Style Sheet & Common Terms: CDA

the California Dental Association

• the organization name is used in full with “the” (uncapitalized preceding)

• use in full with parenthetical abbreviation upon first reference generally only in external materials or for audiences unfamiliar with the brand

• if referred to as the California Dental Association or the California Dental Association (CDA) on first use, may use “CDA” or “the association” thereafter

DO

DONT

CDA

• abbreviation of the organization name, never “the” preceding (CDA, not the CDA)

• abbreviation alone may be used in communications to those already familiar

DO Use “CDA” or “the California Dental Association”

DONT Use “the CDA” or “C.D.A.”

cda.org

• organization website, always lowercase; in general, use without “www.” prefix

CDA Foundation

• our nonprofit dedicated to championing oral health and supporting dental professionals in meeting community needs

• may be the Foundation only on second reference; do not abbreviate to CDAF

cdafoundation.org

• organization homepage, always lowercase; in general, use without “www.” prefix

• redirects to Foundation landing page on CDA’s site

contact information

• Phone: 800.232.7645

• Email: contactcda@cda.org

• Facebook: @cdadentists, facebook.com/cdadentists/

• Twitter (X): @CDAdentists (note, activity on this channel is paused as of 2024)

• Instagram: @cdadentists

• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/california-dental-association

• Hashtags: #DentistsOfCalifornia, #withCDA, #cdaproud

CDA Presents The Art and Science of Dentistry

• CDA’s flagship dental convention; no longer italicized

• no punctuation between CDA Presents and tagline; spell out “and” (no ampersand)

• when the complete name is used in the first reference, simply use CDA Presents thereafter

• For audiences familiar with the convention, CDA Presents may be sufficient

• CDA Presents or CDA’s convention is sufficient in headline, subject lines, etc.

convention

• preferred descriptions; do not use session, show, tradeshow or conference

• convention is the preferred description; do not use session, show, tradeshow or conference;
  however, show may be used with exhibitor audience only

• meeting may also be used but is generally not applied in marketing communications

CDA Presents Online Learning

• the set of virtual education offerings, encompassing an Online Learning catalog, live learning events and future programs

See the CDA Education & Events Style Sheet for other programs and usage details.

dates

• abbreviate months Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. (Sept. 8, 2022) per AP style in publications, research, informational articles, etc.

• months do not need to be abbreviated in marketing materials (direct mail, emails, etc.), but formatting should be consistent within each marketing piece

• date ranges should be separated by an en dash with no space on either side (Sept. 8–10, 2022)

• in channels where an en dash is not available as a character, (such as social posts or email subject lines), use a simple dash

Endorsed Services /
Endorsed Service

• CDA benefit designed to bring members savings on business services and additional expertise from vetted vendors

• Endorsed Services include Abyde, ADA Visa^® Credit Card, Bank of America, CareCredit, eAssist Dental Solutions, Henry Schein One, HR for Health and iCore Rx (as of 2024)

• capitalize as indicated and include appropriate brand marks and disclosures

• refer to vendors as partners; may be capitalized depending on context (CDA Endorsed Partner)

• hashtag: #CDAEndorsedPartner

e-newsletter

• CDA Update is no longer a printed publication; instead, content is delivered though a weekly e-newsletter called Inside California Dentistry

• no longer use CDA Update to describe the newsletter; rather, use the name Inside California Dentistry or the term member e-newsletter

• do not employ the terms publication, update, monthly or issues for newsletter content

Journal of the California Dental Association

• title of digital clinical publication; use lowercase “the” as preceding article

• italicize unless used in a channel that doesn’t permit italicization or used graphically (title in cover/thumbnail art)

• may be referred to as the CDA Journal or the Journal on second use or with audiences familiar with the publication

• in CDA communications, we do not italicize titles of other clinical journals, except in references/citations

See Taylor & Francis style guidelines and standards for details.

member(s)

• member-dentists may be used; hyphenate in all usages

• note that total CDA membership (27,000+) reflects all member dental professionals, not just dentists

newsroom

• the newsroom is CDA’s online library of published news articles

• no longer use CDA Update to refer to news or the newsroom; refer to CDA newsroom or our newsroom in marketing communications

numbers

•  per AP style, use figures for 10 or above and whenever preceding a unit of measure

• always use figures when referring to ages of people or events

percent / percentages

• use figures (decimals) for percent and percentages: 1%, 2.5%

• per AP style update in 2019, use the percent symbol (%) when paired with a numeral, with no space, in most cases

• try to avoid starting a sentence with a percentage, but if necessary to do so, spell out both: Eighty-nine percent…

• for percentage ranges, use the percent symbol (%) after each figure; AP Style Guide considers all these formats acceptable: 15% to 20%, 15%-20% and between 15% and 20%

• when listing a series of percentages, use the percent symbol after each number (“discounts of 25%, 30% and 50%…")

policyholder(s)

• preferred term for those who have TDIC insurance coverage

Practice Support

• CDA benefit designed to help make practicing dentistry easier and more efficient for members

• in general, Practice Support as a label is seldom used in copy; rather for clarity and value, emphasize plain-speak benefits: one-on-one guidance; tools to save time and achieve compliance, etc.

• when referenced, use Practice Support or CDA Practice Support; avoid Practice Support Center

• areas of expertise include practice management, employment practices, dental benefit plans and regulatory compliance; when listed, avoid having employment practices proximal to practice management to avoid repetition

• Practice Support team can be referred to as analysts, experts, dedicated experts or specialists

pronouns

• when referring to someone whose gender is unknown or unspecified, the singular they should be used, not he or she; they/them/their take plural verbs even when used as a singular pronoun; see AP Stylebook for guidance

shopper(s)

• preferred term for CDA member-dentists who shop TDSC.com for dental supplies

TDSC.com

• company website and TDSC’s online shopping site/experience; in general, TDSC in all caps and “.com” lowercase and use without “www.” prefix

• originally founded by CDA in 2017, now a subsidiary of Henry Schein Inc. and still partially owned by CDA

• no longer need to use “Powered by Henry Schein” after the name in CDA communications

• often included with Endorsed Services but is not called an Endorsed Service or partner

• dedicated to helping members of organized dentistry be more competitive by saving on supplies

• may be abbreviated to TDSC on second reference or with those familiar with the company

The Dentists Insurance Company (TDIC)

• our company, an insurance carrier dedicated to protecting dentists and helping them manage their risks

• often included with Endorsed Services but is not called an Endorsed Service or partner; instead, it was founded by and is wholly owned by CDA

• may be abbreviated to TDIC on second reference or for those familiar with the company

• do not abbreviate TDIC Insurance Solutions to TDIC IS in external communications

See TDIC’s Style Sheet for usage details.

tdicinsurance.com

• company website, always lowercase; in general, use without “www.” prefix

TDIC Insurance Solutions

• our company, a dedicated broker that connects dentists to the insurance products they need

• do not abbreviate to TDIC IS in external materials

times

• format times consistently, using a colon and minutes only when needed (7 a.m., 7:30 a.m.; not 7:00 a.m.)

• in general, a space follows the last digit of the time, then a.m. or p.m. (punctuation used; not am or pm); however, am or pm may be used in specific digital channels for design simplicity

• time ranges should be separated by an en dash (7–7:30 a.m.); if both times in the range fall in the a.m. or p.m., a.m. or p.m. only needs to follow the second time

• noon may be used in lieu of 12 p.m. Do not write “12 noon”

titles

• when an official title immediately precedes the individual’s name, capitalize; when it follows the individual’s name, lowercase. Job descriptions are always lowercase