It's less than accreditation, but more than a pat on the back; when the Academy of General Dentistry bestows its Program Approval for Continuing Education (PACE) on a continuing education program, dentists take notice.
Align Technology, makers of Invisalign, just nabbed PACE approval for its CE courses. That means Align's training programs can earn dentists credit hours towards AGD Fellowship and Mastership awards. Align's aim? To provide Invisalign dentists (both vets and newcomers) with a range of training options, in a variety of formats. The ultimate goal, of course, is to sell more Invisalign units, and the AGD's nod won't be lost on the organization's 33,000 members.
PACE helps dentists identify quality programs that have met the AGD's standards--notably the design, planning, and implementation of an educational program. As the AGD is quick to point out, PACE isn't an endorsement of products or content. But any organization receiving PACE must have offered CE programs for at least a year that "have a sound scientific basis, proven efficacy, and ensure public safety."
