Who (or what) is CDABO?

If you’re a board-certified orthodontist, you may have heard of the College of Diplomates of the American Board of Orthodontics (CDABO). You may believe that because you are ABO certified, you are automatically a member of CDABO. It would be nice if that were true, and so much easier on our in-boxes, but we are two separate organizations.

The American Board of Orthodontics (ABO) establishes the requirements for board certification, oversees testing candidates, and manages recertification. There are no annual meetings, but there is a “membership fee” to keep your board status active and grant you access to patient education materials, plaques, certificates, tools, etc.

Once you earn board certification, you are invited to join The College of Diplomates. Yes, there is a separate annual membership fee, but it is less than most of us charge to remake a clear retainer. The largest confusion is that many of the annual renewal emails are generated around the same time of year as other orthodontic memberships. “Didn’t I already pay this?”  It’s important to make the distinction.

So why join CDABO? What is that annual membership fee going towards? We’re like the scientific and social party for ABO members. We’ve got boots on the ground hosting meetings, ABO prep-courses and grading resident case displays at the annual AAO meeting. Founded in 1979, the College of Diplomates meets annually, usually in July, for a family-oriented scientific meeting. Locations are generally unique, high-end resorts in locations that you might not otherwise visit. Examples include Halifax, Whistler, Halfmoon Bay, Coeur d’Alene, Kohler, Sonoma, and the list goes on. Cutting-edge, well-respected orthodontists present lectures for three half-day sessions with a small, intimate group of our peers. I’m often star-struck at our family breakfasts when program directors, textbook authors and highly published orthodontists are sitting across the table from us asking our kids what they plan to do that day.

It goes without saying that summer is a busy time in orthodontic practices around the country. However, the lectures and experiences from the annual meeting will be memories that last forever. Patients will still be there when you get back and these family experiences are precious.

I grew up with the CDABO meeting as our main summer family vacation. I remember feeling like royalty as we would arrive at gorgeous five-star resorts.  My dad would go to lectures in the morning and by the time we were all fully awake and fed, our afternoon family adventures would start! White water rafting, gondola rides, horseback riding, hot air balloon rides, all planned by the CDABO team. There are family breakfasts, a welcome reception and the president’s dinner. Some of my best family memories came from those trips so it’s understandable why I too wanted to become board certified and join The College.

The College of Diplomates is about more than just the annual meeting. We support and encourage orthodontists to become board certified and maintain their ABO status. CDABO hosts a prep-course for residents and orthodontists preparing to take the ABO exam and recently launched a recertification prep-course for orthodontists who are due to recertify. These courses are usually held two to three times per year at the AAO, the CDABO meeting and a constituent meeting and we are working to make the courses available for remote learning as well.

With the flurry of emails that we get every day, some members have missed the dues notices, not renewed their memberships and have sadly been dropped from the College of Diplomates. If you are one of them, please email info@cdabo.org and ask for your membership to be reinstated. We want you back!

Becoming and maintaining ABO certification is good for our patients, for us practitioners and it is good for the profession. It is important that we hold ourselves to the highest level of excellence and that the standard of excellence is based on current scientific literature. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed with the weight of clinical practice on our shoulders while trying to keep up with the most current studies and cutting-edge techniques. CDABO is here to support you through education and social networking. Work hard, play hard, right?

Our next meeting will be at the breathtaking Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, CO, July 11-14^th, 2025. The theme is “Back to the Future with Orthodontics.”  We hope that you will consider joining CDABO to support the mission of promoting board certification and the annual meeting of our colleges and families.  For more information, to join CDABO or renew your membership, please visit  www.cdabo.org.

Jane Wright, DDS MS  

CDABO Councilor