This is NDA

The Norwegian Dental Association (NDA) is a professional association and trade union for dentists in Norway. The association safeguards the professional, financial and social interests of dentists. We have approximately 6600 members (2024), and the large majority of all working dentists are members (>90%). Our primary tasks are related to dental health policies, the working and operating conditions for dentists, and postgraduate education. The association's secretariat is situated at Christiania Torv 5 in the center of Oslo.

Vision
To have competent and content members with satisfied patients in a population with good oral health.

Objective
The main tasks of the association are to represent dentists' interests to political environments, authorities, and professional communities, safeguard dentists' interests in matters related to professional and work life, and provide professional and work life guidance for dentists and dental students in Norway. Furthermore, the NDA is to be the primary provider of continuing education for dentists, publish the Norwegian Dental Association's Journal, and stay updated on events relevant to the dental profession while maintaining good communication with its members. NDA focuses on promoting the authority and reputation of the dental profession, and represent any part of this, in questions relating to the profession and in relation to the public authorities; to promote collegial solidarity; and to promote odontological science and measures focused on improving dental health.

Local associations
The NDA has 21 local associations that represent the pillars of the association. There is a local association in each county, with few exceptions. Any individual who is a member of the NDA must also be a member of a local association.

The by-laws of the association state that the local associations shall represent the NDA in their local area and promote the objectives of the NDA. They shall keep the NDA informed of anything within their areas that may be of significance to the national association's activity areas and assist them in their work. The local associations are subject to the NDA's decisions in national matters, but they have the right to decide on local maters. The local associations shall consult nevertheless with the executive board in local matters where significant public interest may be expected due to the nature of the matter.

How is the NDA managed
The executive committee is the NDA's highest body and is managed by a collegium of chairmen. The executive board is part of the executive committee, but they do not hold any voting rights. The members qualified to vote are the representatives for the local associations. Specialist associations and student members are also represented, but they do not hold any voting rights.

The executive board manages the activities of the association. The president, vice president and six members are elected by the executive committee. The chairman of the central negotiating committee is also a member of the executive board. One of the executive board's ordinary members from the private sector is the chairman of the central commerce committee. The president is the association's highest executive.

The central negotiating committee shall safeguard the salaries and working conditions for dentists in the public sector, and the responsibility for negotiating and entering into agreements on behalf of the NDA has been delegated to this committee.

The central negotiating committee shall safeguard issues of significant interest to private practicing dentists, including the operating and working conditions in private business activities.

Negotiation schemes
The NDA negotiates with a number of parties on behalf of salaried dentists, primarily in the public sector. The negotiation activities take place both locally and centrally in accordance with the guidelines laid down in the "Regulations for the NDA's activities subject to collective agreements". As a member of the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations, the NDA participates in this central federation's negotiations in the areas where we have members.

Centrally, the negotiation activities are safeguarded by the central negotiating committee. Locally, the negotiations are managed by local committees of representatives. From 2007 the NDA will be arranging an annual collective agreement conference. A forum on wage policy will be held every other year, and the central negotiating committee will be elected by this forum.

Ethical rules
An important goal for the association is to promote a dignified practice of the dental profession. Binding ethical rules and collegial regulations have therefore been prepared. These rules, which are determined by the dentists themselves, are based on generally accepted norms for ethics, good morals and time-honoured practices in the profession.

Complaints board
All local associations have their own complaints board, which is available to both dentists and patients. The board is a service offering for cases where the dentist and patient disagree on issues related to the treatment provided. The board's decisions are not binding on the patient, who may take the case further to the authorities or the courts. However, members of the NDA are obligated to abide by the board's decisions. There is, however, a central board of appeal that dentists may refer the case to in the event that he/she finds the complaints board's decision to be unreasonable. There are separate complaints boards for cases involving orthodontics and implant treatment.

Continuing education
A number of postgraduate courses are held, both locally and centrally, for dentists and other dental personnel under the direction of the NDA centrally and the local associations. The courses offered by the local associations are comprehensive and quite varied. Some local associations arrange regular, annual meetings with a regional scope (Western Norway meeting, Central Norway meeting and the Loen meeting), and attendance at these meetings is high. The centrally managed postgraduate activities include the Dental Association's systematic further education (TSE), semiannual symposiums (one in Oslo in March and in Tromsø in June), and the annuan National Convention.

The NDA has adopted its own guidelines for the compulsary continuing education of dentists. These guidelines include the association's mandatory quota for necessary updating for practicing dentists - a standard that the dentists can measure their own continuing dental education activities against. All members have access to their own status in the system on the association's website.

Specialists
From 2006 there are certified odontological specialties in the following fields: endodontics (root canal), orthodontics (braces), oral surgery and oral medicine, oral radiology (x-rays), pedodontics (child dentistry), periodontics (gum disease), as well as prosthetics and bite functions (implants, crowns, bridges, dentures). The specialist fields have their own associations, who participate in the NDA's organisational activities, but the specialist associations do not have any independent voting rights.

The NDA's journal
The journal of the Norwegian Dental Association was founded in 1890, and it is the only Norwegian independent professional journal for dentists. The mission of this journal, which is published by the NDA, is to present scientific articles and academic material as part of the further education of dentists. Furthermore, it shall function as a debate forum for the discussion of issues related to health and dental policies, as well as policies related to the profession and association of interest to dentists and other dental health personnel. The journal is published 11 times a year and has a staff of four employees. See www.tannlegetidende.no for more information

Secretariat
The NDA's secretariat is chaired by a secretary-general and currently (2024) has 28 permanent employees, including the journal staff. The primary tasks of the secretariat are related to dental health policies, advice to members, information, negotiations, continuing dental education, specialists, management of the association, and publication of the journal.

Sist oppdatert: 13. april 2024