Welcome to Colorado ASDA!

Here, in the Colorado Chapter of the American Student Dental Association (ASDA), we protect and advance the rights, interests, and welfare of dental students at our institution, within our state, and nationally. ASDA is one of the largest student-run organization in the nation, with over 23,000 student members from the 66 participating dental schools, and over 2,000 pre-dental members. This represents nearly 90% of the dental students in the country. At the University of Colorado, our students experience the benefits of being auto enrolled as ASDA members thanks to our wonderful sponsors, including: The Colorado Dental Association (CDA), Metropolitan Denver Dental Society (MDDS), and The Trust. These sponsors allow every student at the University of Colorado to be a member of our Colorado ASDA chapter, and we are very thankful they recognize the importance of exposing students to participation in organized dentistry early in their career.

Colorado ASDA holds to three pillars— wellness, unity, and excellence. Throughout the year, we host events to benefit our student body and improve our future profession through advocacy. This past year, University of Colorado students attended state and national Lobby Days and advocated for student loan reform, water fluoridation, and dental insurance reform. The Colorado Dental Association works closely with us by hosting lunch and learns that teach our student body about current legislative issues on the state level. We strive to provide our students with ample opportunity to thrive in their professional careers by creating opportunities to work with the CDA, ADA, District 11 ASDA, and National ASDA! This past year, we sent every executive board member to the ASDA National Leadership Conference in Chicago. Here, our board met with students from around the country to learn skills that translate to serving as leaders for our chapter and managing a dental team in the future. Our goal is to have as many students involved with organized dentistry as possible and create a relationship that encourages students to maintain passion for involvement following graduation.   

If you are stumbling across this website, I hope to meet you at one of our events over the next year, whether it be at our Pre-Dental Weekend, the first annual ASDA Philanthropy Blood Drive, Fever Week, the annual ASDAsh 5k, or any of our other incredible events! If you ever have any questions about this organization or are curious to learn more, feel free to reach out. I feel honored to represent the best ASDA chapter in the country and am elated to see all we are able to accomplish this year!  

Thank you for your interest in Colorado ASDA! Let’s work together to represent our fellow dental students, advocate for our profession, and do our best to enjoy our time preparing for a rewarding career in dentistry.

Kaylee Appley ‘27