Where to Find the ADA's Dental Guidelines and Reference Resources
The Australian Dental Association (ADA) publishes two core reference resources for the dental sector on ada.org.au: the Australian Schedule of Dental Services and Glossary, its definitive reference for coding and describing dental services, and the ADA Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines, its evidence-based guidelines for dental practitioners aligned with national standards and best practices. Both are listed under the "For the dental profession" section of the site and are accessed via their respective "View" links. The Schedule and Glossary are described as the ADA's reference for the whole dental sector, while the Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines are marked as public resources.
The two reference resources
| Resource | What it covers | Who it's for | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Schedule of Dental Services and Glossary | Coding and describing dental services across the dental sector | Dental practitioners and the wider sector | "View" link on the ADA site |
| ADA Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines | Evidence-based infection prevention and control, aligned with national standards and best practices | Dental practitioners | Marked "(Public)" on the ADA site |
How to reach them
- Go to ada.org.au.
- Look in the "For the dental profession" section, which lists both resources alongside other items such as the Australian Dental Congress and the Dental Careers Hub.
- Select View next to the resource you need — one for the Australian Schedule of Dental Services and Glossary, one for the ADA Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines.
The expected result is the resource page itself; the Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines are flagged as public, so they are presented as openly available rather than behind the member area.
Related resources on the same site
The ADA site also points to other tools that support practice, though these are separate from the two reference documents above:
- Dental Careers Hub — advertise nationally or search for jobs across dentists, specialists, hygienists, assistants, practice managers and more.
- CPD on demand — members can access 100+ hours of peer-reviewed, expert-led webinars, video and audio CPD. This area is labelled Members Only, so it sits behind membership rather than being a public reference.
- Therapeutic Guidelines, HR Advisory Service and Practice Accreditation — listed among popular searches for members.
Common sticking points
- Don't confuse the public guidelines with member-only content. The Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines are marked public; the CPD portal and its webinars are marked Members Only. If a link asks you to sign in, you are likely in the member area rather than on a public reference page.
- The Schedule and Glossary is a coding reference, not a clinical guideline. Use it to code and describe dental services; use the Infection Prevention and Control Guidelines for evidence-based infection control aligned with national standards.
- Both are reached from the profession-facing section. If you start from the public-facing part of the site, navigate to the "For the dental profession" area to find them.