Five questions for CEO Dr Kate More on her first six months at the ADA

1. What have been your key takeaways from your first six months as CEO of the ADA? 

Stepping into this role, I was struck by the breadth of work the ADA network undertakes to support members and by the opportunity to unify and align efforts to ensure we meet the needs of existing and prospective members of diverse backgrounds and career journeys, wherever they work or live. 

It's clear the ADA has a vital role to play supporting, developing and representing member locally and nationally - whether in clinical practice as practice owners, in private, public or corporate practice, in academia or in research and in different geographies, all of which generate their own dynamics. Focusing collective efforts and services on value to members and meeting their needs now and in the longer-term will allow ADA to maintain and grow credibility as the professional home and voice of the profession.  

Achieving this requires core insights, an appreciation of drivers of trends, agility, an operating model that delivers the national voice and local support that members value, and deep understanding of members’ needs. Together we can have an opportunity to create a seamless, best of breed and contemporary member experience. To that end, I have been focused on improving our ways of working, taking a longer-term strategic view and prioritising improvements that ensure ADA has the skills, insights and agility to meet the needs of members across their career course. ADA's offerings must support members in public and private practice, metropolitan, regional and remote areas, on different career pathways and at all career stages. It’s why high impact member representation, advocacy support, and education and training are so vital. 
  

2. What are the biggest challenges facing the ADA and the profession right now? 

 
There is no doubt the profession faces numerous challenges from protected title and scope of practice to voluntary practice accreditation, and from access to care, and rising costs for service provision. Equally, the profession faces increasing competition, corporatisation, and declining rates of member participation and practice ownership. The average dental practice has to comply with nine pieces of legislation. Compliance is a significant burden in a time of rising costs and issues of affordability. Unsurprisingly, rates of practice ownership are in decline.

Workforce dynamics also create challenges. New graduates’ needs – often commencing their career carrying more than $330k in education debt – vary to those who entered the workforce 20 years ago. The increased feminisation of the workforce, increased preference for more flexible hours post-Covid, and desire for a lifestyle around work are changing workforce supply and create new needs. Anyone taking a career break will have compliance with recency of practice requirements, and practices can expect to need to employ more than one dentist to fill a single FTE. The increased costs of compliance, demand for wages and costs of living and operating, are all squeezing our members, and seeing consumers delay or avoid care brings its own challenges of complex care.

This is why ADA’s federal election campaign - Time to Act campaign – is so critical. It underscores the urgent need for policy solutions that address the financial barriers preventing accessible dental care that can be the preventer or early intervention for oral health, rather than the ambulance at the bottom or a cliff. 

3. How is the ADA working with its regional branches and sections to support members? 

 
A key strength the ADA network is the local support, member engagement and professional community within State branches, and the role of national coordination, advocacy and support for the profession, membership and the ADA network. Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with branch leaders, their Councils and their members, and it’s clear that the federal office can do more to improve collaboration, transparency and communication so that members are best served by the federal office and ADA branches. We also have a role to play to ensure members are prepared for the future of dentistry that is coming. It is also clear we face collective challenges and opportunities and the value we offer members is in our interests to strengthen and consistently demonstrate. This awareness has informed the priorities strategically, operationally and culturally. our branch teams are facing similar challenges and opportunities but are equally passionate about improving the member experience.  

The ADA network is the strongest when collaborating in the interests of the profession, the membership and the oral health of the community. We have the opportunity to continue to strengthen and enhance the services we offer, the value we deliver and the voice we have. 

Through shared resources, coordinated advocacy, and knowledge exchange, we can deliver greater value to members—whether that’s through improved professional development opportunities, expanded practice support, greater support in an academic or research career or a stronger voice in shaping policy decisions.  

A united approach ensures that we are not only meeting the immediate needs of members but also positioning the profession for long-term success. 

4. What’s coming up that you’re most looking forward to? 

 
One of the most significant initiatives on the immediate horizon is the Board’s strategy session in March. This is a critical opportunity to refine our focus and set out a clear vision for where the ADA needs to go over the coming years. It’s more than simply responding to the challenges of today but ensuring we are proactive in shaping the future of dentistry. 

Another exciting development is the NAB Health Consumer Spending Insights – Dental Focus Reports, which will provide a deeper understanding of the financial and operational realities facing dental practices. By analysing this HICAPS data provided by the NAB Health team, we’ll be able to provide members with valuable insights on practice performance, financial trends, and the broader economic forces shaping dentistry. The ADA is driven in its mission to support members by three key objectives, one of which is to help enhance their ability to provide safe, high-quality professional oral health care to their patients. We do this in numerous ways, including supporting an effective voluntary practice accreditation scheme. 

I'm looking forward to the 2025 Australian Dental Congress in Perth, where I’ll have the opportunity to engage with not just our members, but also international colleagues and explore how other dental associations are tackling shared challenges. Our Congress presents an invaluable opportunity for sharing knowledge, learning from global best practice, and uniting the profession in a high engagement environment for all who attend.  

5. Where do you see the ADA in another six months? 

Over the next six months, we will be sharpening our advocacy efforts to ensure that contract reform remains a top political priority, while also addressing wider issues such as workforce sustainability and public awareness of oral health. 

A key recent milestone was the Board Strategy Day in March—which was an opportunity to assess the organisation’s direction, refine its priorities, and ensure a strong position to deliver the best outcomes for members and the wider oral health of the community. This session will play a crucial role in shaping the ADA’s advocacy efforts, membership engagement, and long-term vision.

Internally, we are making changes to ensure that membership remains valuable and relevant. This includes consistently communicating the unique value of the products and services we offer, making it easier to access these services in a digital first environment, and ensuring that we are delivering high-quality resources that help our members navigate their professional lives with confidence.  

The Future of Dentistry project is a key initiative the ADA has been driving, to be launched and advanced in coming months. This strategy has been shaped through extensive consultation with our members and the wider sector, whose firsthand experience and insights have been instrumental in identifying the challenges and opportunities facing the profession. While evolution and change will be a constant, the Future of Dentistry project provides us with the clarity to plan, create and ready the profession and the ADA for the challenges and opportunities ahead. 

Perhaps most importantly, I want the ADA to be a more visible and united force. Whether through stronger collaboration with branches, greater engagement with policymakers, better support for members, or more proactive public advocacy, our goal is to ensure that dentistry is recognised as an essential pillar of healthcare—and that our members feel fully supported in their work.