MAJOR ACTIVITIES OF TDA

• Performs and coordinates General Assembly.
• Approves and  executes  the decisions taken in the General Assembly
• Based on the suggestions of the dental chambers, determines the mi­nimum and compulsory costs of the dental examination and the treatment that the oral health professionals provide and have to comply with and then submits the list to the Ministry of Health.
• Prepares and supervises the necessary regulations for maintaining and improving the professional and ethical aspects of the profession.
• Makes effort to establish and maintain the ethical codes between the dentists and the dental patients.
• Aims to improve the quality of the profession in every field of dentistry.
• Determines the standards.
• Carries out the projects with related organizations to improve the quality of public
• Oral-dental health.
• Puts the continuous education programmes into practice in order to keep up the colleagues up-to-date and comply with the current developments and trends in dentistry.

TDA, works as a partner with the related governmental and public officers to provide reasonable solutions for the matters of the profession. The President of TDA is a member of the Supreme Health Council and attends to the regular meetings and contributes to the decision-making process. TDA is also a member of the National AIDS Commission of the Ministry of Health.  TDA is also in touch with the non-governmental organizations   for the sake of   public benefits.

Dental chambers which have close and direct relationship with the colleagues represent TDA on a local basis. It is compulsory for the colleagu­es to be a member of the local dental chambers to perform private dental practice. Local dental chambers and TDA work in coordination to improve the quality of the profession and support the members in every aspect. 

Continuing Dental Education Programme

Continuing dental education programme of TDA aims to improve the knowledge and experience in all fields of dentistry and keep up-to-da­te with current concepts, technology, trends and developments. Continuing dental education programme (through scientific events, journals and internet) is available since 1998. To dentist who fulfills the requirements in a two-years time is given a certificate for continuing education which is valid for 2 years time by TDA. Since the beginning of this program­me a total of 1985 dentists were provided with this certificate. TDA also financially supports the local dental chambers in their continuing dental education attempts.

Financial Sources

Basic financial sources of TDA are listed here below:

Basic financial sources of TDA are listed below:

• 25% of the  gross revenue  of the local dental chambers
• Revenues to be provided by the social and  cultural  activities
• The revenues that will be provided by the distribution of    any printed documentary, notebook, etc.
• Donations and grants
• Miscellaneous revenues

Designated Funds

Specific activities of TDA are put into practice through the funds which are allocated for these purposes. TDA has two kinds of designated funds, to be used for the activities which are related to the   public oral dental health and/or to be used during disaster time.

• Public Oral-Dental Health Fund; founded in order to decrease the prevalence and severity of the oral diseases and to improve the public consciousness regarding the oral health.
• Disaster Fund: founded to assist and support the colleagues who suffers from the natural disasters, serious diseases, terror, accidents, etc. so cannot practice dentistry and/or to support the spouses and children who are not of age of the colleagues who have passed away.

Regulations and Rules (published)

TDA has the following regulations which are published. These guidelines are periodically published on our web site in order to keep our members up-to-date with the new regulations of the profession.

• Regulation on Private Dental Health Services which deliver private oral care
• Disciplinary regulations of TDA and dental  chambers
• Regulations on the working basis of the dentists who are contracted by TDA and Dental  Chambers
• Regulations on the execution of the facilities in TDA and the Dental Chambers
• Regulations on the establishment and the operations of the Commissions of TDA and Dental Chambers
• Regulations on Congress and fairs

 Other Regulations

• Continuing dental education (CDE)
• TDA Student Section
• Appointing an arbitrator for the dispute resolution between the dentist and patient and/or between the the colleagues
• Appointing an expert for the dispute resolution between the dentists and patient or patients` legal dependents
• Functioning of the provision regarding the use of the congruency and the approval of the logos  related to the Oral Health Products
• The searching methods for the conformity of the Oral Health Products
• Scholarship fund to be given to the pupils of Faculty of Dentistry by TDA and The Dental Chambers
• TDA Scientific Research Promotion and Service Awards
• TDA Mutual-aid Fund
• TDA Dental Chambers - Training Instructor Dentists
• Utilization from  the Public Oral Health Fund of TDA
• TDA Public Oral Health Education Studies

Regulations and Standardization

In 1999, TDA put a new regulation into practice concerning the determination of the medical and the physical standards of private dental practice (dental offices, clinics, oral-dental health centers) in Turkey. This new regulation on standardization determines every aspect of the private dental practice including the physical features of the operating room and the other parts of the dental office, sterilization, emergency conditions and management of clinical solid waste. Based on these standards, local dental chambers were requested to evaluate the dental offi­ces in far compliance and colleagues were given license based on these evaluations. TDA believes that this regulation will significantly contribute to the improvement of the profession and the quality of oral-dental he­alth services in Turkey. TDA is willing to share this knowledge and experience with the associations of the countries lacking such a regula­tion.

Congress Organizations

Since 1992, each year a scientific dental congress is held by TDA. With the great number of attendance, quality of the scientific programme and dental exhibition, this congress is one of the major scien­tific events in Turkey. TDA has organized 1 national and 16 international dental congresses and dental exhibitions which are listed below:

• 1992 - İzmir (International)
• 1994 - İstanbul  (International)
• 1995 - İstanbul (National)
• 1996 - Ankara (International)
• 1997 - İstanbul  (nternational)
• 1998 - Bursa (International)
• 1999 - İstanbul (International - FDI/TDA joint congress)
• 2000 - Mersin (International)
• 2001 - İstanbul (International)
• 2002  - İzmir    (International)
• 2003 - Antalya (International)
• 2004 - İstanbul  (International)
• 2005 - İstanbul  (International)
• 2006 - Samsun   (International)
• 2007 - İstanbul  (International)  
• 2008 - İstanbul (International)
• 2009 - İstanbul (International)
• 2010 - 17th International Dental Congress of Turkish Dental Congress Association will be held in Bursa in June 2010.

Business Meetings  

• Dental Education–1996
• Public Oral-Dental Health- 1996
• Dental Education–1997
• Personal and Professional Rights–1997
• Ethics–1998
• Oral-Dental Health Products–1999
• Organization, Financial Support and presentation of Oral-Dental Health Services–2000
• Dental Products- From Production to Consumption- 2001
• TDA General Assembly of Difficulties in Delivering Oral Health Care in Public and Private Health Institutions and offers for solution – 2002
• TDA First General Assembly of Specialization in Dentistry – 2003
• TDA First General Assembly of Chair side Personnel – 2004
• General Assembly of Delivery and Financing of Dental Services & General Assembly of  Dental Services in the eve of  the EU accession – 2005
• Purchasement of the dental services from private sector and dental services in the national health insurance law & Health Tourism and its impact on dental services – 2006
• Problems of the dentists who work in the institutions of Ministry of Health, Education of Dental Technicians, Regulations and organization of Dental Technicians Health Tourism and its impact on dental services – 2007

 International Membership & Activities

TDA is a regular member of World Dental Federation (Federation Dentaire Internationale, FDI) and European Regional Organization (ERO). As a regular member, TDA complies with all of the international regulations and responsibilities. TDA regularly informs colleagues on current concepts & matters, developments and trends of the international dental world. The delegation who represents TDA participates to the re­gular meetings of FDI and ERO. In order to inform the members, reports of these meetings are also published in Journal of TDA.

TDA has two representatives in FDI`s Standing Committees. Prof. Dr. Taner Yücel (Department of Operative Dentistry) has been re-elected as a member of the Science Committee of the FDI in the General Assembly elections of FDI which was held on 24-27 September 2008 in Stockholm, Sweden and he still continues to provide support to the Science Committee.  Prof. Dr. Nermin Yamalık (Department of Periodontology) was elected into the Education Committee of FDI in Dubai Congress which was held on 24-27 October 2007 following her term and success as vice-chairman and member of the Dental Practice Committee during 2001-2007 years.    Moreover, Dr Sarkis Sözkes was appointed as CE Programme Manager for the Eastern European region by FDI on 29 November 2007. 

TDA has been represented by 3 delegates (Prof. Taner Yücel, Prof. Murat Akkaya and Prof. Nermin Yamalık) and 2 alternatives (Dr. Sarkis Sözkes and Dr. Duygu İlhan) in the 2008 Stockholm Congress of FDI.