AAPD
AAPD is the leading US nonprofit professional membership association for pediatric dentists, founded in 1947 in Chicago. It delivers clinical guidelines, continuing education, advocacy, and practice resources to pediatric dental professionals, with consumer education via MyChildrensTeeth.org.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1947
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What AAPD does
AAPD (American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry) is a private nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 1947 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, recognized as the leading authority on children's oral health in the United States. It serves primarily licensed pediatric dentists, dental residents, pre-doctoral students, and fellows through a national membership program organized around five district societies (Northeastern, Southeastern, Northcentral, Southwestern, Western) and a network of state chapters. Its core product surface centers on aapd.org as a membership portal, supported by the Find a Pediatric Dentist consumer locator, Pediatric Dentistry Today (PDT) magazine, the Reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry and oral health policies, the Education Passport continuing education platform, podcasts (little teeth, BIG Smiles & Newly Erupted), the Clinical Practice Safety Guide, the Pre-Doctoral Toolkit, the AAPD online store, and the Research & Policy Center producing evidence-based guidelines and advocacy outputs.
The technology stack is conventional: a web portal, online store (store.aapd.org), job board (jobs.aapd.org), podcast distribution, and standard social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram). Differentiating assets are domain-specialization content—the accumulated clinical guidelines, reference manual, and evidence-based recommendations—rather than proprietary software or AI systems. AAPD monetizes its offerings primarily through annual membership dues, annual scientific meeting and continuing education course registrations, publication and merchandise sales through the online store, advertising in PDT, and grants/contributions routed through the AAPD Foundation (established 1987 as the charitable arm). The Foundation underwrites access-to-care initiatives and community-based programs, providing a parallel funding stream and brand extension.
Go-to-market is hybrid: direct membership acquisition to pediatric dental professionals, B2B-style engagement with state dental boards and federal regulators on advocacy matters, and consumer-facing education through MyChildrensTeeth.org (which features the Mouth Monsters campaign) targeting parents of pediatric patients. Geographic footprint is domestic (United States only) and customer concentration is decentralized across thousands of individual practitioner members, with no enterprise anchor customers, no external funding, and no subsidiaries beyond the wholly-owned charitable Foundation. Leadership is in transition: Dr. Jessica Y. Lee (DDS, MPH, PhD) is incoming CEO effective June 1, 2026, succeeding the current operating team that includes COO/General Counsel C. Scott Litch and Chief Policy Officer Dr. Paul S. Casamassimo.
AAPD firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AAPD
- Legal name
- American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry
- Website
- https://aapd.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1947
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- AAPD is the leading US nonprofit professional membership association for pediatric dentists, founded in 1947 in Chicago. It delivers clinical guidelines, continuing education, advocacy, and practice resources to pediatric dental professionals, with consumer education via MyChildrensTeeth.org.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AAPD industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Pediatric Dentistry Professional Association
- akta.pro primary industry
- Pediatric Dentistry Group Practices (HLABAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Oral Health, Dental Screening & Fluoride Programs (EDACAMAH)
Keywords
Where AAPD is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
AAPD business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Pre-Doctoral Student Membership |
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
AAPD product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) is a nonprofit professional membership organization that serves as the recognized authority on children's oral health. Its core offerings include membership services for pediatric dentists, evidence-based clinical guidelines and the Reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry, continuing education programs (Education Passport), the official Pediatric Dentistry Today magazine, advocacy on legislative and regulatory issues affecting pediatric dental care, and consumer-facing parent education through MyChildrensTeeth.org and the Find a Pediatric Dentist locator.
Product overview
AAPD operates as a professional membership organization offering a comprehensive digital platform for pediatric dental professionals. The core offering is the AAPD website (www.aapd.org), which serves as a centralized portal for membership services, continuing education, research, and advocacy. Key products include the Find a Pediatric Dentist locator tool, Pediatric Dentistry Today magazine, Education Passport for CE tracking, and the little teeth, BIG Smiles podcast. Supporting resources include MyChildrensTeeth.org for parent education, the Clinical Practice Safety Guide, Pre-Doctoral Toolkit for student chapters, and the Research & Policy Center providing evidence-based guidelines. The AAPD Foundation serves as the charitable arm for access-to-care initiatives. The organization also operates an online store, Career Center, and hosts annual meetings and CE courses.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Find a Pediatric Dentist A dentist locator tool that allows parents and the public to search for AAPD-member pediatric dentists by ZIP code and radius, with advanced search options.
- Pediatric Dentistry Today (PDT) The official AAPD magazine published for members, covering organizational updates, pediatric dentistry topics, and practice-relevant content.
- Education Passport A continuing education platform for AAPD members that provides access to and tracking of professional development courses and CE credits.
- MyChildrensTeeth.org A consumer-facing website providing parents with essential resources, tips, and the Mouth Monsters campaign for children's oral health.
- little teeth, BIG Smiles & Newly Erupted Podcast The official AAPD podcast series providing education and information on pediatric oral health topics for both members and the public.
- Clinical Practice Safety Guide A member resource with concise explanations of safety topics along with printable templates and checklists for dental teams and patients.
Companies that use AAPD
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
AAPD technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
AAPD partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
AAPD competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- International Association of Paediatric Dentistry: IAPD is the global professional society for pediatric dentists, headquartered outside the U.S. It is a regional peer comparable in mission (advancing pediatric dentistry) and membership offerings, though it does not directly compete in AAPD's U.S. core market.
Direct peers
- American Association of Orthodontists: The AAO is the professional specialty society for orthodontists, comparable in structure to AAPD as a dental specialty association. Both develop clinical guidelines, host scientific meetings, advocate on specialty advertising and scope of practice, and serve similar member demographics.
- American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons: AAOMS is the professional association for oral and maxillofacial surgeons, analogous to AAPD as a dental specialty society. Both develop clinical guidelines, run CE programs, advocate on scope of practice, and provide specialty-specific member resources.
- American Academy of Pediatrics: The American Academy of Pediatrics is a professional membership association for pediatricians that parallels AAPD's role for pediatric dentists. Both serve child-health specialists, develop clinical guidelines, advocate on child health policy, and run member education and parent-facing resources.
- Academy of General Dentistry: AGD is a professional association for general dentists offering continuing education, fellowship, and advocacy. It is a direct peer given its analogous association model, CE platform, and member services competing for the same dental professional audience.
- American Dental Education Association: ADEA represents academic dental institutions and supports dental education. It is a direct peer to AAPD in serving dental education, residency programming, and student pathway development, with overlapping pre-doctoral and resident audiences.
Broad incumbents
- American Dental Association: The American Dental Association is the largest professional dental association in the U.S., serving all dentists. It is a broad incumbent peer because it competes for member mindshare, advocacy influence, and continuing education dollars, while overlapping on publications, guidelines, and policy advocacy.
Emerging players
- Children's Dental Health Project / Family Voices: The Children's Dental Health Project (now under Family Voices) is a policy-focused nonprofit advocating for children's oral health. It is an emerging peer because it overlaps on policy advocacy and access-to-care, competing for funder and policymaker attention with the AAPD Foundation.
Others
- American Public Health Association - Oral Health Section: APHA's Oral Health Section addresses oral health from a public health perspective. It is an adjacent peer: it does not compete for AAPD's clinical members but intersects on policy advocacy, fluoridation, and pediatric access-to-care agendas.
- Pew Charitable Trusts - Dental Campaign: Pew's children's dental policy work funds research and advocacy on pediatric oral health access. It is an adjacent ecosystem participant, not a competitor, but a peer in the policy and access-to-care space where AAPD Foundation also operates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Customer concentration
AAPD social profiles
Digital presenceAAPD financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AAPD leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
AAPD subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
AAPD funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AAPD M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about AAPD
What does AAPD do?
The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) is a nonprofit professional membership organization that serves as the recognized authority on children's oral health. Its core offerings include membership services for pediatric dentists, evidence-based clinical guidelines and the Reference Manual of Pediatric Dentistry, continuing education programs (Education Passport), the official Pediatric Dentistry Today magazine, advocacy on legislative and regulatory issues affecting pediatric dental care, and consumer-facing parent education through MyChildrensTeeth.org and the Find a Pediatric Dentist locator.
Is AAPD a public or private company?
AAPD is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was AAPD founded?
AAPD was founded in 1947. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is AAPD based?
AAPD is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
Who are AAPD's main competitors?
International Association of Paediatric Dentistry is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are American Association of Orthodontists, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, American Academy of Pediatrics, Academy of General Dentistry and American Dental Education Association. American Dental Association is listed as a broad incumbent. Children's Dental Health Project / Family Voices is listed as an emerging player. Others are American Public Health Association - Oral Health Section and Pew Charitable Trusts - Dental Campaign.
Does AAPD have an API?
No public API is recorded for AAPD.
What industry is AAPD in?
AAPD's product category is Pediatric Dentistry Professional Association. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLABAKAD, Pediatric Dentistry Group Practices, with a secondary code of EDACAMAH, Oral Health, Dental Screening & Fluoride Programs.