Communicator The Volume Eleven, Issue One | Two Thousand and Twenty-Five And the Word of the Year is…Pg. 4 Official Publication of the American Association of Dental Editors & Journalists FEATURED Expanding Circulation, Promoting Your Association, and Archiving for the Future Pg. 12 Copyright Law and the Importance of Protecting Your Publication Pg. 15 Gen-AI Pg. 17 Established 1931
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Exciting News! We’re thrilled to announce... AADEJ’s Annual Meeting will be held at the magnificent Manchester Grand Hyatt in beautiful San Diego! Exciting Collaboration! This year, AADEJ is proud to partner with the International College of Dentists – celebrating excellence in dental journalism with an awards presentation at a joint reception following our two-day program that precedes their annual meeting. What to Look Forward To: • AADEJ’s stellar lineup of cutting-edge speakers and CE opportunities • Premium accommodations at the Embassy Suites in San Diego’s vibrant Gaslamp Quarter • Valuable networking opportunities in a stunning waterfront setting • Professional development in one of America’s most desirable destinations. Registration details are coming soon! Don’t miss this premier professional event where innovation meets inspiration by the bay! September 9-10, 2025 San Diego Awaits You! ❱ ❱ ❱
The Communicator Vol. 11 , Issue 1 Official Publication of the American Association of Dental Editors & Journalists Staff Editor-in-Chief Daniel L. Orr II, DDS, MS, Ph.D., JD, MD Associate Editor Mali Schantz-Feld, MA, CDE Executive Managing Editor Denise Maihofer, CDE Publisher Big Red M Publishing Consultant Shelby Bigelow AADEJ Board of Directors President Christopher Smiley, DDS, CDE President-Elect Jasmine Shafagh, DMD, MBS Vice-President Ed Feinberg, DMD Immediate Past President Hugh Wunderlich, DDS Secretary | Treasurer Sarah Friend, DDS Mission Statement: The mission of this Association shall be to engage in all those activities which will promote the advancement of all phases of dental journalism and dental literature. Editorial Policy: All writings and opinions published herein are the responsibility of the author/s under whose name they appear. Works are not necessarily the view of the AADEJ unless the AADEJ has formally adopted such statements. Editorial guidelines for submissions can be found on our website. Letters to the Editor: Letters to the Editor are welcome by e-mail at: information@aadej.org. They may be edited for brevity and become the property of AADEJ if published. All text published in The Communicator may be reproduced or reprinted only after written permission has been granted by the American Association of Dental Editors and Journalists. The organization reserves the right to edit, revise or reject any manuscript submitted for publication. American Association of Dental Editors and Journalists P.O. Box 160 Saint Clair Shores, MI 48080 aadej.org information@aadej.org Established 1931 On the Cover Stock Photo Provided by Adobe Stock Copyright @ 2025 American Association of Dental Editors and Journalists Featured 12 ADA Commons: Expanding Circulation, Promoting Your Association, and Archiving for the Future Enhancing readership, preserving publications, and tracking engagement with ADA Commons 15 Copyright Law and the Importance of Protecting Your Publication Understanding copyright law to protect and enforce ownership of journalistic work 17 Gen-AI Exploring the impact, challenges, and ethical concerns of AI in dentistry In Each Issue 04 From The Editor-in-Chief Daniel L. Orr II, DDS, MS, Ph.D., JD, MD 08 From The Executive Director Denise Maihofer, CDE 06 From The President Christopher Smiley, DDS, CDE 10 From The Associate Editor Mali Schantz-Feld, MA, CDE 17 10
American Association of Dental Editors & Journalists www.aadej.org 4 FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Yes, there is one, and has been one for some time. But first, a little context. There are three editor-friendly sites I frequent, at times on a daily basis when time allows, in part because of my subscriptions to the daily emails from these entities. WordDaily (worddaily.com) Let’s start with the most Spartan site, WordDaily. This is a good site for those who do not want to spend more than a minute studying. Word definitions and origins are quickly available from just the email, without a lot of extracurricular effort, such as the ads that pop up with the encouraged navigation to the subsequent platform sites, discussed below. As inferred from the title, WordDaily offerings are sent out every single day. If readers will go to the site, not only will “fillip” be found on January 19, 2025 (the day I wrote this), but one can learn that fillip can be a noun: 1. Something which acts as a stimulus or boost to an activity. 2. (Archaic) a movement made by bending the lastjoint of the finger against the thumb and suddenly releasing it; a flick of the finger. 3. A slight smart stroke or tap. Or a Verb: 1. Propel (a small object) with a flick of the finger. 2. Strike (someone or something) slightly and smartly. 3. Stimulate or urge (someone or something). Quiz: Can “fillip” be substituted for “snap”? Word Smarts (wordsmarts.com) Think of this site as possibly the most erudite, an online version of The Communicator’s own Mali Schantz-Feld. It is the place for writers to go, if Mali isn’t available, to impress other writers with their knowledge of grammar, obscure punctuation, and more. The first page of Word Smarts asks who cares about the Oxford comma? Well, our readership is up to speed on that because Schantz-Feld created an entire article on it last year. The more obscure the rule, the more excited Word Smarts is to publish it. Word Smarts iterates it is the right place to become a more polished writer. But, the site cautions that the emails should not be considered lectures because Word Smarts wants things to be — get this — fun! And, Word Smarts comes pretty close to that goal most of the time. Word Smarts really is an interesting site if one has the time to navigate around. As far as myself, I think I will stick with Mali for the foreseeable future. Dictionary.com Dictionary.com is the one I’ve used the longest and the entity with the most content. I used to like it because the email had everything needed to learn a new word, definition, pronouncement, etymology, including my favorite, the Latin derivations. It has upped the cerebral ante over the past couple of years by encouraging And the Word of the Year is… Daniel L. Orr II, DDS, MS, Ph.D., JD, MD The definition has changed slightly because of the increased usage, from reserved, quiet, or modest to refined or sophisticated.
5 Issue One, Two Thousand and Twenty-Five www.aadej.org FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF readers to hit the link to study more about words, beyond the definitions. That is OK as long as one wants to dedicate the time to the endeavor. Dictionary.com is also helpfully linked to a sister site, Thesaurus.com. But, it also has links to: Games, Featured, Pop Culture, and Writing Tips. And, of course, it publishes its Word of the Year. Recent Words of the Year include: hallucinate (2023), woman (2022), allyship (2021), and pandemic (2020). Dictionary.com goes to great lengths to explain how Words of the Year are chosen, and the reads are interesting. In 2024, the top five contenders that didn’t get crowned were: 1. Brainrot 2. Brat 3. Extreme Weather 4. Midwest Nice 5. Weird Why were these highly ranked? Readers will just have to go to the site and find out. However, Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year for 2024 is: da da da daaa, da da daaa: demure. Demure was picked in part because Dictionary.com analyzed headlines, trends on social media, and search engine results. Demure experienced a significant increase in usage in 2024, 1,200% in web media for instance. The definition has changed slightly because of the increased usage, from reserved, quiet, or modest to refined or sophisticated. All three sites do a good job at what they do; they are worth investigating. Now, my personal Word of the Year for 2024 is “lucubrate.” The Latin is a plus, and my brain just likes it, plus it is nice to have a term for what one has been doing forever. Check it out, and Write On! Answer: Sometimes, but not always. The Communicator is pleased to feature the 2024 AADEJ-ADEA Gies Award recipients, beginning with the third-place editorial by Dr. Elizabeth Watanabe, pages 17–19, related to the impact, challenges, and ethical concerns of AI in dentistry. To learn how to submit 2025 works for 2026 recognition, see Awards at aadej.org.
American Association of Dental Editors & Journalists www.aadej.org 6 FROM THE PRESIDENT In the curated chaos of my study, every paper had its place — even if that place was amid stacks of journals or within articles and files that overflowed from my desk onto the floor. For years, my wife’s solution was simply to keep the door closed, quarantining my cluttered archive so that she and visitors were protected from witnessing the mess. Eventually, she carved out her own workspace in another room where she could keep her sense of order. Despite appearances, I could pinpoint any document within seconds. That was until last December when she launched a stealth cleaning campaign while I was away. Without my input on what was truly valuable and how things could be organized, I now have no idea which randomly packed box has what I’m looking for and what may have been thrown out. But the anxiety and sense of loss from her well-intended purge pales in contrast to what researchers, authors, and the public face as federal agencies systematically scrub freely available resources, driven by political directives restricting what information they can publish. The CDC and other federal agencies wrestled with political leaders about using words like evidence-based and sciencebased,1 while landing pages on the United States Forest Service website for key resources and adaptation tools went dark. This followed a directive issued by the United States Department of Agriculture’s office of communications, instructing website managers across the agency to “identify and archive or unpublish any landing pages focused on climate change.”2 Instruction from CDC’s associate director for science resulted in vanishing CDC websites and datasets related to a range of vital health topics including immunization, race or ethnic diversity, contraception, sexually transmitted infections and HIV treatment, and sexual and reproductive healthcare.3 In February, the British Medical Journal wrote “The US was considered a world leader in public health and research,” further noting that “It is absurd that the Safeguarding our Literature Christopher J. Smiley, DDS, CDE, President, AADEJ
7 Issue One, Two Thousand and Twenty-Five www.aadej.org FROM THE PRESIDENT scientific record be treated with such disregard. It is egregious that a country’s public health agency, or any government authority, should demand the erasure of any terminology, particularly medically relevant terminology.”3 This issue strikes at the heart of dental editing and journalism. As dental communicators, we rely extensively on evidence-based research, data accessibility, and expert recommendations to inform our critical analysis and publications. Our work depends on translating peer-reviewed scientific literature into articles and sharing vetted recommendations across association websites for both practitioners and the public. When federal agencies revise or remove their web pages, selectively sanitizing or permanently eliminating crucial resources, we face an uncertain landscape. Crucial public health information — from HPV vaccination to combat oral cancer to the benefits of community water fluoridation — may become increasingly difficult to access. Much like my chaotic archive packed into boxes, who knows what may be permanently lost? As the conduit for clinically relevant information and the recorders of our profession’s history, dental editors and journalists must undertake our own form of house cleaning — not to discard, but to methodically organize and safeguard valuable information for access and future reference. This may include: • Assessing links posted on our association websites and those provided in articles and the public recommendations we provide, to ensure they function, and that the information provided is consistent with intended messaging. • Archive current and past issues of our publications through ADA Commons. It is free to state and local dental societies. Learn more by contacting commons@ada.org • Consider having ADA Commons create a collection within your Commons page for critical content from web links and historical association documents. These rapidly evolving times present challenges and opportunities. Organizing documents strewn across the desktop and elsewhere allows us to take stock of what we have and protect critical information from being swept up by politically motivated scrubbing campaigns. The time has come for our AADEJ community to actively preserve the professional record, not just for our immediate needs but as stewards of our profession’s literature and heritage. References: 1. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Statement by NAS, NAE, and NAM presidents on report of banned words at CDC. Published December 18, 2017. Accessed February 12, 2025. https://www.nationalacademies. org/news/2017/12/statement-by-nas-nae-and-nam-presidents-on-report-of- banned-words-at-cdc 2. Milman O. Trump orders USDA to take down websites referencing climate crisis. The Guardian. January 31, 2025. Accessed February 6, 2025. https://www. theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/31/trump-order-usda-websites- climate-crisis 3. Medical journal editors must resist CDC order and anti-gender ideology, BMJ 2025;388:r253 BMJ 2025; 388 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.r253 Published 04 February 2025. For years, my wife’s solution was simply to keep the door closed, quarantining my cluttered archive so that she and visitors were protected from witnessing the mess.
American Association of Dental Editors & Journalists www.aadej.org 8 FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR As I grow older and continue to add to my experiences, I realize the old saying “The only thing that’s constant is change,” is so true. Here at AADEJ, it’s no different. To keep up with evolving communication platforms, stay engaged in current trends, and keep things moving forward, is no simple task! It takes a group of dedicated people who are out-of-the-box thinkers and have great adaptability to work under those conditions and I’m thankful that our board is just that group. As we have evolved over the past 5–6 years we’ve continually looked to the future, considered the present, and planned for both with imagination, expertise and enthusiasm, while keeping our members in the forefront of information. Our plan is to nurture member skills in this ever-changing climate and create helpful networks for their support. With that as my preface, members should have received an eblast about our first webinar on March 20 at 7:00 pm EST “Guidance for Authors and Editors on the Use of Generative AI.” This webinar is the precursor to the release of AADEJ’s white paper on the same subject. This white paper has been in progress for the better part of a year and will provide members with a structured overview of generative AI, including its capabilities, limitations, and ethical considerations in dental communication. Participants will gain insight into best practices to ensure transparency and accuracy of AI-generated content. This webinar is free to those members who have renewed for 2025 or any new 2025 members. Our registration list is growing so join your peers and get a sneak preview of this soon-to-be released white paper. We will be announcing the entire schedule of our webinars for the remainder of 2025 soon. I am also happy to announce that we are breaking with some past traditions and now partnering with the Internation College of Dentists (ICD) for our Annual Meeting this year! We are in the planning stages of moving our 2025 Annual Meeting to San Diego to be held September 9–10, 2025 in conjunction with ICD’s Annual meeting. We have always enjoyed our partnership with ICD each year as they present their journalism awards to so many deserving dental journalists during our AADEJ’s Annual Meeting. We have also been privileged to receive their intermittent sponsorships in the past and this year we were awarded a $5,000.00 grant for our programming! Working together in the same location will be a plus in a way we’ve never experienced before. We are looking forward to this new partnership. All the details are forth coming and will be released as soon as possible. See page 2. Another great announcement is the redesign of our Communicator. In this March edition, not only are there great articles, but a fresh, new, look! Our editorial team and our designer have come together to produce visuals and updated design that we hope will enhance your reading. Last, but not least, we are currently working on getting our own AADEJ PACE Certification so we can simplify the process of providing CE to our members. We are hoping to have this in place before annual session. We will “hold that thought” until we can get all the necessary material in for consideration and can pass the certification process. Watch for an announcement on this during the summer. Many changes are in the works, as we adapt to the needs of our members, and changing times. As always, Adaptability is Key Denise Maihofer, CDE The only thing that’s constant is change
9 Issue One, Two Thousand and Twenty-Five www.aadej.org FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR we welcome your ideas, listen to your needs, and take any comments into consideration. It all helps us to grow. We’d also love to add more volunteers on our committees! So if you’d like to get involved with a great group of dental journalists, let us know! A Final Reminder: We just implemented an actual USPS mailing with a letter, membership form and a copy of the latest Communiqué to those who haven't renewed their AADEJ membership. Please take a minute to renew your membership, either with the return addressed and stamped envelope or with the QR code on the form to pay by credit card. Thank you!
American Association of Dental Editors & Journalists www.aadej.org 10 FROM THE ASSOCIATE EDITOR Dateline February 4, 2025 — Breaking news in the cities of St. Petersburg and Clearwater, Florida — “For the first time, the prestigious Michelin Guide, the most well-known and respected authority on restaurants in the world, will recognize dining establishments in the St. PeteClearwater region.”1 All major news outlets shared this tidbit of juicy news that is setting area gourmets’ hearts aflutter with anticipation of displaying those coveted stars. This seems like a small crumb of notoriety in this region’s massive amount of eateries. But, the recognition can lead to much more. “This inclusion now gives us the chance to show off our award-winning beaches and award-worthy culinary experiences as we set out to change the perception of what beach cuisine can be,” said Visit St. PeteClearwater CEO and President Brian Lowack.2 What does this tasty tidbit of information have to do with dental editors and writers? It made me think of the Certified Dental Editor (CDE) designation sponsored by the AADEJ. Like the Michelin status motivates restaurants to stand out and innovate among their peers, the process of attaining CDE encourages dental editors and journalists to maintain high standards of excellence and ethics and continue to discover new writing, editing, and design skills. By developing our dental editing and writing expertise through CE, we can provide even more award-worthy publications and articles and expand the boundaries of traditional dental publishing. How to Get CDE Designation? Our individual capabilities are increased by the innovative ideas learned during the required 30 hours of continuing education in writing, editing, layout and design, editorial leadership, and communications. These hours must be completed within four years of notifying the AADEJ of your intent to apply for CDE, but by attending three AADEJ Annual Conferences in a row, you can receive the 30 CE hours needed for the coursework.3 For those who cannot attend all of the conferences, there are other ways to gather CE credits in the specified subject areas, such as ADA CEs, AADEJ webinars, or other educational opportunities from certified courses in approved subjects. The CDE credential after your name in your masthead or on your business card shows that you are open to new ideas, fresh outlooks, and continuous professional improvement. It distinguishes you from among your peers and from the competition who are vying for assignments or jobs in the dental editing or writing field. It shows publications that you value education and are willing to expend the energy to explore and achieve more throughout your professional journey. Obtaining my CDE in 2020 gave me more credibility among colleagues, developed my skills as an efficient editor, writer, and team leader, and gave me the confidence to feel a meaningful connection with the most creative, motivated, respected, experienced people in dental editing and writing. I am not a dentist, but for more than two decades, I have been obsessed with all things dental. (If you count marrying my dentist-husband 39 years ago, that would even be longer!) Those years have been filled with poring over dental manuscripts, deciphering X-rays, negotiating with peer reviewers and authors, and constantly being amazed by the latest breakthroughs in dentistry. But for me, until 2020, there was an ingredient missing. After 25 years in the business, achieving the CDE designation and knowing that I am a part of AADEJ’s 90-year legacy of dental publication excellence is the icing on my cake — and like those restaurants in Florida, I feel confident that with the additional credibility brought by CDE, I too, have the potential to reach for the stars. Certified Dental Editor — The Icing on the Cake Mali Schantz-Feld, MA, CDE
11 Issue One, Two Thousand and Twenty-Five www.aadej.org FROM THE ASSOCIATE EDITOR References: 1. St. Pete Rising. Michelin Guide coming to St. Pete-Clearwater, recognizing region's evolving culinary scene. February 4, 2025. https://stpeterising.com/ home/michelin-guide-coming-to-st-pete-clearwater-recognizing-regionsevolving-culinary-scene. Accessed February 5, 2025. 2. Nelson R. Move over, Tampa: Pinellas is now eligible to earn Michelin stars. ABC Action News, WFTS, Tampa Bay. Published February 4, 2025. https://www. abcactionnews.com/news/region-pinellas/move-over-tampa-pinellas-is-noweligible-to-earn-michelin-stars. Accessed February 5, 2025. 3. AADEJ. Certified Dental Editors (CDE). https://www.aadej.org/certified-dentaleditors-cde. Accessed February 5. 2025. This seems like a small crumb of notoriety in this region’s massive amount of eateries.
American Association of Dental Editors & Journalists www.aadej.org 12 FEATURED Did you set any resolutions for your membership publication back in January? In those ambitious early weeks of 2025, when everything seemed possible, perhaps you considered ways to: • Grow your publication’s readership • Demonstrate greater value to your authors and advertisers • Increase discoverability on the web • Enable full-text search of each issue • Integrate peer review into your editorial process • Track usage and impact metrics for individual articles • Archive past issues in a long-term, secure repository Since then, have challenges like cost, staff time, or simply knowing where to start stalled your progress? Don’t worry — ADA Commons is here to help! What is ADA Commons? ADA Commons (https://commons.ada.org) is an open digital repository designed to collect, preserve, and disseminate state and local dental association publications. Tailored for dental and oral health care research needs, this resource is managed by a dedicated team within the ADA Library & Archives, offering a comprehensive online database solution that addresses all the goals above. Built on Digital Commons, an institutional repository (IR) platform from Elsevier, ADA Commons offers significant advantages, all while you retain the rights to your materials: • Increased discoverability — Content is indexed by Google, Google Scholar, Bing, and other major search tools. Digital exhibits curated by ADA Library staff offer additional opportunities for wider reach. • Usage insights — Track article readership, geographic distribution, citations, and social media mentions. • Secure archiving — Backed by multiple servers in various locations, ensuring zero data loss. • No cost for ADA associations — Approved by the ADA House of Delegates in 2022, participation is free for ADA state and local societies. • Dentistry Commons Integration — Your content will be included in Elsevier’s collective dentistry repository. Since its launch at SmileCon 2023, ADA Commons has been steadily growing. Currently, it hosts seven state and local membership publications, with six more in the pipeline, along with archival materials from the ADA collections making it a robust single location for dental research, history, and practice information. Because all content is indexed online, users can find materials via traditional search engines and an internal advanced search tool. Participating in ADA Commons Adding your publication to ADA Commons is a structured, phased process designed to work within your ADA Commons: Expanding Circulation, Promoting Your Association, and Archiving for the Future Alisun DeKock, MLIS, ADA Library & Archives, American Dental Association
13 Issue One, Two Thousand and Twenty-Five www.aadej.org FEATURED timeline and adapt to your specific requirements. Our team handles the entire setup and upload of historical content, helping to keep the workload minimal for your team. Step-by-Step Integration Process 1. Requirements & Data Gathering — We begin with a Zoom meeting with your key staff members where we tour ADA Commons and talk through the entire phased process. We gather your expectations and requirements and determine how the platform can best support your publication. 2. Design & Sandbox — Our team collaborates with Digital Commons to create a site that reflects your brand, including colors, logos, and layout. You will receive PDF design options via email for review and refinement. Once finalized, a non- public digital “sandbox” is built for you to test and offer feedback before it becomes discoverable by users. 3. Upload & Launch — The sandbox transitions to a live site, initially hidden while content and metadata are uploaded. There are no limits on how much or how little content you upload, and it does not all need to be completed before launch. Once ready, we make the site publicly accessible. We also recommend linking your ADA Commons page to your website for greater visibility. 4. Ongoing Maintenance — New issue uploads and site updates can be managed by your society or the ADA Library staff, depending on your preference. We offer tools and extensive training — live, written, and recorded — to ensure you have the necessary support. Our team remains available for ongoing assistance. The process outlined here can be completed in as little as two months, although most of our societies have required longer to proof and approve designs and deliver back content. Our team is on your schedule, not the other way around; we can easily pause or speed up when your priorities shift. Joining ADA Commons does not change your copyright status. ADA Commons is the host, but you retain copyright of all content archived in the IR and full editorial control. Watch Your Metrics Grow! ADA Commons provides robust analytics to track: • Download counts • Geographic reach • Referring websites • Citations • Social media and news mentions These insights are accessible via a dedicated administrator page and monthly emailed reports giving a variety of options for sharing with an editorial board, association staff, advertisers, etc. Authors also receive article-level metrics via personal dashboards and email updates. Metrics tracking is both simple and impactful. For example, the Journal of the Michigan Dental Association, the first association to join ADA Commons, has uploaded 387 issues dating back to 2019. In just 18 months, those issues have been read 30,339 times in 156 countries! Article Submission, DOIs, and Peer Review Digital Commons includes an optional, built-in system for author article submission, peer review
American Association of Dental Editors & Journalists www.aadej.org 14 FEATURED management, and editorial approvals. Authors set up secure accounts to submit manuscripts and supporting materials. Editors receive alerts and can assign reviewers, track revisions, and communicate directly with authors. This feature is fully customizable — you can use all or part of it or even disable it if you prefer not to accept unsolicited submissions. Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) give you and your authors a stable link to an individual article and increase online discoverability. Adding DOIs is available at no cost through ADA Commons. More Than Just Journals ADA Commons is not limited to member journals, magazines, and newsletters. This IR can host nearly any other type of collection you may have and can be added to your site design at any time. Some examples are: • Annual meeting/conference proceedings, posters, and presentations • Podcasts • Videos • Digitized association records • Data sets • Images • White papers and reports • Patient-education materials/ brochures Ready to Join? Participating in ADA Commons allows you to share your association’s vital clinical and scientific research, practice management insights, and member experiences with dentists across the tripartite, as well as students, patients, and dental professionals worldwide. With a dedicated ADA Library & Archives team guiding you every step of the way, joining ADA Commons is one of the easiest and most impactful decisions you can make for your publication. For more information or to get started, contact us at commons@ ada.org. Alisun DeKock, MLIS is the Digital Archivist and Publishing Librarian with the ADA Library & Archives. The ADA Library & Archives provides ADA members with access to dental and oral health resources and research, as well as records and publications from the ADA’s archives. Part of that research is available through ADA Commons, an open digital repository that collects, preserves and disseminates state and local dental association publications and research. Contact her at commons@ada.org. ADA Commons sites of the Virginal Dental Association, Metro Denver Dental Society, and New York State Dental Association ADA Commons items have been viewed by individuals in every state of the U.S. As of late February, items have been downloaded over 138,000 times across 181 different countries.
15 Issue One, Two Thousand and Twenty-Five www.aadej.org GUEST FEATURE A copyright is one type of intellectual property that is extremely important in the world of journalism and publishing. Essentially, copyright law protects original works of authorship, including, but not limited to photographs, books, articles, screenplays, movies, paintings, and songs. A copyright owner has the exclusive rights to reproduce or profit off of their underlying work, among other things, along with the right to authorize others to utilize these exclusive rights, subject to various limitations. At the time of creation, when the work is fixed in a tangible form of expression, a copyright automatically comes into existence. Copyright owners are not required to register their original work; however, they may register the work with the U.S. Copyright Office for a nominal fee to get, among other things, and as noted by the U.S. Copyright Office, stronger protection, the ability to sue for copyright infringement, and seek statutory damages. The U.S. Copyright Office provides that copyright protection has a current term of the life of the author plus 70 years after the author’s death. Furthermore, the current copyright protection term for works made for hire and anonymous or pseudonymous works, is the shorter of 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation. Presently, renewal or extension of the duration of the copyright term is prohibited. Therefore, works will become part of the public domain once the applicable copyright term expires. That being said, the public domain consists of a pool of works that can be used whenever without permission from the copyright owner. It is crucial for journalists to keep in mind that copyright law can be beneficial when it comes to protecting their own work, and this article can be used as a quick study guide when creating your journalistic work. Facts, alone, are not protected by copyright law. However, the text of the work, via the way or sequence by which the work is stylized or written, along with the use of any original photographs throughout the work might be protectable under copyright law. If you edit or journal from the freelance side, you should be aware of your ownership rights in your work and how to enforce said rights. By way of example, if you produce a work for publication in a newspaper or magazine (and it is agreed upon that you retain all of the rights in the aforementioned work), and that newspaper or magazine would like to publish your work for a second time somewhere else, they need to seek your approval for that secondary publication and if agreed upon, give you compensation for same. If you wish to utilize a copyrighted material as part of your publication, please keep in mind that you do not obtain carte blanche rights to use the aforementioned material without permission just because the piece is accessible on the Internet or other akin sources. In fact, approval from the copyright owner is required in most cases to avoid potential claims of infringement via service of a cease-and-desist letter or a lawsuit. Specifically, if permission for the requested use of the copyrighted work is granted by the copyright owner, such permission is often awarded by way of a license agreement which might be accompanied by a fee. The Fair Use Doctrine is another mechanism to keep in mind when creating editorial pieces or journalistic works. Under the Fair Use Doctrine, as delineated in Section 107 of the Copyright Act, limited use of a copyrighted work might be permitted without authorization from the copyright owner in certain circumstances. Numerous factors are considered when determining fair use as outlined in Section 107 of the Copyright Act, Copyright Law and the Importance of Protecting Your Publication Cameron A. Parks, Esq.*
American Association of Dental Editors & Journalists www.aadej.org 16 GUEST FEATURE including, but not limited to the purpose and character of the use, and the amount and substantiality of the portion of the work used in relation to the overall copyright work in its entirety. Since it is common for journalists to use information from outside sources in order to write their articles, the Fair Use Doctrine, in certain instances, may help to avoid the burden of having to obtain authorization from every copyright owner when using copyrighted material in a specific work. In this regard, Section 107 of the Copyright Act provides that certain types of use such as commentary, news reporting, criticism, scholarship, teaching, and research may be deemed fair use (nevertheless, such cases, are examined on a case-bycase basis by the court). In light of the foregoing, it is prudent that when writing or editing a journalism piece, that you consider the different legal concepts discussed in this brief overview for purposes of protecting the underlying work from, inter alia, any potential infringement allegations, as well as enforcing the author’s ownership rights in a specific work, where applicable, against any potential infringers. *Cameron A. Parks is a partner in the Orlando office of Shutts & Bowen LLP, where she is a member of the Business Litigation and Intellectual Property Practice Groups. Cameron served as a Judicial Intern for the Honorable F. Rand Wallis of the 9th Judicial Circuit, Criminal Division. Cameron also interned for the Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit and participated in a legal study abroad program in Australia. She graduated from the University of Miami, Barry University School of Law, and then attended DePaul University College of Law where she received a Master of Laws in Intellectual Property Law. It is crucial for journalists to keep in mind that copyright law can be beneficial when it comes to protecting their own work and this article can be used as a quick study guide when creating your journalistic work.
17 Issue One, Two Thousand and Twenty-Five www.aadej.org AWARD FEATURE From the Terminator series to the classic Blade Runner and Short Circuit movies — artificial intelligence (AI) seemed to be a figment of my imagination, living among us as a science fiction genre on a big-screen. But rather than staying as Arnold Schwarzenegger battling against a virtually indestructible murderous cyborg in Terminator II, it seems like AI has actually been right here beside us; invisibly puppeteering decisions for quite some time — unnoticed by those of us who may not be huge science fiction enthusiasts. From personal assistants like Siri and Alexa to AI-powered feeds on social media, email filtering and driving navigation, even predictive word texting and search engines, each of these integrate a learning-enhanced system that involves AI. So, with these smart home devices, technologies that recognize speech and images, fraud detection and health monitoring systems, can the sparkles and fireworks actually be sparking a few fires now that we are becoming more aware of the power of AI? AI in dentistry has shown great promise in improving diagnostic accuracy, but like any technology, it is not without its limitations and potential mistakes. Some of the common mistakes AI may encounter in diagnosis in dentistry include: 1. Overfitting: AI algorithms can sometimes be overly sensitive to the training data, leading to overfitting. In dentistry, this can result in AI models producing highly accurate results on the training data but performing poorly on new, unseen data. Overfitting can lead to false positives or false negatives in diagnosis. 2. Lack of Contextual Information: AI models often rely solely on the data they are trained on, lacking the ability to consider broader contextual information or patient history. This limitation can cause misdiagnoses when crucial clinical context or patient-specific factors are not taken into account. 3. Limited Data Diversity: The performance of AI in dentistry heavily relies on the quality and diversity of the data it is trained on. If the training data is biased or lacks representation from diverse populations, the AI model may struggle to generalize and provide accurate diagnoses for individuals not well represented in the training dataset. 4. False Positives and Negatives: AI models may produce false positives (misdiagnosing a healthy condition as a disease) or false negatives (failing to detect a disease or condition). These errors can lead to unnecessary treatments or missed opportunities for timely interventions. 5. Inadequate Training Data: In some cases, AI models may not have access to enough high-quality training data for certain rare or complex conditions. Consequently, they may not be able to accurately diagnose these conditions. 6. Sensitivity to Image Quality: AI algorithms analyzing dental images, such as X-rays or scans, can be sensitive to the quality of the input images. Poorquality images with artifacts or low resolution can lead to inaccurate diagnoses. 7. Ethical Considerations: AI models may have limitations in handling ethical considerations, such as patient consent, data privacy, and the communication of sensitive medical information. It is crucial to understand that AI is not meant to replace dental professionals but rather to augment their expertise and improve the accuracy of diagnosis and treatment planning. Dentists and oral healthcare providers should be cautious and critical when using AI-based tools, interpreting their results, and always consider them as supportive aids rather than definitive diagnostic tools. To address these mistakes and limitations, ongoing research, data curation, model validation, and improvements in AI algorithms are essential. Regular updates and feedback from dental professionals using AI can also help refine and enhance the performance of AI systems in dentistry. AI as an adjunctive tool is currently being explored as a benefit in areas such as in recognition for radiographic Gen-AI Marisa Watanabe, DDS, MS, FICD*, ChatGPT
American Association of Dental Editors & Journalists www.aadej.org 18 AWARD FEATURE caries for improved diagnosis, assisting in customized treatment planning, and patient engagement. With these benefits also come potential challenges of utilizing AI in dentistry. 1. Data Privacy and Security: AI systems handle sensitive patient data, making data breaches and privacy concerns a significant risk. 1 2. Diagnostic Accuracy: While AI algorithms can be highly accurate, there is still a need to validate their performance and ensure their reliability in realworld dental settings. 2 3. Legal and Ethical Challenges in Practice: This raises the question about accountability and responsibility for the medical decision-making process.3 4. Dental Workforce and Training: Appropriate dental integration, education, and training is required for both dental students and dental providers to implement AI safely and ethically into healthcare.4 5. Evidence-based challenges: information provided at times by an AI platform may not necessarily exist. It’s essential to note that the responses [the AI] generate[s] are based on patterns in the data [the AI] was trained on and [the] understanding of human language but may not always reflect real or current references. Therefore, any references provided in [the] responses should be taken as illustrative examples and not as verifiable sources. For accurate and up-to-date information, it is always best to consult reliable and authoritative sources.5 The benefits of improved diagnostics, personalized treatment plans, and increased efficiency can lead to better patient outcomes and experiences. However, careful consideration of risks such as data privacy, diagnostic accuracy, and ethical concerns is crucial to ensure the responsible and effective implementation of AI in dental practice. My question to you is, have you chatted with an AI lately? I welcome you to do so. Several at no-cost AI platforms are available, and until you have kinesthetically utilized the AI system to know its capacity and challenged to see its intelligence, you may be wading in and out of the comfort of accepting it. What if I told you that in this editorial, all italicized areas were written by ChatGPT? Originally, the first four potential challenges of utilizing AI in dentistry (data privacy and security, diagnostic accuracy, legal and ethical concerns, and training and education) was written by ChatGPT; however, out of the four references initially provided by ChatGPT, two out of four (50%) of the references did not exist after verification (legal and ethical concerns and training and education). Because the references did not exist, it was necessary to remove ChatGPT’s original writing, manually delve into PubMed for evidence-based literature and rewrite both of these two areas to accurately reflect reported challenges with AI in dentistry with validated references. After mulling it over…Gen-AI… are you in? Author has no financial interest to disclose. All italicized fonts were written by ChatGPT. References: 1. Hwang TJ, Kesselheim AS, et al. Lifecycle regulation of artificial intelligence- and machine learning-based software devices in medicine. JAMA 2019; 322(21), 2085-2086. doi:10. 1001/ jama.2019.16842. 2. Rajkomar, A, Dean, J, et al. Machine learning in medicine. The New England Journal of Medicine 2019; 380(14), 1347-1358. doi:10.1056/NEJMra 1814259. 3. Rokhshad R, Ducret M, et al. Ethical considerations on artificial intelligence in dentistry: A framework and checklist. J Dent. 2023 Jun 22. doi:10.1016/j.jdent.2023.104593. 4. Kim CS, Samaniego CS, Sousa Melo SL, et al. Artificial intelligence (A.I.) in dental curricula: Ethics and responsible integration. J Dent Educ. 2023 Jul 25. doi:10. 1002/jdd.13337. 5. ChaptGPT (2023). “chatgpt has provided references that do not exist, can you explain it?”. OpenAI. https://chat.openai.com. Utilized direct opinion of itself for use in dentistry. 2023. From personal assistants like Siri and Alexa to AI-powered feeds on social media, email filtering and driving navigation, even predictive word texting and search engines, each of these integrate a learning-enhanced system that involves AI.
19 Issue One, Two Thousand and Twenty-Five www.aadej.org AWARD FEATURE * Marisa Watanabe, DDS, MS, FICD is a professor and Associate Dean for Community Partnerships and Access to Care at Western University of Health Sciences, College of Dental Medicine. She served on the Board of Directors for the Medicaid|Medicare|CHIP Services Dental Association as Academic Director, is currently an Associate Editor for the Journal of the California Dental Association, and a reviewer for the Journal of Public Health Dentistry. She was recently awarded 3rd place for her Editorial entitled “Gen-AI” and was a past CDA Foundation Dr. Arthur A. Dugoni Faculty Award Recipient. She has worked with Federally Qualified Health Centers and community partners for over a decade, developing and sustaining successful and long-term dental workforce partnerships throughout the state of California. Editor’s Note: This work by Dr. Watanabe received the 3rd place award for the 2024 Gies Writing Competition. Thank you and congratulations from The Communicator, Dr. Watanabe.
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