About SAO Sociedad Argentina de Ortodoncia

The Sociedad Argentina de Ortodoncia (SAO, according to its acronym in Spanish) [Argentine Society of Orthodontics] was founded on June 12, 1933. It is an non-profit institution -declared Entity for the Public Good- that joins dentists in training or specialized in orthodontics as members (currently, around 1700 dentists, distributed throughout Argentina).

The members´ objective is to keep the postulates stated on its foundation: improve the access to the information through the latest means of communication; place the professional orthodontist in a competitive position in the country and in the world, offering them an appropriate program of continuous education; aim at the continuous professional development making qualified training programs with their corresponding accreditation accessible to orthodontists; and lead the improvement of the population´s health offering good care to patients that stand up for its excellence and avant-garde conditions.

In order to fulfill professional training, SAO carries out a teaching-assistance work through post-graduate courses including different orientations within the broad range of the specialty, among them the possibility of taking the curriculum of the Specialization on Orthodontics, Courses with university accreditation with internship system, and getting the continuous training and education on Orthodontics in the most complete variety of techniques.

With the purpose of realizing this task in the most adequate way, collaboration and inter-institutional agreements have been settled with the Universidad Católica Argentina [Argentine Catholic University], the Sociedad Odontológica La Plata [La Plata Dentistry Society] , the Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires, [Buenos Aires National University], the Universidad Tecnológica Nacional [National Technological University], the Universidad de Ciencias Empresariales y Sociales [University of Business and Social Sciences] and the Sociedad Argentina de Cirugía y Traumatología Buco-Maxilo-Facial [Argentine Society of Bucco-Maxillary-Facial Surgery and Orthopedics] (section of the Asociación Odontológica Argentina [Argentine Dentistry Association) and the Hospital de Pediatría Prof. Juan P.Garrahan [Pediatrics Hospital].

The Society also has scientific collaboration agreements with organizations that under the name of Regional Entities have an organization outline similar to that of the Central Entity, but they work with independence and autonomy, but with sharing of principles and objectives, conforming their presidents a Federal Board that interrelates with SAO´s Board of Directors in the search for solutions to topics concerning the professional, academic, legal, etc. tasks, in a couple of Annual Plenary meetings.

The Sociedad Argentina de Ortodoncia is a member of national entities: Federación Odontológica de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires (FOCiBA) [Dentistry Federation of Buenos Aires City], and through it, of the Confederación Odontológica de la República Argentina (CORA) [Dentistry Confederation of Argentina], national representative of the Federación Dental Internacional (FDI) [International Dental Federation].

The institution also participates as member of the Consejo de Planeamiento Estratégico CoPE [Board of Strategic Planning] of the Plan Estratégico 2010 of the City of Buenos Aires.
On an international level, the Sociedad Argentina de Ortodoncia is a founder member of the World Federation of Orthodontists (WFO). To become a member of the WFO, it is a requirement to be a member of the SAO.

Once established the World Society of Lingual Orthodontics (WSLO), the Sociedad Argentina de Ortodoncia Lingual SAOL [Argentine Society of Lingual Orthodontics] was created at the heart of SAO, generating ties between both institutions.
Revista Ortodoncia, scientific journal, is published under the SAO´s copyrights, and is distributed free among its member, with the possibility of consulting it in the bibliographical indexes.

Trying to place the Argentine orthodontists in the highest standards of professional quality, the Argentine Board of Orthodontics and Dento-Maxillary Orthopedics operates at SAO. This Board is part of the WFO Committee on National and Regional Orthodontic Boards, awarding the qualification of Professional Specialist certified by the Argentine Board of Orthodontics and Dento-Maxillary Orthopedics.