Academy of Laser Dentistry cancels annual meeting citing national emergency caused by the coronavirus

The Academy of Laser Dentistry (ALD) today announced that the 27^th annual conference and exhibition, which was scheduled to take place April 2-4 at the Paradise Point Resort in San Diego, cannot be held due to the coronavirus pandemic.

According to ALD Executive Director Gail Siminovsky, CAE, “Our annual conference is international in scope and in light of the global pandemic, international travel bans and President Trump’s recent declaration of a national emergency, the ALD Board of Directors made this difficult decision. Adhering to CDC and WHO recommendations and supporting the health and safety of our members and guests is our top priority.”

Despite this unfortunate situation, the ALD is moving swiftly in its preparations for Dentistry’s Laser Meeting in 2021, scheduled for April 8-10 in Alexandria, Virginia. Preliminary information will be available on the ALD website, https://www.laserdentistry.org/ during the next few weeks. 

For informational on other dental conferences cancelled recently, read this article: Growing COVID-19 concerns lead 2020 Hinman Dental Meeting and others to cancel.

In the meantime, the ALD is making every effort to accommodate everyone registered to participate in this year’s conference. For example:

• This year’s attendees will have the option for a full refund or to apply ALD 2020 tuition to next year’s conference.

• ALD 2020 speakers will have an opportunity to present during ALD 2021 and participate in a webinar in 2020.

• Exhibitors for ALD 2020 will have the option of exhibiting at ALD 2021 at no additional charge.

“Not holding this year’s conference was a difficult decision for the ALD Board of Directors,” explained Siminovsky. “So many people worked incredibly hard to develop and plan for ALD’s global meeting this year. We are all confident that ALD 2021 will raise the bar of laser education and training.” 

The ALD is the only independent and unbiased non-profit association devoted to laser dentistry and includes clinicians, academicians and researchers in all laser wavelengths. The Academy is devoted to clinical education, research, and the development of standards and guidelines for the safe and effective use of dental laser technology.