Dr. Sanders is the only Accredited Fellow (granted in 2018) and one of only nine dentists in the state of Tennessee to earn accreditation (granted in 2006) with the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) worldwide. She is the 81st Accredited Fellow. The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry is the world’s foremost authority on cosmetic dentistry.
Interestingly, patients are often unaware of the importance of AACD accreditation and accredited fellow status.
Though any dentist may choose to be a member of the AACD, only a select few go on to become one of the distinguished group to achieve accreditation and then accredited fellow status through the academy.
In fact, though there are more than 6,000 AACD members worldwide, fewer than 500 have achieved accreditation. Of this number, Dr. Sanders was one of only nine in the state of Tennessee to achieve this accomplishment and in 2018, she became the only dentist in the state of Tennessee to be awarded Accredited Fellow status.
Fellowship is the highest level of achievement recognized by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. The status of Accredited Fellow of the AACD is granted after completion of all requirements.
The purpose of Fellowship is to provide the highest level of achievement for members in accordance with the AACD's mission of education and excellence. Additionally, to provide a means for the Accreditation/Fellowship Committee to evaluate the continuation of clinical excellence and commitment to cosmetic dentistry. Dr. Sanders is the 81st accredited fellow since the academy began awarding fellowship.
Achieving accreditation and then accredited fellow status takes a tremendous amount of dedication and commitment. The process is quite rigorous. For Accreditation, candidates must complete a demanding clinical testing process that includes a challenging written examination, the documentation of a body of cosmetic dentistry cases for peer review, specific continuing education classes and, finally, an oral examination by a prestigious board of the world’s leading cosmetic dentists. Accreditation requires the submission and anonymous review of 5 perfect cases. Whereas Fellowship requires the submission and anonymous review of 50 perfect cases reviewed by a board of accredited fellows.
Given her desire for excellence, Dr. Sanders set a goal of achieving AACD accreditation the moment she joined the organization in 1999. Seven years later, she completed the rigorous process and became East Tennessee’s first and only female AACD accredited cosmetic dentist.Then in 2018, Dr. Sanders was awarded fellowship.
According to Dr. Sanders, the challenge of having her cosmetic dentistry knowledge and skills sharpened by the rigorous examination and review process of accreditation and then accredited fellow has vastly improved her ability to provide her patients with a level of dentistry that rivals the world’s leading cosmetic dentists.