Call for Programs

• Individuals are responsible for reading all information applicable to their proposals here and on the Presenters Corner prior to making their submissions.
• Individuals may submit proposals for up to two educational sessions.
• No individual may participate as a speaker, panelist and/or moderator for more than two times during the 2027 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition.
• The number of co-speakers is limited based on the presentation format. 
• Use of the ADEA logo: Acceptance as a presenter does not grant permission to use ADEA’s logo or branded materials. Presenters may not use the ADEA logo, ADEA-branded slides, or other ADEA-owned materials without express written authorization from ADEA. Unauthorized use may result in a request to remove the logo or forfeiture of the invitation to present.
• CERP requirements: ADEA reserves the right to review all presentation materials to ensure compliance with CERP guidelines. Presenters will be notified if revisions are required. Failure to make the requested adjustments may result in forfeiture of the invitation to present.
• Sessions may be virtual at the 2027 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition.
• Programs should be brand and vendor neutral. Submissions promoting specific product brands, services or technologies will not be considered. Large equipment cannot be demonstrated.
• Selling or promoting products is prohibited.
• Individuals submitting proposals must observe copyright and trademark rules and obtain appropriate permissions prior to submission.
• Submitters may withdraw proposals by sending a written notification to Program Submissions at programsubmissions@adea.org.
• Late submissions will not be accepted.
• All presenters must be registered for the ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition and pay the conference rates.
• NEW: There are new changes in the CE guidelines expected. If your submission is accepted, you may be required to deliver your final presentation for review as early as 30-60 days before the conference.

• Academic affairs administrators
• ADEA Leadership Institute alumni
• Advanced dental educators and students
• Association members
• Allied dental educators and students
• Biomedical science faculty
• Clinic administrators
• Clinicians
• Clinical faculty
• Corporations
• Curriculum developers
• Deans
• Government relations experts
• Health professions advisors
• Informatics experts
• Interdisciplinary teams
• Leadership trainers
• Predoctoral dental educators and students
• Program directors
• Public health and community health specialists
• Researchers
• ADEA Sections and Special Interest Groups
• Student Affairs professionals
• Technology specialists

Submissions are accepted for:

1. Educational sessions
   1. Seminars
   2. Workshops
   3. Short Talks
   4. New Idea Sessions
   5. Small Group Discussions
2. Poster presentations
3. ADEA TechExpo presentations
4. ADEA Corporate Council educational submissions

Learn more about 2027 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition presentation formats.

Although programs for all levels of experience are welcome, the ADEA Annual Session Program Committee seeks to increase the proportion of higher-level programs that would be of interest to faculty with 10 or more years of experience. The Annual Session Program Committee seeks a balance of programming to reflect the experience levels of attendees:

We recommend that you write your proposal in a word processing program and then paste it into the submission site. Please avoid the use of abbreviations and commercial product names.

Titles: Abstract titles are limited to 10 words and should be entered in title case, following AP style. Titles should not be bold, italicized or in “all caps.”

Submission Type: Please review the full list of submission types on our Presentation Formats page before selecting one for your submission. Should your submission be accepted, your chosen submission type will determine your room setup and the AV provided.

Presenters/Authors: Please confirm that your co-presenters are willing and able to present on any of the conference dates (March 13-17, 2027 in Chicago) before submitting your proposal. Each presenter/author should be added separately to the submission.

• If you are submitting a poster, the first author listed in your submission will be identified as the presenting author. The order of the authors can be modified at any time prior to the abstract deadline.

Abstract Text: Educational session abstracts should contain no more than 100 words. Do not include references. If your proposal is accepted, your abstract text will be posted online.

Description: Educational session descriptions should contain no more than 100 words and be formatted as an outline including content, activities and timing of segments. The description is used for the review process only and will not be posted online.

Institutional Review Board (IRB): When prompted, the authors should identify IRB status by stating whether listing if their submission involves human subject research and therefore needs IRB approval, or if their submission is purely conceptual and does not need IRB approval. Submissions for research projects involving human subjects that are not IRB-approved or carry a status of “pending” shall be deemed ineligible for consideration.

To ensure poster and education session submissions comply with federal regulations requiring that research projects involving human subjects be reviewed by an Institutional Review Board (IRB), ADEA requires that all such submissions carry a status of IRB-approved or IRB-exempt. ADEA requires IRB numbers to be provided for applicable poster submissions. For IRB-exempt submissions, authors are required to affirm that their submission meets their institution’s requirements for IRB-exemption. Submissions for research projects involving human subjects that are not IRB-approved or carry a status of “pending” shall be deemed ineligible for consideration. IRB-approved submissions that fail to include the IRB number or IRB-exempt submissions without affirmation of meeting institutional policies on IRB-exemption will not be reviewed or accepted by ADEA.

For details on IRB requirements, please consult your institution’s guidelines.

Learning Objectives: Write clear and focused learning objectives. Learning objectives tell participants what the programming will teach them or enable them to do.

Audience Interaction: Describe how your educational session will engage the audience and solicit participation in no more than 50 words. Adults learn most effectively through engagement and interactivity. All educational programs must include participant interaction activities.

Designations: When submitting educational programs, you may indicate whether you would like your session to be considered for an ADEA SoTLfest, ADEA CCI, ADEA LIAA or ADEA Section or SIG designation.

Keywords: Proposals must include one professional interest keyword, one dental education keyword, one target audience and one domain.

View available Domain/Keyword choices (PDF) and on the submission site.

Submitting your proposal: Proofread your submission before submitting it. The submission site does not include a spelling or grammar check feature. (Consequently, we recommend that you write your proposal in a word processing program and then paste it into the submission site.) Once the deadline passes, you will not be able to edit your proposal.

View example of educational proposal (PDF) and example of poster proposal (PDF).

Download the Preparing Your Submission Checklist (PDF).

Submitters have the option to apply for funding from the ADEA Council of Sections Program Fund.

To apply for funding, you must submit your session proposal via the link below:

COS Program Fund Submission Site

At the 2026 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition, there are 10 learning domains to help attendees find the most relevant programs:

1. Academic & Administrative Affairs
   Programs and posters that focus on accreditation, admissions, advocacy, curriculum development, mapping, innovation development and alumni relations, institutional and organization development and diverse recruitment and retention.
2. Assessment
   Programs and posters focus on competency assessment, education assessment, educational outcomes, licensure and certification and program evaluation.
3. Health Advocacy
   Programs and posters that focus on community health and dental public health, health care systems, health policies, workforce policies, medical and dental integration, disaster preparedness and climate change.
4. Health and Wellness (Academic Community and/or Patients)
   Programs and posters that focuses on diversity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), personal and academic counseling, women’s health, LGBTQ health, occupational health, mental health and burnout and the effects of climate change.
5. New Technologies
   Programs and posters that address distance education, online digital learning resources, information management and digital applications, educational technology, and artificial intelligence.
6. Patient Care
   Programs and posters that focus on ethics and professionalism, cultural competency, family and domestic violence, jurisprudence and legal issues, patient safety and medical errors, quality assurance, substance abuse disorder and tobacco cessation, patients with disabilities, women’s oral and systemic health and interprofessional collaborative care.
7. Pedagogy/Andragogy
   Programs and posters that focuses on cognition, human learning and problem solving, communications and interpersonal skills, critical thinking, educational methodologies, and materials, interprofessional education and collaborative care, problem-based learning, case-based learning, team-based learning, and service learning.

List of keywords for each domain (PDF)

Program proposals are assessed based on their content and relevance, clarity, format, degree of learner interactivity, quality of writing, value of learning objectives, past successes of similar presentations, number of other submissions on the same topic, historical speaker evaluation ratings and the proposal’s overall contribution to the 2026 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition.

Each completed submission is peer reviewed and evaluated by the Annual Session Program Committee using the criteria provided in the following evaluation rubrics:

• Educational Programs (Seminars, Workshops, Short Talks and Small Group Discussions) Rubric (PDF)
• Educational Programs (Corporate Track) Rubric (PDF)
• ADEA New Idea Rubric (PDF)
• ADEA TechExpo Rubric (PDF)
• Educational Poster Rubric (PDF)
• ADEA New Program Poster Rubric (PDF)

View examples of well-written educational session (PDF) and poster (PDF) proposals.

The American Dental Education Association is an ADA CERP recognized provider.

ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. Concerns or complaints about a continuing education (CE) provider may be directed to the provider or to the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition at CCEPR.ada.org.

ADEA will announce the maximum number of continuing education credit available by early January 2027.

ADEA promotes peer-reviewed content supported by scientific principles or methods that can be substantiated with scientific literature that is current, relevant and part of the curriculum of an accredited U.S. or Canadian dental education program. Such literature should also employ components of evidence-based dentistry. ADEA also mandates that educational content present a balanced view of therapeutic options and that generic names—not specific drugs, devices, services, commercial entities and logos, or a commercial entity’s techniques—be used. Content and images and other media within this presentation must be used with permission, comply with applicable copyright and trademark law, have not been falsified and do not mispresent the outcome of any treatment provided and all images must comply with HIPAA, OSHA, PPE and other relevant regulations and standards.

The viewpoints expressed by guest(s), speaker(s), facilitator(s) and presenter(s) are purely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of their employer or any organization or group with whom they may be affiliated. Expressed viewpoints and opinions by speaker(s), presenter(s), guest(s) and facilitator(s) are also not those of ADEA, ADEA staff or the ADEA Board of Directors. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity or therapy should not be construed as an endorsement by ADEA.