Welcome to The Great Lakes Association of Orthodontists!

The Great Lakes Association of Orthodontists (GLAO) is a constituent of the American Association of Orthodontists. The GLAO advocates on behalf of its members and promotes the value and advancement of the Specialty of Orthodontics. Component organizations of the GLAO include: Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Ontario (Canada), and Pennsylvania (west of the Alleghenies).

A Message from The GLAO President...

Summer is almost here!  In “normal” times, many of us would have recently returned from our regular trek to the AAO annual session.  We would be anxiously awaiting the delivery of our new equipment purchases and implementing into our practices the new things we learned at the meeting.  Unfortunately, we are all aware that these are not “normal” times, at least not yet.  The dates for the 2021 AAO annual session originally scheduled to be held in April were moved to June (25^th-27^th).  After more than a year of enduring onerous lockdowns and distancing, we were all eager to be back together again.  As a member of the planning committee for our Boston meeting, I can assure you that every effort was made to hold an in-person event for our members.  Last month, however, the continuing restrictions on gatherings within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, forced the AAO to make the difficult decision to move the program to an all-virtual format.  We simply would not have been able to deliver the experience we all desired.  The virtual program is jammed packed with 3 days of content being shared from three different speaker rooms.  In all, that makes for 9 full days of presentations.  Additionally, the AAO is working on fun virtual opportunities for us to connect with our friends and colleagues.  This meeting is a tremendous value.  Although it is not what we hoped for, it is one you will not want to miss.  I strongly encourage all of you to go online and register now (https://www.xpressreg.net/register/AAOS0421/landing.asp?sc=&aban=&hkey=&iq=&vip=&tm=).  Through all of the ups and downs of planning the annual session and through many other challenges over the last year, we were fortunate to have the strong and steady leadership of our AAO President, Dr. Chris Roberts.  I commend Chris and thank him for his many years of service. Chris and his wife Susan have represented the GLAO and the entire AAO extremely well.  We all owe them a great debt of gratitude for their significant contributions to our profession.

Although the dates and the format for the annual session were changed, the business of our Association continued.  Our annual House of Delegates meeting was held in a virtual format on the weekend of April 23^rd-25^th.  This marked the second virtual meeting of our House and this year we tackled a full slate of resolutions.  More than 30 resolutions were considered including important topics such as the funding for our Consumer Awareness Program and our Legal Support Fund, an update to our Clinical Practice Guidelines, and a consolidation/reorganization of the AAO constituents.  I assure you the GLAO delegation provided strong representation for our members during these deliberations.  Our Association continues to adapt to the rapidly changing times.  The full extent of the actions taken by the House are too numerous to discuss in this letter.  However, it is important for us all to be informed.  I encourage you to review online the convenient summary chart of the actions taken (https://www2.aaoinfo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/2021-VHOD-Final-Actions-Chart.pdf).  More detail on any of the individual resolutions can also be found online (https://www2.aaoinfo.org/about/governance-leadership/house-of-delegates/).

In conclusion, I know we were all disappointed by the necessary change to the AAO annual meeting.  However, for all of us that have been missing the in-person connection with our friends and colleagues, I have a GREAT alternative for you.  The GLAO annual session is still planned for an in-person gathering, October 14^th - 16^th in Indianapolis.  The planning committee has put together an excellent program.  Indianapolis is open, convenient to get to, and is looking forward to hosting our group.  For many of us this will be our first opportunity in more than a year to see each other in person.  So please make plans to join your friends and colleagues in the home of the historic Motor Speedway.  Let’s get “BACK ON TRACK TOGETHER”.  An invitation to register will be heading to your inbox soon (https://www.glao.org/meetings-education/2021-annual-session).  It is my continued honor and privilege to serve and represent you, the orthodontists in the Great Lakes region.  The GLAO leadership team is here as an important resource to assist you.  If I can help, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I wish you and your families continued safety and good health.

Respectfully,
Dr. Anthony Puntillo ([email protected])
2020-2021 GLAO President