Given that the ADA has recently appointed a commission to decide how to designate new specialties in dentistry, I believe it would be appropriate for the Virginia Board of Dentistry to hold off on making changes to its policies regarding advertising for dental specialists until the ADA finishes its study. The current Virginia regulation requires that those who advertise as “specialists” must have successfully completed a post-doctoral advanced dental educational program of at least two full-time years in a program accredited by the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). This is a logical way to define a specialist and facilitates effective communication with the public. The public is best protected when they know more about a practitioner's qualifications than when they are intentionally not informed.