After finishing my residency and returning home to begin my career, my first dental meeting wasn’t a big conference or a $5,000 weekend class at some institute: it was the monthly meeting of the Snohomish County Dental Society. I was introduced to the audience as a new attendee, and later I was welcomed personally by several individuals. The whole occasion was very collegial, and I immediately felt like I was a part of the local dental community. 

Component societies are often run on a shoestring budget, and we don’t give them enough credit for the important role they play in our professional lives. I’d like to discuss several of the benefits my component society has offered me over the years: 

Peer networking: For some of us, the primary benefit of our local society is the way they bring dentists together for professional socializing and collaborating. I frequently hear conversations between generalists and specialists about difficult patients. On multiple occasions, I’ve brought photos or diagnostic casts to dinner meetings to informally bounce ideas off other dentists. While often lasting only a couple of minutes, these in-person collaborations are invaluable and benefit both doctors and patients.

Continuing Education: Most general meetings offer a chance for continuing education hours. The smaller venues lend themselves well to robust discussion and more interaction between speaker and audience than can be found at larger meetings. Additionally, it gives emerging speakers a chance to hone their skills before going before a larger audience.

Volunteer Opportunities: For the dentists who aren’t as excited about going to meetings, or whose schedules don’t align with the local society meetings, components can offer volunteer opportunities. In Snohomish County, one of the big events is Toothapalooza held at the Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett. We get a great turnout of volunteer dentists, and for many of them, the volunteer event is one of their favorite member benefits.

Social Events: Additionally, our society has recently introduced a family-friendly social night during the summer at Everett’s minor league baseball park. Again, there are society members who don’t participate in much else, but have a great time relaxing with their peers at this event.

Leadership Opportunities: Component societies are a reliable training ground for young leaders. The vast majority of dentists who serve in state and national leadership capacities started at the component level and gradually take on greater responsibilities as they became more comfortable with it. Additionally, components are small enough that one person’s energy and motivation can make a meaningful difference. If you’re highly driven and willing to champion a good oral health cause, your component society can help get the word out.

Peer Review: While it’s rarely discussed, components like mine have a review board that handles patient complaints of dentists, giving both providers and patients a last chance to resolve differences before escalating to more formal channels. Most of us hope to never use this service, but it’s good to know it’s there.

Group Collaboration: A component society can effectively collaborate with other groups to help members get advice, supplies and local regulatory information — whether that’s helping obtain PPE during a pandemic or working with local health districts on oral health matters.

Component societies are small groups with significant budgetary constraints, and they aren’t going to solve the world’s oral health problems. But they can make a real difference in your practice and your career, and they serve a vital role in welcoming our newest members and introducing them to the value and community of organized dentistry.

Your active participation matters more at the local level than at any other. I challenge you to reflect on the culture and benefits of your component society. Is it providing you and your peers with the benefits you’re looking for at the local level? What is your society doing best? Are there areas for growth, especially among offerings for our newer members? You may find yourself surprised by some of the benefits you were unaware of and inspired by what the future of your component could be.