The three nights the programme fixes
The ADA 2026 Scientific Session runs 8 to 10 October at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. The venue publishes a forecast of 4,000 attendees. The organiser publishes the clocks. Registration runs Wednesday 7 October from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday registration runs 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday registration runs 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
A Thursday arrival with a Saturday departure holds two nights. A delegate who uses the Wednesday registration window holds three. The organiser tells attendees to collect badges early and avoid the Thursday queue. Badge pickup sits on Level 1 in the Crossroads Hallway outside Hall D. The Wednesday night is the third night of the stay, and it carries its own rate.
The Thursday arrival wave
Thursday carries the heaviest load in the published grid. Registration opens at 7 a.m. The General Session runs 7:45 a.m. to 9 a.m. The exhibit hall opens at 9 a.m. and closes at 6 p.m. A Happy Hour runs 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Continuing education and hands-on workshops run 9:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Three published clocks converge before 9 a.m. Front-desk staffing tracks the 7 a.m. registration open. The overnight shift carries the wave.
The Saturday close and the checkout cluster
Saturday 10 October carries registration from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Continuing education runs 8:30 a.m. to noon. The exhibit hall runs 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The programme ends at 1:30 p.m. Saturday night holds no session.
Departures concentrate between the 8:30 a.m. class start and the 1:30 p.m. hall close. A late-checkout queue lands in that window.
The House of Delegates holds the weekend
The ADA House of Delegates meets 10 to 13 October in Indianapolis. That body speaks for more than 152,000 dentist members. Its members come from 53 constituent societies, five federal dental services and the American Student Dental Association. The House holds the Saturday through Tuesday nights.
Two more groups share the building
The venue calendar places three groups in the Indiana Convention Center across these dates. The FullScale Symposium forecasts 1,000 attendees in Sagamore Ballroom 1-7 from 8 to 10 October. The ABC Health & Fitness Expo forecasts 2,000 in Exhibit Hall A on 10 October from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday 10 October carries a published forecast of 7,000 across the three groups.
The published rate picture
The ADA publishes no block rate. Its travel page routes the official hotel list through a browser inside the registration system. The travel page publishes a housing deadline of 18 September for best selection. That deadline has passed.
Two airline discount windows remain open. United agreement code ZRRK230223 covers travel 4 to 15 October 2026. Southwest gives 3 percent off Anytime and Business Select fares under ADA company ID 99256010.
Engine publishes the city's rate curve. Its Indianapolis page reads an average of $128 a night across 1.2 million public rate observations from May 2024 to April 2026. October averages $134. September averages $117. November averages $122. Engine states the figures are par rates.
What the desk can plan against
Four thousand delegates at one room each is 56.3 percent of downtown's 7,100 rooms. Three nights at one room each is 12,000 room nights. One night at 4,000 rooms against the October average of $134 works out to about $536,000. Three nights works out to about $1,608,000. Each figure rests on the one-delegate-one-room assumption. Each figure is a ceiling.
Advanced registration pricing runs through 28 September at 5 p.m. Central. The member dentist Conference pass is $699 advanced and $1,099 standard. The dental team pass is $349 advanced and $549 standard.