The ADA publishes the Journal of the American Dental Association and JADA Foundational Science.

The Paffenbarger Research Center (PRC), located on the campus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland, an agency of the American Dental Association Foundation (ADAF) and a Department of the Division of Science.

[13] After a Reader's Digest investigation revealed that dentists provided drastically different evaluations of the same patients and suggested drastically different treatments, ADA President Leslie Seldin said, "Dentistry is an art based on scientific knowledge, and what's most important to all of us is that we each use our professional judgment to design what we believe is the best solution for the patient.

Each council is assigned to study issues relating to its special area of interest and to make recommendations on those matters to the Board of Trustees and the House of Delegates.

"[10] The ADA lobbied against the proposal, arguing that the government should rather give more funding to dentists than allow "lesser trained" therapists to provide dental services.

[10] The ADA spent millions of dollars to block legislative proposals in various states to permit dental therapists to provide services.

[10] The ADA's own research has shown that when dentists work with dental therapists, the rate of untreated caries was lower than in dentist-only teams.

[8] The ADA has a long history of advocating against dental coverage under national health insurance plans.

[11] In 2021, the ADA launched a well-funded lobbying effort against proposal to provide dental insurance coverage for all Medicare recipients.

[10][21] The ADA has also been described as an "old boys club" where licensed dentists, 70% of whom are male, restrict the kinds of services that dental hygienists (more than 95% of whom are female) can provide.