The ADA 2026 Scientific Session runs October 8 to 10 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. The venue forecasts 4,000 attendees. A four-person practice team turns three nights into a small-group booking with one reservation and one rooming list.
The week as the ADA publishes it
Registration opens Wednesday, October 7, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, October 8 carries registration 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., the general session 7:45 a.m. to 9 a.m., the exhibit hall 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and CE courses and hands-on workshops 9:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, October 9 runs registration 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the exhibit hall 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and adds the Indiana Dental Association Center for Excellence program, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Changemakers Celebration Reception runs 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, October 10 is the short day. Registration and the exhibit hall close at 1:30 p.m. and CE ends at noon. The 2026 House of Delegates meets October 10 to 13.
One registration record, one discount
The ADA's Dental Practice Group Discount covers three or more member dentists or team members from the same practice who register for a Conference Pass. The saving is $50 off each pass at three, $100 off each at four, and $150 off each at five or more. All registrants must sit on the same registration record. A practice that lets each dentist book alone pays full price and forfeits the discount. The offer excludes the Exhibit Hall Only pass.
The discount in dollars
Advanced pricing runs before September 28 at 5 p.m. A Conference Pass costs $699 for an ADA member dentist and $349 for a dental team member at that rate. Three member dentists cost $2,097 and come down to $1,947 with the discount, a saving of $150. Five cost $3,495 and come down to $2,745, a saving of $750. A mixed team of three member dentists and two dental team members registers at $2,795 and $2,045.
How many rooms the team needs
A shared room plan holds the cost down. Four people in two double rooms spend six room-nights across the Wednesday-to-Saturday pattern, 1.5 per person. Six people in three doubles spend nine. The same four in single rooms spend twelve.
No Indianapolis rate is published for these dates. The figures below use a labelled example rate of $200 per room per night, which the practice should replace with its own. Six room-nights is $1,200, or $1,020 at a 15% group saving and $720 at 40%. Nine room-nights is $1,800, or $1,530 and $1,080.
bookMyTeam publishes a group rate at a block of 10 or more rooms per night and notes that some hotels discount from as few as five rooms depending on season and availability. Two or three rooms sits below both. The route here is a rate request through the request form at bookmyteam.org/rfp/submit, priced on the group rate calculator at bookmyteam.org/group-rate-calculator.
Building the rooming list when answers arrive late
Practice confirmations arrive in waves. A hygienist's cover and an associate's clinical schedule settle later than the conference is announced. Collect the rooming list in tranches and name the certain travellers first, so the room count stops moving. Keep one document, because the hotel needs the list before arrival. bookMyTeam holds a block to a cut-off date, after which unclaimed rooms return to general inventory. Its attrition clause sets the minimum share of the block that must be filled. Both belong in the agreement before signature.
The Saturday return
Saturday, October 10 is the argument for three nights rather than four. Registration and the exhibit hall close at 1:30 p.m., and CE finishes at noon. A Saturday afternoon flight works. A fourth night pays for a room the programme does not use, unless a delegate stays on for the House of Delegates through October 13.
Keeping the trip inside the practice's travel policy
The ADA's housing deadline is Friday, September 18: book by then for the best selection and availability, with limited options afterwards. The registration cancellation deadline is that same Friday at 5 p.m. CT. Cancellations in writing by then get a full refund less a $50 processing fee. After the deadline the ADA grants no refunds, registration records are non-transferable, and name substitutions are not permitted. Advanced pricing ends Monday, September 28 at 5 p.m.
The ADA also publishes travel discounts. United's meeting code ZRRK230223 applies to travel between October 4 and 15, 2026. Southwest's SWABIZ account, company ID 99256010, takes 3% off Anytime and Business Select fares. Badges are collected onsite at the Indiana Convention Center, Level 1, in the Crossroads Hallway outside Hall D.
What to confirm before committing
The ADA hotel list sits behind a housing widget that publishes no property names and no nightly rates to a direct fetch. The room rate comes from the housing desk at ADA@maritz.com or from a request to the market. Four facts no source publishes are worth asking for outright: the bed configuration held for the team, the breakfast opening hour against a 7:45 a.m. Thursday general session, parking for a practice van, and whether the team can be placed on one floor.
Indianapolis carries the rest. The city has 7,100 hotel rooms downtown, 4,700 connected to the convention center by skywalk, 200 downtown restaurants within walking distance, and the airport 15 minutes away. Close to two thirds of downtown rooms reach the convention center without stepping outside.
