participation in leadership and to focus on the needs of new dentists and dental students through the development of resources, education, facilitation of networking opportunities and through advocacy.
To learn more about the New Dentist Committee, contact Sara Morris, staff liaison.
Helpful Links
Helpful Links
- ADA New Dentist Blog
- ADA Health and Wellness Resources
- Career Resources: Discover career options available to you after school and access helpful tools to guide you through your career.
- Practicing in PA: A Guide for the New Dentist – This interactive publication, known informally as the “New Dentist Roadmap,” is designed to help recent graduates and new dentists transition from dental school to daily dental practice.
- Practice Management Resources
- Child Abuse CE courses: 2 credits for re-licensure and 3 credits for getting license
Mentor Program
Through the Connections mentor program, dental students and new dentists can request mentors based on criteria like practice location, practice type and specialty. Mentors are contacted if they are a suitable match based on a mentee’s request.
PDA’s New Dentist Committee is sponsoring an incentive for mentors – after you sign up as a mentor, receive a match and make contact with the mentee, you will receive a check for $50. You can use this money to take your mentee out to lunch or dinner or cover the mentee’s cost to attend a local meeting with you. Any activity to help foster your mentoring connection!
Enroll as a mentor or mentee now by clicking the appropriate enrollment button below. With questions, please contact the membership department at (717) 234-5941. .
Come join us at our next event
New Dentist Receptions
The New Dentist Committee’s New Dentist Receptions are held twice a year with locations rotated throughout the state. The receptions invite new dentist members and non-members to join state, district and local leaders for drinks, appetizers and conversation. The professional and social networking opportunities provided by these receptions is invaluable. Beyond the obvious benefit of bringing new dentists together, for many aspiring leaders the receptions have provided the spark that has motivated them to continue to seek advancement in organized dentistry.
