A meeting planner's guide to booking a dental speaker

This guide helps meeting planners find, vet and book a dental speaker. Planners include society staff, program chairs, study club leaders, dental school staff and company event teams. It is general education from Copeland Consulting Services. It describes a process and cites public sources for the continuing education (CE) approval facts. It does not recommend any speaker, bureau or fee. Have an attorney review any contract.

How do you start planning for a dental speaker?

Start by writing down the event facts, because every later choice depends on them. A speaker search without a clear brief produces vague replies and long email chains.

A dental conference, a study club meeting and a company lunch event each have different needs. A keynote is a talk at the main session that sets a theme, while a workshop usually asks attendees to do something. See the glossary entries for keynote and dental speaker.

Where do planners find dental speakers?

Planners usually combine several channels. No single channel fits every event.

Ask for a one-page speaker sheet, a short video of a past talk and two references from planners who booked the speaker. Compare the sheets on the same points: audience, outcomes, format, length and technical needs. The post on how to become a dental speaker explains the speaker’s side, which helps you read a speaker’s materials.

How does CE credit approval work?

Credit approval attaches to the organization that offers the education, not to the individual speaker. That one fact shapes what a host must do. Two programs matter most for dentists in the United States and Canada: the Academy of General Dentistry’s PACE and the American Dental Association’s CERP.

AGD describes PACE as based on 13 standards. Organizations that meet the standards are approved. Once approved, organizations use the standards to plan, oversee and evaluate their CE programs. AGD offers national approval and local approval, depending on where participants come from and whether the organization offers webinars, self-instruction courses or homework-based credit.

ADA CERP defines continuing dental education as activities that serve to maintain, develop or increase the knowledge, skills and professional performance and relationships that a dentist uses to provide services for patients, the public or the profession. ADA CERP says applications for recognition are reviewed by the ADA Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition, and reviewed twice a year. ADA CERP also publishes fee information for providers.

Both are covered in the PACE glossary entry. Learn more about CE credit and continuing education for dentists.

What does this mean for your event?

It means you must check your own approval before you promise credit. If your organization holds PACE approval or CERP recognition, you can award credit for activities you plan under its standards. If it does not, ask whether a co-hosting organization with approval can offer credit. Do not tell attendees credit is available until the approved provider confirms it in writing.

AGD says hours from either PACE providers or ADA CERP providers can count toward its Fellowship, Mastership and Lifelong Learning and Service Recognition awards. It also says most licensing boards accept PACE providers as valid CE providers for re-licensure. State rules differ. Dental boards decide what counts for a license. The post on Missouri dental CE requirements covers the state’s rules for attendees who hold Missouri licenses. See the pillar on dental continuing education for more.

What should you vet before you book?

Vet the speaker’s fit with your audience, not just the title. Use a short checklist:

1. Topic fit. Does the topic match the stated goal and the audience level?
2. Learning objectives. Does the speaker supply measurable objectives for the CE record?
3. Evidence. Are claims in the talk supported by sources that attendees can look up?
4. Format. Does the format fit your room, your time and your platform?
5. Disclosures. Has the speaker stated any company relationships in writing?
6. References. Have two prior planners confirmed on-time arrival, clear slides and good audience feedback?
7. Technical needs. Are the room, projector, microphone, internet and clicker needs listed?

What disclosures should a speaker provide?

A speaker who is a dentist must disclose special interests. The ADA Principles of Ethics say a dentist who presents educational or scientific information in an article, seminar or other program shall disclose to participants any monetary or other special interest the dentist may have with a company whose products are promoted or endorsed in the presentation. The Code says disclosure shall be made in any promotional material and in the presentation itself.

For a planner, that means two practical steps. Ask the speaker for a written disclosure statement when you book. Then place the disclosure in the program materials and on a slide at the start of the talk. If a company funds your event, keep that funding clear to attendees and to the speaker.

What should you send a speaker?

Send one written brief so the speaker does not have to guess. A complete brief prevents most day-of problems.

What goes in the written agreement?

A written agreement lists what each side will do. Have an attorney review it. This guide does not give legal advice or suggest terms. Common topics include:

• Date, time, session length and format
• Fee, expenses and payment schedule, if any
• Cancellation and rescheduling by either side, including illness
• Recording, handouts and who owns the slides
• Use of the speaker’s name, photo and biography in promotion
• CE credit responsibilities, disclosure and evaluation steps
• Technical needs and who supplies them

Agree on who may record the session and how recordings are used. Agree on how long you will keep evaluation forms.

What about virtual and hybrid events?

Plan virtual sessions with the same brief, plus platform details. AGD says organizations that offer webinars or self-instruction courses apply for national PACE approval, not local approval. Check with your approving organization before you offer credit for a live stream or a recording.

Add these items to the brief for a virtual or hybrid session:

• The platform, the link and the log-in steps
• Who runs the chat, the questions and the polls
• How attendance is tracked for CE records
• Who tests audio, camera and screen sharing, and when
• A backup plan if the connection drops

What if a company is paying for part of the event?

Tell attendees and the speaker. Company funding is common at dental meetings, and it does not stop an event from being useful. The planner’s job is to keep the funding clear and to keep the CE content separate from product promotion. The ADA disclosure rule above applies to a dentist who presents.

Ask your approving organization, such as PACE or CERP, what its standards say about company funding. Ask your attorney about contract terms with the company. Write the disclosure in the program and on the first slide.

What is a good timeline?

Start earlier than you think you need to. Speaker calendars fill, and CE paperwork takes time. The table below is a planning pattern, not a rule. Adjust it to your event and your approving organization’s own deadlines, which ADA CERP and AGD publish for their programs.

How do you measure results afterward?

Use short evaluations and compare them across speakers. Ask about relevance, clarity, time and whether attendees could use the material. Keep attendee comments and CE records in one file. Share summary results with the speaker. Use the results in your next search.

Planners for study clubs and society meetings can reuse the same brief and evaluation form each year. That makes comparisons fair.

Next step

For the CE background, read the pillar on dental continuing education. To ask about a speaking date, contact Dr. Copeland about speaking. Dr. Jon Copeland, DDS, is a general dentist in Wildwood, Missouri.