CE Content Standards

Speaker reference for continuing-education sessions.

The Society’s continuing education is accredited by the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) PACE program through CE Guide (Provider ID 440054). For a session to qualify for CE credit, its content needs to meet a few standards set by AGD PACE. They come down to one principle: the education must be independent of commercial influence, balanced, and scientifically sound. This guide walks speakers through what that means while prepping a session.

Disclose your financial relationships

Before your session, disclose any relevant financial relationship you have with a commercial entity. You’ll do this on the onboarding form, and it’s also shown on a disclosure slide and stated briefly on air.

• Relationships to disclose include: consultant, paid lecturer or speaker, stockholder, key opinion leader, honorarium, employee, owner or part-owner, grant or research support, or proprietary interest (patent, trademark, product rights).
• Name the entity and the nature of the relationship. You do not need to disclose dollar amounts.
• If you have no relevant relationships, you simply state that none exist.

Set measurable learning objectives

Provide measurable learning objectives for your session in advance, and deliver content consistent with them. For CE, your stated objectives are a commitment — what you promise learners they’ll be able to do afterward.

Keep the content balanced

Logos and branding

• No company logos or promotional branding on slides, handouts, or intro slides. Your employer or affiliation may be listed, just without a promotional logo.

Product promotion

• No sales pitches, and no language endorsing one company’s product as the best choice. You can mention products generically and in a balanced way.

Balanced references

• Don’t cite only one manufacturer’s data or trials where others exist. References should represent the full scope of evidence, not just company-sponsored studies.

Images that function as advertising

• No product packaging, booth, or marketing images pulled from a company’s website. If you show a product for educational reasons, label it generically (for example, “implant system example”) unless it’s absolutely necessary to name it.

Commercial links

• No hyperlinks that drive attendees to a commercial or shopping page. Links to peer-reviewed journals, government agencies, or unbiased resources are welcome.

Off-label use

• If you discuss off-label or investigational use of FDA-regulated drugs or devices, clearly delineate that for the audience.

Keep your clinical images honest

• You’ll attest that clinical images used in your session are not falsified and do not misrepresent treatment outcomes.
• Any patient content must be properly de-identified or used with appropriate consent.
• If you corrected, enhanced, reconstructed, or used AI on any clinical image, disclose that to the audience and note it on the onboarding form’s image affidavit.

The presentation itself still cannot lean toward any sponsor’s product. Fair balance and scientific validity always come first.

Questions about whether something meets these standards? Bring them to your prep call, or reply to ce@insidethesociety.com anytime. We’re here to make compliance easy.