The American Dental Association has retired the SmileCon name after its final run in 2025 and will hold its 2026 annual meeting as the ADA Scientific Session, October 8 to 10, 2026, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. The rebranded event trades the festival style of recent years for a tighter focus on clinical continuing education, and registration is already open. For families, the practical takeaway is simple: this is the meeting where the family and pediatric dentists you rely on go to stay current on the guidelines that shape your child's care.
What exactly changed with the ADA's annual meeting?
The ADA ended the SmileCon brand and reframed its yearly gathering as the ADA Scientific Session, with a stated emphasis on clinical excellence over spectacle. The final SmileCon took place October 23 to 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C., according to an American Dental Association press release. In announcing the wind down, the ADA cited two main reasons: attendance never fully rebounded to pre pandemic levels despite positive feedback and growing repeat attendance, and the cost of staging the event kept rising.
ADA President Brett Kessler, D.D.S., framed the decision around the meeting's legacy rather than its problems, saying, "SmileCon has been much more than a professional conference; it's been a showcase of the best dentistry has to offer." The 2026 Scientific Session in Indianapolis is the ADA's answer to the same governance requirement for an annual scientific meeting, delivered in a leaner format built around courses, workshops, a general session, and an exhibit hall.
Key facts at a glance
- Dates and venue: The ADA 2026 Scientific Session runs October 8 to 10, 2026, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, according to the American Dental Association (2026).
- The last SmileCon: The final SmileCon was held October 23 to 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C., according to an ADA press release (2025).
- Registration timing: Registration opened May 27, 2026, with an online agenda builder launching that spring, according to the Indiana Dental Association (2026).
When and where is the ADA 2026 Scientific Session?
The ADA 2026 Scientific Session takes place October 8 to 10, 2026, at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis. The event page on the ADA website, which now labels the meeting as "formerly known as SmileCon," lists registration hours running from the afternoon of Wednesday, October 7 through the morning of Saturday, October 10. Indianapolis is also where the ADA House of Delegates, the association's policy making body, convenes in 2026, so the city hosts both the clinical program and the governance side of the ADA in the same window.
You can confirm current details and register through the ADA Scientific Session page. Local dentists in many states can also register through their state association portals.
How is the Scientific Session different from SmileCon?
The Scientific Session narrows the focus to clinical education and cuts back on the broader entertainment programming that defined recent SmileCon years. According to the Indiana Dental Association, the 2026 program prioritizes substantive content over sheer volume of sessions, covering oral systemic health, oral cancer research, radiography guidelines, and other clinical recommendations informed by The Journal of the American Dental Association. A single comprehensive pass grants access to continuing education presentations, the general session, networking, and the exhibit hall where attendees see dental products, services, and emerging technology.
Jennifer Thompson, D.D.S., chair of the ADA Council on Dental Practice, described the goal this way: "The 2026 Scientific Session represents an intentional investment in clinical excellence, professional development and an opportunity to enhance the dental practice." The Indiana Dental Association will run its own Center for Excellence program alongside the national meeting, with Dr. Barett Andreasen leading live lectures and hands on workshops.
SmileCon 2025 compared with the ADA 2026 Scientific Session
| Feature | Final SmileCon (2025) | ADA Scientific Session (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | October 23 to 25, 2025 | October 8 to 10, 2026 |
| City | Washington, D.C. | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Brand | SmileCon | ADA Scientific Session |
| Emphasis | Broad conference and showcase | Clinical education and CE focus |
| Access model | Tiered event passes | Single comprehensive pass |
Sources: American Dental Association (2025, 2026) and the Indiana Dental Association (2026).
Why should families care about a dental industry conference?
Families care because this is where the dentists who treat your children refresh the standards that guide everyday care, from radiography frequency to how oral health connects to the rest of the body. Continuing education is not busywork: it is how a clinician stays current on the newest evidence for sealants, fluoride, cavity management, and imaging safety. When a family or pediatric office invests in national meetings like this, the payoff shows up in the exam room as up to date, guideline based decisions for your child.
That matters most for the practices that see kids twice a year, every year. Family and pediatric offices in the Smile Listing directory, from Highlands Family Dentistry in Dallas to Hurst Pediatric Dentistry in Texas, are exactly the kind of teams that send clinicians to earn continuing education credits and bring new techniques home. If you want to know whether your dentist keeps up, asking what conferences and CE courses they attended this year is a fair and useful question.
What will be on the exhibit floor?
The exhibit hall is where dentists preview the tools that later reach neighborhood practices, including practice technology and emerging artificial intelligence. Dental AI and practice software have moved fast in 2026, a trend we covered in our report on Dental Intelligence launching an AI receptionist and analytics tools for family practices. Meetings like the Scientific Session are where these products get compared side by side, so the software that eventually books your appointment or reads your child's X ray is often first evaluated on a floor like this one.
How can a local dentist attend or earn credit?
A licensed dentist attends by registering for a comprehensive pass, which bundles continuing education courses, the general session, and exhibit hall access into one ticket. Continuing education credits earned at the Scientific Session help satisfy the licensing requirements that most states set for renewal, which is one reason large national meetings remain a fixture even as their formats change. State dental associations frequently promote the ADA meeting through their own member portals and, in Indiana's case, pair it with a local Center for Excellence program.
FAQ
Is SmileCon canceled for good?
The SmileCon brand ended after the final event in October 2025. The ADA's annual meeting continues in 2026 under a new name, the ADA Scientific Session, with a stronger focus on clinical continuing education.
When and where is the ADA 2026 Scientific Session?
It runs October 8 to 10, 2026, at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Indiana, according to the American Dental Association.
Do I need to attend as a patient?
No. The Scientific Session is a professional meeting for dentists and dental teams, not a public event. Its value to families is indirect: it helps the dentists you see stay current on guidelines and technology.
How do I know if my dentist keeps up with continuing education?
Ask directly. A good practice will happily tell you what conferences and CE courses its clinicians attended and how those updates affect care such as imaging schedules, fluoride, and sealants for your child.
Updated July 2026.
