Endodontists The Root Canal Specialists

2003

• Member needs survey shows support for campaign
• Consumer awareness baseline survey conducted

2004

• Board of Directors approves five-year campaign
• Edelman Public Relations hired
• Campaign messaging, materials developed

2005

• Media outreach launches
• Community Outreach Tool Kit distributed to all members
• General dentist baseline survey conducted

2006

• Campaign metrics approved by the AAE Board for consumers and general dentists

2007

• Consumer awareness survey repeated; first metrics met
• First Root Canal Awareness Week launches
• General dentist survey repeated
• Dental educator and student baseline surveys conducted

2008

• Member satisfaction survey shows continued support for campaign, approval of campaign objectives by majority
• Consumer survey repeated
• Campaign metrics approved by AAE Board for dental educators and students
• Dental educator and student surveys repeated

2009

• Second consumer metrics not met
• Board approves change in direction of campaign
• AAE ends agreement with Edelman
• AAE conducts market research into general dentist referral dynamics, identifies predictive factors affecting referral to endodontists

2010

• Ketchum hired to conduct Root Canal Awareness Week and Access to Care event promotion, develop educational videos and Google ad campaign, enhance AAE Web site
• New campaign proposal submitted to AAE Board using research findings (April)

After closely monitoring progress against a number of metric targets, AAE leaders have observed that consumer awareness and preferences remain steady, and recently voted to redirect the campaign to the general dentist audience.

Campaign data collected over the past five years clearly point to the general dentist as the gatekeeper of referral―63 percent of consumers report they will do whatever their general dentist recommends. In fact, when faced with the decision between root canal treatment or extraction, AAE data shows that the general dentist’s advice is more important to consumers than knowing root canal treatment is less painful or knowing there is an option to save the tooth.

General dentists report that the AAE is their most-trusted source of endodontic information, and with a total population numbering roughly 130,000 professionals, present a higher potential of being influenced by an AAE campaign.

As a result, the coming year’s awareness campaign will transition to the following:

Market Research  
Research into the dynamics of referral to a specialist and the psychology of trust between patients and general dentists is already underway to identify points of leverage that may lead to increased referrals to endodontists. The research will be compiled and analyzed by an independent research firm, and will form the basis of the AAE’s outreach strategy to the dental profession.

Marketing Plan and Implementation 
A new public relations agency will develop core messages about referral to endodontists for placement in various dental Web sites, professional publications and direct mailings from the AAE. The Association will also promote features such as the Find an Endodontist search engine to dentists and the public to provide easier access to endodontic specialists online.

Consumer Education
Public education initiatives such as Root Canal Awareness Week will continue to provide accurate, timely information about root canal procedures and endodontists to potential patients. The AAE will also continue to monitor the media for misinformation or opportunities to share messaging about the specialty that protect the best interests of the patient.

Progress Reports
All campaign plans and outcomes will continue to be shared with AAE leaders and members as they have been to-date, including reports to the Executive Committee and Board of Directors, and announcements in AAE newsletters and the Journal of Endodontics. A comprehensive report and recommendation regarding the future of the campaign will be prepared for the Board’s annual meeting in April 2010, at which time the AAE’s strategy and campaign assessment will again be evaluated.

General Dentist Outreach
The AAE reached out directly to 4,075 ADA member dentists who graduated in 2006 and 2007 through a welcome mailing titled “What Can the AAE Do For You?” The mailing consisted of a cover letter introducing the Association and a flyer detailing available resources and areas in which AAE can be of assistance. The mailing encouraged all new dentists to build relationships with endodontists in their community and rely on the AAE for the best in endodontic information.

The AAE continued to maintain a campaign presence at the annual meetings of various dental associations including the American Dental Association, the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting, Greater New York Dental Show, APICES, the American Student Dental Association and AAE District II Symposium. Most general dentists were interested in learning more about the specialty through the ENDODONTICS: Colleagues for Excellence newsletter and the Journal of Endodontics. The AAE will continue its presence at these meetings in the coming fiscal year with a redesigned booth to further entice visitors.

Dental Educator and Student Outreach
During the second quarter, the AAE issued a trade press release titled “Endodontic Postgraduate Program Information Just a Click Away.” Placements of the release garnered 1,239,008 media impressions. The release highlighted the AAE advanced programs database, with admissions and contact information for all advanced endodontic programs in the United States and Canada.

As part of its strategic planning initiatives, the PPAC embarked on a formal Lunch-and-Learn program for predoctoral dental students. The program consists of endodontist volunteers giving one-hour presentations on endodontic topics of interest at dental schools nationwide. Activities during the past year included speaker identification and orientation, development of four presentations and further development of official policies and procedures. The Lunch-and-Learn program officially will launch during the 2008-2009 school year.

Consumer Media Outreach
Baby Boomers – Outreach on the importance for the baby boomer generation of maintaining proper oral care while aging was carried over from year three into year four. Media materials focused on the positive effect preserving one’s natural teeth can have on systemic health and the value of root canal treatment in saving compromised teeth. 

• Edelman distributed a media alert to the AAE core media list with targeted follow-up directed at top-tier, long-lead publications relevant to the Boomer generation, as well as regional and local magazines geared toward the 50+ population. An interview with Dr. Goldstein was secured in the health information trade, For the Record, and information from the media alert was printed in OnFitness magazine and four regional publications, for a total of 1,205,672 print media impressions.
• Edelman developed a MAT release aimed at Boomers on the connection between oral and overall health. To date, “One Important Keepsake as You Age: Your Teeth” has generated 472 newspaper articles in 27 different states with an estimated readership of 13,602,676.
• Edelman also released an audio news release urging Boomers to protect their natural teeth. The ANR was broadcast 893 times by 831 stations across the nation, reaching an audience of nearly five million listeners.
• Edelman conducted a radio media tour in conjunction with the ANR. Radio media tours allow for multiple radio interviews with a spokesperson with several different stations in a short period of time. Dr. Goldstein served as AAE spokesman in 18 interviews, which reached approximately 5.8 million listeners.

Endodontists as Specialists – In December 2007, outreach was conducted to educate consumers on endodontics and endodontists, focusing particularly on endodontists’ skill in performing virtually painless root canal treatment, as well as to promote endodontists as an integral part of the dental team.

• Edelman issued a press release and conducted extensive follow up outreach to the complete AAE media list of consumer and trade outlets. Placements included interviews with Dr. Goldstein for DrBicuspid.com and HealthySmile magazine. Print and online placements reached a total audience of 9,467,034. Additional trade and consumer outlets expressed interest in the topic, and although specific placements were not secured, these reporters will continue to consider the AAE for future coverage of dental topics. 
• Edelman also distributed a MAT release in connection with the sSpecialists outreach titled “Endodontists End Your Tooth Pain.” The release has earned 256 placements in 19 states and 8,393,512 media impressions to date. 
• A RMT with the theme “Need a Root Canal? Call the Endodontist!” again included Dr. Goldstein as AAE spokesperson for 14 interviews reaching an audience of 215,000.
• A corresponding ANR was aired a total of 914 times by 883 stations for a total of 5,155,000 impressions.

Root Canal Awareness Week – For the second annual Root Canal Awareness Week, March 30 – April 5, 2008, the Association developed outreach materials around the theme of mouth guard use during all sports to prevent dental injuries, with the tagline of “Watch Your Mouth!” Tips for saving an avulsed tooth, including visiting an endodontist right away, were included in all materials. This outreach expanded upon the success of the first annual RCAW, for which the AAE was a recipient of a Silver Trumpet Award in the category of “Special Events and Observances” by the Publicity Club of Chicago (March 2008).

• Separate trade and consumer press releases were issued for RCAW 2008. The trade release urged participation from the dental community in encouraging youth athletes to protect their teeth with mouth guards. Trade coverage, including a placement in the sports dentistry journal, Dental Traumatology, reached an audience of 4,448,236.
• Consumer outreach to appropriate health and sports reporters at newspapers, wires, broadcast outlets, online health-focused outlets, national and local parenting magazines, and sports magazines garnered 23,151,938 media impressions. Placements included a Chicago Sun-Times interview with Dr. Brad Johnson, a Tampa Tribune article with the headline “Watch Your Mouth!,” and a syndicated column distributed to approximately 50 regional parenting publications, such as L.A. Parent.
• AAE members were encouraged to speak with their local media. Drs. Clara M. Spatafore and James A. Abbott secured feature stories in their local newspapers. The Michigan Association of Endodontists also conducted outreach around the state, placing original articles in the Port Huron, Mich., Times Herald and DentalPlans.com. A separate press release issued by the MAE was also posted online by five trade and consumer outlets.
• The Association developed a MAT release as part of the national outreach and to date, the article has been printed by 108 newspapers, reaching a total audience of 2,993,371 readers.
• Another successful ANR/RMT was also conducted with Dr. Goldstein who completed 14 radio interviews. These interviews were aired a total of 32 times, garnering approximately 5.7 million impressions. The ANR was aired 872 times to an audience of nearly five million listeners. On average, combined ANR/RMTs usually garner audience numbers in the four to five million range, and this ANR/RMT reached more than double the average audience with a total of 10,597,200 impressions.

Sedation Dentistry Outreach - In December 2007, Chicago media reported a woman passed away while under general sedation for root canal treatment. Upon learning of the incident, Edelman and AAE staff quickly developed a plan of action for media outreach, including an official AAE position statement regarding the safety of root canal treatment with local anesthesia. The goal of this outreach was to limit negative commentary about root canal treatment and to emphasize the safety of the procedure.

The media statement was finalized within hours, along with securing University of Illinois at Chicago educator and endodontist Dr. Christopher S. Wenckus as the lead spokesperson for media outreach. Given the urgency and quickly developing nature of this story, the AAE and Edelman worked thoroughly to ensure that all Chicago outlets had access to accurate endodontic information as well as Dr. Wenckus for potential interviews. Placements with AAE messaging and quotes from Dr. Wenckus appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Defender, most local television stations, including ABC, CBS, FOX and PBS affiliates, and local CBS News Radio (WBBM-AM). The resultant placements garnered 3,699,536 media impressions within two days.

Additional Opportunistic Outreach

• Edelman pitched the AAE and Dr. Goldstein’s expert advice to a reporter with Univision.com for her article on dental pain. The Spanish-language article, titled in English, “Toothaches That Paralyze - Advice That Will Help you Figure out What to do,” included a list from Dr. Goldstein of possible ailments for which one should see a specialist. Univision.com receives almost two million unique site visits per month, making this placement a valuable contribution to outreach to Spanish-speaking communities.
• In June 2008, Edelman again offered media AAE experts to comment on new research. Sports reporters with top local newspapers and Chicago television stations were contacted regarding a study on baseball injuries. Information on the importance of mouth guard use and tips for saving injured or avulsed teeth were provided, as with RCAW outreach. A letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune from Dr. Louis Rossman was printed on June 14, 2008, reaching an audience of 541,663.
• In August 2007, the suburban Chicago newspaper, The Daily Herald, printed a letter from Dr. Goldstein highlighting root canal treatment as the best option to preserve natural teeth, in response to an article encouraging the aging population to maintain proper oral health. This placement generated more than 400,000 media impressions.

Consumer Media Activities
The AAE initiated a number of media outreach activities in Year Three to elicit continuous press coverage of the specialty and the campaign.

Tooth Atlas
A media outreach program was developed to promote the Tooth Atlas, an educational tool developed by AAE members Drs. W. Paul Brown and Eric Herbranson of the University of the Pacific Dental School. Two press releases about the tool were distributed to consumer and dental professional publications, gaining coverage on HealthNewsDigest.com, and the Web sites of Dental Economics and RDH.

In addition, the AAE filmed footage for use by television stations when covering the Tooth Atlas story. The footage was distributed to national broadcast affiliates via the FOX Network. Ten affiliates broadcast coverage of the Tooth Atlas and incorporated the AAE footage, reaching 348,975 viewers nationwide.

Demystifying the Root Canal
In October 2006, media outreach was conducted in an effort to dispel the negative stereotypes that surround root canals. Using the results of a special survey that asked respondents to name the most feared medical and dental procedure, the AAE developed a press release that corrected misinformation and provided facts about root canals. The release generated 10,780,122 media impressions (total number of people reached). Placements of note were secured on the United Press International wire and in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The AAE also developed a prewritten article titled “Endodontists Demystify the Feared Root Canal – One Tooth at a Time” to generate coverage in smaller, local papers. To date, this article has generated 648 newspaper articles in 23 different states with an estimated readership of 18,293,648.

Regenerative Endodontics
In December 2006, the Journal of Endodontics published a research study that described the use of stem cells to regenerate root tissue in children’s teeth. The AAE developed a media alert based on the published study results that positioned endodontists as being committed to saving natural teeth, especially in children. The alert generated a major wire story on Reuters Health that included an interview with Dr. John S. Olmsted. In addition, Dr. Olmsted was interviewed by Consumers Digest (placement pending). To date, this media alert has generated 29,317,481 media impressions.

Root Canal Awareness Week
To raise awareness and drive media coverage of endodontics, the AAE sponsored and promoted the first annual Root Canal Awareness Week from April 1 - 7, 2007. A press release announcing the launch of the first-ever RCAW included relevant statistics from consumer surveys, general information on root canals and quotes from the AAE and consumer spokespeople. This outreach generated 7,243,051 media impressions and included placements in the Denver Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

A prewritten article also promoted the concept of RCAW. To date, “Endodontists Battle Tooth Pain – and Misconceptions” has generated 116 newspaper articles in 13 different states with an estimated readership of 45,148,144.

In addition, an audio news release, a prepackaged radio news story, supplemented the Root Canal Awareness Week media outreach. This ANR was well-received, reaching approximately 4.7 million listeners. (On average, ANRs usually reach four to six million radio listeners.) The Root Canal Awareness Week ANR was broadcast a total of 796 times by 731 stations across the nation. A radio media tour was also conducted in conjunction with the RCAW ANR. Radio media tours allow for multiple radio interviews with several different stations in a short period of time. Dr. Olmsted served as the AAE spokesman in 34 interviews, which reached 352,000 listeners.

Information on Root Canal Awareness Week was included on the calendar listings of several sources including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Web site.

To bolster member involvement in RCAW activities, staff developed a Member Planning Guide with ideas and the necessary tools to conduct outreach in members’ communities. The Guide was posted to the campaign Web site, along with all related RCAW media materials. Staff additionally sent a list of proposed AAE affiliate outreach ideas to all affiliate presidents for their consideration.

Implant Position Statement
Also in April, the AAE released a position statement on the use of dental implants versus root canal treatment. A press release announcing the creation of the statement included information from a systematic literature review published in the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants, which found no statistical difference in the efficacy rates between root canals and implants, and promoted the fact that root canals save the natural tooth. The release also included a reference to a consensus statement published by the Academy of Osseointegration that discussed the study findings. The release reached an audience of 4,017,244, with placements appearing on the United Press International newswire, as well as on the Web sites of important trade publications including Dental Economics and Dental Compare.

Baby Boomers
A prewritten article and media alert on the importance of Baby Boomers preserving their natural teeth was developed in June. It was distributed to national consumer publications including the AARP Bulletin, Redbook and Good Housekeeping. An audio news release and radio media tour supported this initiative on July 12, 2007, with AAE President Shepard S. Goldstein serving as the AAE spokesman for this opportunity. Preliminary results at the time of printing indicate the ANR has been broadcast a total of 893 times by 831 stations across the nation, reaching 4,939,000 listeners. Dr. Goldstein’s 18 radio interviews reached an additional audience of 5,785,000 listeners.

Additional Consumer Outreach
A Spanish translation of the prewritten article titled “What Is an Endodontist?,” was submitted to Spanish language newspapers nationwide in February 2007. To date, the release has generated 24 articles in three different states with an estimated readership of 5,628,000.

Although distributed in year two of the campaign, the following articles generated coverage in Year Three:

• “Something for Seniors to Smile About” generated 44 articles with an estimated readership of 3,244,336 in Year Three. To date, this MAT release has generated a total of 344 articles with a total readership of 18,799,456.
• “Digital Radiography Improves the Picture for Root Canal Treatment” generated all of its measurable coverage in Year Three. To date, this MAT release generated 100 newspaper articles with a readership of 4,656,864.

The AAE’s ongoing media monitoring identified several published media stories that warranted a formal response from the AAE in order to clarify or reiterate messages in the published article.

In October 2006, the AAE drafted a letter to the editor of the Chicago Sun-Times in response to an article on spa dentistry that misrepresented root canals as painful. Titled “To the root of the problem,” the letter was signed by Dr. Olmsted and mentioned how root canals are virtually painless and help to relieve tooth pain. The letter was published on October 11 and reached 1,167,021 readers.

Also in October 2006, the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer printed an editorial on the AAE’s “Demystifying the Root Canal” outreach. The editorial perpetuated the myth that root canals are uncomfortable and fear-inducing. A response from the AAE was printed on November 11 and included information on the importance of saving natural teeth through root canal treatment. This placement garnered 443,594 media impressions.

Dental Professional Outreach
In order to encourage a positive partnership between general dentists and endodontists, the AAE has continued outreach to secondary campaign audiences including general dentists, dental educators and dental students. The goals of this outreach are to improve perceptions of endodontists and endodontics (as assessed by baseline and follow-up surveys).

A baseline survey of general dentists in the U.S. was first completed in 2005, and will be repeated in fall 2007. Specific metrics that are set for this audience are as follows:

• In 2007, a 10 percentage point increase (from 58 percent to 68 percent) in the perception of endodontist as partner.
• In 2007, a nine percentage point increase (from 61 percent to 70 percent) in the characterization of relationship with endodontists as excellent.
• In 2007, an eight percentage point increase (from 72 percent to 80 percent) in the belief that endodontists are willing to teach generalists more about endodontics.

A baseline survey of dental educators and students was completed this past spring, and will be repeated in 2009. Specific metrics that capture an improvement in perceptions about the specialty will be identified this winter.

Ongoing Member Communications
AAE members continue to receive regular campaign updates through all of the Association’s various communications vehicles, including this newsletter, the PULP e-newsletter, the Journal of Endodontics and campaign-branded mass e-mails. Additionally, campaign “flash reports” delivered by e-mail update members about campaign activities and successful media hits throughout the year.

All campaign resources, including copies of each prewritten article, press release, a downloadable campaign logo, customizable advertisements and much more, are currently posted on the AAE Web site for member use throughout the year.

If you are one of the nearly 4,000 members paying a special assessment to fund the AAE's public awareness campaign, you may be interested in knowing what the project has accomplished since its launch in February 2005.

The Public and Professional Affairs Committee is overseeing the campaign with great sensitivity to member needs, and with a keen eye towards ensuring results. To that end, the committee has identified specific metrics to objectively assess campaign progress.

Consumer Metrics
In 2003, the AAE conducted a consumer opinion survey to establish a pre-campaign baseline of consumer awareness. The survey will be repeated in the spring of 2007 to ascertain the effectiveness of the campaign. Current activities are now focused on the following two primary goals and associated metrics:

1. Increasing the number of people who have heard of a root canal specialist from 46 percent in 2003 to 49 percent in 2007
2. Increasing the number of peopl who would prefer root canal treatment performed by a specialist versus a general practitioner or an extraction, from 77 percent in 2003 to 79 percent in 2007

General Dentist Metrics
A baseline survey was conducted in late 2005 to assess general dentists' perceptions of endodontists. The survey will be repeated in fall 2007 to determine changes in perceptions. Campaign activities targeted to general dentists will be focused on the following goals and associated metrics:

1. Increasing the perception of endodontists as partners from 58 percent in 2005 to 68 percent in 2007.
2. Increasing the characterization of relationships with endodontists as excellent from 61 percent in 2005 to 70 percent in 2007
3. Increasing the belief that endodontists are willing to teach general dentists more about endodontics from 72 percent in 2005 to 80 percent in 2007

Dental Educators and Student Metrics
A baseline survey is currently being developed to assess dental educators' and senior dental students' perceptions of endodontists and endodontics. The surveys will be conducted early next year and will be repeated in 2008. The main goal of outreach to this audience is:

1. Improving attitudes towards endodontists among dental educators and senior dental students.

In the spring of 2004, the American Association of Endodontists engaged Edelman Public Relations to develop and implement a public and professional awareness campaign for the specialty of endodontics with two main objectives:

• Educate the public about endodontists and endodontic services to increase public awareness of endodontists and their role in dental health, as well as dispel myths about endodontic treatment.
• Educate other members of the dental team (i.e., educators, students and general practitioners) about the role of endodontists as vital members of the dental team, and the advantages of referring root canal patients to these specialists.

Phase I: Campaign Identity and Messaging

The AAE’s Public and Professional Affairs Committee worked with Edelman to create a series of core messages organized by key audience and theme. These serve as the backbone of the initiative, ensuring focus and consistency throughout the campaign. Additionally, the PPAC approved the campaign logo and design to be used on all materials and communications, which will serve as a visual symbol for the program.

Phase II: Campaign Materials and Communications

Campaign Launch
Pursuant to the recommendations of Edelman, the PPAC approved a series of materials to announce the launch of Endodontists: the root canal specialists and stimulate interest in the campaign among endodontists, dental professionals and consumers.

• The AAE mailed postcards to all Active, Educator and Life members in January to provide advance notice of the arrival of the Community Outreach Tool Kit and introduce members to the campaign Web site.
• A full-page announcement appeared in the February issue of the Journal of Endodontics.
• On March 14, Edelman distributed consumer and professional press releases regarding the launch of the campaign to the 400 publications and Web sites on the AAE media list and contacted key media outlets by phone to pitch the story. This resulted in the following coverage:
  • Dental Economics Internet Magazine (23,000 subscribers);
  • Dental Products Report (circulation: 170,000);
  • DentalTown (circulation: 130,627); and
  • HealthNewsDigest.com (10 million subscribers).
• Subsequently, Edelman and AAE staff sent campaign space-available advertisements to dental professional publications to promote awareness of the campaign among dental professionals.

Community Outreach Tool Kit
A key asset for the success of the campaign, the AAE prepared a Community Outreach Tool Kit for use by AAE members at the local level. The kit was designed to help members identify and capitalize on local opportunities to promote their practices and the endodontic specialty. It was shipped to all Active, Educator and Life members in March; additional copies were distributed at the 2005 Annual Session in Dallas.

Campaign Web Site
A new Web site was developed specifically for the campaign, www.rootcanalspecialists.org. The site contains a members-only section, which houses a free electronic version of the Community Outreach Tool Kit, regular campaign updates and a discussion board so members can share campaign information, questions and successes with each other and the AAE. General dentists, students, patients and media are directed to publicly accessible portions of the Web site to learn more about the specialty and the campaign.

Ongoing Member Communications
To maintain campaign momentum, Edelman and the AAE updated members on the status of the initiative throughout the first year.

• Members routinely received e-mails alerting them to campaign successes and media opportunities involving AAE members, including The Newlyweds and The Late Show with David Letterman.
• AAE staff added print and broadcast media updates to the campaign Web site, allowing members to listen to radio news features and read print coverage of the campaign and specialty.
• Campaign updates also appeared on the main AAE Web site and in newsletters.

Phase III: Consumer Outreach

The organization initiated a number of media outreach activities to elicit continuous press coverage of the specialty and the campaign. Edelman distributed a series of four audio news releases (ANR)—prepackaged radio news stories—on topics related to the campaign to 2,800 radio stations nationwide. The ANRs were well-received, exceeding typical ANR audience share (ANRs usually reach four to six million radio listeners).

• ANR #1, “What is an Endodontist,” reached 6,673,905 radio listeners.
• ANR #2, “Root Canals Are Virtually Painless,” reached 9,796,020 listeners.
• ANR #3, “Saving Your Natural Teeth,” reached 9,504,085 listeners.
• ANR #4, “New Endodontic Technologies,” reached 7,793,055 listeners.

In addition, Edelman created and distributed four MAT releases to 10,000 community newspapers across the country. A MAT release is a prewritten news story that is frequently printed by smaller, local publications, up to a year after distribution. Topics included, “Saving Your Natural Teeth,” “When to Request a Referral to an Endodontist,” “New Technologies Used by Endodontists” and “Saving Avulsed Teeth.” As of June 30, 2005, the articles had appeared in a total of 164 newspapers for a combined circulation of 11,637,104. Continued placements through 2005 are expected.

The AAE also worked with Edelman to identify, evaluate and respond to appropriate media opportunities. As a result of media outreach, the organization received coverage in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune and WCBS-AM (a prominent news radio station in New York).

Year Five media outreach activities focused primarily on Root Canal Awareness Week, which focused on anxiety. Our research found that 80 percent of American adults admit they are afraid of the dentist and more than half say this fear may keep them from going to the dentist. These statistics coupled with tips for easing dental anxiety provided a strong base from which to conduct our media outreach.

Outreach in 2009 produced approximately the same number of placements as in 2008 but garnered almost twice as many impressions―reaching about 70 million people. Online coverage increased significantly in 2009, and print coverage also increased because of extensive outreach in markets where the AAE has spokespeople. This year, the AAE conducted its first-ever satellite media tour (SMT), which led to an exponential increase in television coverage. The SMT was combined with a radio media tour (RMT) to further our broadcast reach.

AAE’s first combined SMT/RMT was a great success. In 31 interviews, Dr. Christopher S. Wenckus was able to deliver key messages, including mentioning Root Canal Awareness Week, discussing endodontists as root canal specialists and providing tips to ease dental fear. Beyond the SMT/RMT, Root Canal Awareness Week caught the interest of FOX News Radio. AAE coordinated an interview with Dr. Louis Rossman, who provided great sound bites on Root Canal Awareness Week and dental anxiety. A couple of his sound bites were packaged in their five-minute news service that is distributed to more than 800 radio affiliates nationwide.

To further promote the theme of Root Canal Awareness Week, the AAE developed a MAT release providing expert advice from Dr. Rossman on ways to ease dental anxiety.

Over the years, media impressions for the campaign have steadily increased and surpassed original media impressions goals. This year, we continued the momentum and the total number of impressions from print and MAT release placements increased by 60 percent to 364,733,769, compared to 228,675,302 in 2007. This number also surpasses the pre-established goal of 231,525,000 impressions for this timeframe by more than 133 million impressions (55 percent), and more than doubled the amount of print coverage seen in 2004, which was set as a baseline number.

In 2007, there were 1,508 total placements. While the number of print placements decreased to 673 in 2008, impressions increased mainly due to expanding coverage of dental-related topics by top-tier media outlets. For example, 27 articles appeared in national newspaper publications, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post; only 11 articles appeared last year. More consumer magazines also covered dental-related news this year (11 placements in 2008 vs. three in 2007), which is mainly due to Edelman’s outreach to regional parenting magazines for RCAW. In fact, five of the 11 placements resulted from Edelman outreach: AARP Bulletin Today, L.A. Parent, New Jersey Family, San Diego Family Magazine and O.C. Family (Calif.).

The total number of 2008 placements attributable to the campaign for all types of coverage was 2,878, and total media impressions were 272,377,670. In 2007, the total number of campaign generated placements was 4,000, and total impressions were 108,755,490. The 150 percent increase in total impressions is due to the fact that we were able to secure coverage in more top-tier outlets; for example, WebMD, HealthDay, CBS NewsPath, AARP Bulletin Today, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Florida Today. In addition, the media outreach in support of the JOE study reached more than 61 million consumers and dental health practitioners through online outlets. Broadcast television coverage also greatly increased in 2008 as a result of the CBS Newspath coverage of the JOE study and the national broadcast PSA.

Controlled media continue to be a valuable vehicle to disseminate campaign messaging. In 2008, we completed two RMT/ANRs and distributed three MAT releases, including the “Healthy Mouth, Healthy Body” release, which will not produce the majority of its results until 2009. We also completed the first-ever television broadcast PSA for AAE this year. In total, we reached more than 42 million consumers and dental health practitioners in 2008 through controlled media.

We are very pleased to report that in 2008, there were more than 272 million media impressions attributable to the AAE campaign, which is 150 percent more than last year. In addition, the increase in impressions was seen across all types of media, including print, online and broadcast outlets.

We continue to observe the trend of consumers shifting their attention from print outlets to various online sites, and efforts in 2008 capitalized on this trend. We secured coverage by well-known health news Web sites that are respected by the online community, including WebMD and HealthDay. Our ability to secure coverage by these top health publications led to our news being picked-up by hundreds of online news outlets. As the media landscape continues to change faster than ever, with almost weekly announcements of cutbacks, buyouts and consolidation by traditional print and broadcast media outlets, it will continue to be increasingly important for us to focus on online outlets to grow awareness of endodontic topics.

In addition, our success in garnering more than 65 million impressions as result of our outreach in support of the JOE study demonstrates the media’s hunger for hard news stories (i.e., new research/data). As we move forward in 2009, we will continue to work with the AAE to identify relevant hard news stories, which open the door to timely and relevant conversations with top-tier media about their interests and assignments. In the absence of hard news, we will seek to create news angles that leverage other items of consumer interest and provide “news you can use.”

Given the success of the national broadcast PSA, we will continue television-related activities in 2009 in order to assuage the member’s requests for television advertisements, which are expensive. The broadcast PSA exceeded expectations by reaching more than 1.9 million viewers, and we are extending its reach further by posting it on YouTube; it has been viewed more than 990 times to date. In addition, footage of the PSA will be disseminated to television stations as part of the campaign’s first satellite media tour (SMT) during RCAW.

An EMAP (Electronic Media Analysis & Planning) analysis was conducted in 2008. The EMAP analysis provides in-depth, customized evaluation of media coverage designed to easily track the presence of topics, issues and/or messages, and reviewed relevant AAE coverage from March 2007 to February 2008 to further analyze the successes of the campaign. Of note, the report showed that optimal health through oral care was a major theme in media coverage. As such, the report recommended that the AAE continue to stress the effectiveness of the root canals in preserving natural teeth. We implemented this strategy and incorporated messaging about the health implications of not saving your natural teeth through root canals within all activities in 2008, including RCAW, JOE media outreach and the PSA.

In its fourth year of the public awareness campaign, Endodontists: the root canal specialists, the AAE mounted two major initiatives to proactively reach media nationwide: the second annual Root Canal Awareness Week, and an effort themed “Endodontists End Your Pain.” These efforts, in addition to ongoing PR activity, proved to be effective for disseminating AAE messages to consumers and dental professionals. Following is a summary of tangible results generated by the AAE campaign to-date, which show a positive shift in both the amount and quality of endodontic coverage in consumer and dental professional media since the campaign’s inception.

Endodontics Mentioned in 5 of Top 10 Major Daily Newspapers
Root Canal Awareness Week has served as the centerpiece for the AAE’s proactive media outreach in 2007 and 2008, connecting with a broad audience through online, print and broadcast placements, including articles in major daily newspapers such as the Chicago Sun-Times and Tampa Tribune. (Media coverage of RCAW also was secured by members within their local markets, through such outlets as the Altoona Mirror and Santa Rosa Democrat, with the support of the AAE’s specially developed Member Planning Guide.)

Additional initiatives, such as this year’s “Endodontists End Your Pain” project,  promoted endodontic specialists and successfully positioned trained AAE spokespeople (Past President John S. Olmsted, Immediate Past President Shepard S. Goldstein and Dr. Christopher S. Wenckus of Chicago, Ill., to name just a few) to provide expert perspectives to media. Spokespeople were featured in radio interviews nationwide and quoted in print articles, effectively explaining to potential patients the role of endodontists on the dental team and responding to timely news stories that might otherwise have resulted in negative coverage of root canal treatment.

In 2007 alone, five of the top 10 daily newspapers in the United States published 17 articles mentioning endodontics. Campaign funding allows for comprehensive media monitoring to identify noteworthy media coverage that warrants a response from the AAE, as well as opportunities to proactively pitch positive stories to relevant media outlets. Prior to the launch of the campaign, media coverage of the specialty was not being closely monitored, and no proactive outreach to major newspapers took place.

Reaching 46 Million Local Health Care Decision-Makers
In addition to independent coverage in large metropolitan newspapers, the campaign has successfully targeted readers of smaller, local newspapers through the regular distribution of prewritten news stories called MAT releases. Just like caulk fills critical gaps in home-building projects, the AAE submits these stories for publication in local newspapers to supplement its nationwide media outreach initiatives. In the past year, the AAE has distributed three different articles on endodontic topics of interest to locally based newspapers:

• One Important Keepsake as You Age: Your Teeth targeted to Baby Boomers
• Endodontists End Your Tooth Pain educated consumers on endodontists’ skill in performing virtually painless root canal treatment
• Endodontists Encourage Mouth Guard Use in All Sports focused on prevention of traumatic dental injuries

In just the past year, 868 placements of these three articles reached more than 46 million readers nationwide. Continued placements of articles distributed in previous years add to this number. To download these articles and eight others, and obtain more information about their successful publication, visit Nationwide Media Outreach.

Leveraging the Airwaves With 2,700 Radio Broadcasts
To further augment outreach to local media, the campaign schedules audio news releases (prerecorded radio news stories or ANRs), as well as radio media tours (featuring trained AAE spokespeople) to coincide with the AAE MAT releases. ANRs are distributed via satellite to 3,000 radio stations across the country, which have the option of airing them over the course of their broadcast day. Radio media tours are interviews with morning drive talk show hosts scheduled over the course of a three-hour span. The interviews are either aired live or taped for airing later in the day, often multiple times. In the past year, the AAE successfully achieved more than 2,700 radio broadcasts reaching nearly 27 million listeners around the country.

Research made possible through campaign funding shows that local outlets often have greater impact on family health care decision-makers than other promotional activities. By reaching these key consumers in outlets they prefer, we increase the campaign’s overall effectiveness in swaying public opinion.
 
Favorability of Coverage Improves 8 Points
Combating the negative stereotypes of root canal treatment is a central tenet of the campaign. For this reason, campaign analysis is focused not only on quantitative data, but also qualitative characteristics such as the tone and content of a media story.

Neutral coverage dominates endodontic-related media coverage; 76 percent of all articles were neutral, while 21 percent were positive. Positive coverage focused on the evolution of endodontics through new technologies to make root canal treatment painless and efficient. Before the launch of the campaign, only 13 percent of media coverage of the specialty was positive and 85 percent was neutral.

All campaign media outreach incorporates specifically developed messages that promote endodontists as specialists in saving natural teeth and stress the fact that root canal treatment relieves pain. Reporters and AAE spokespeople use these messages in crafting their stories and promoting the specialty. AAE messaging appeared in 18 percent of overall coverage, up seven points from the previous year, which may have been a key factor in improving overall favorability of endodontic media coverage.

The AAE public awareness campaign, Endodontists: the root canal specialists, is quickly becoming a media success. In fact, print coverage of endodontics has increased 20 percent as compared to data from 2005, and a staggering 115 percent as compared to baseline data from 2004. Print coverage only tells part of the story. The overall results attributable to the campaign in 2006 included 1,542 placements reaching more than 730 million consumers worldwide. These results encompass all placements from 2006, such as print, prewritten news articles, audio news releases , radio media tours, television, online and news wire outlets.

The Public and Professional Affairs Committee, in establishing campaign metrics, aimed for a conservative five percent increase in the number of consumers reached by print media outreach from 2005 to 2006. The AAE has leaped beyond that goal by 15 percent, demonstrating a clear achievement in targeting consumers with positive messages about endodontists and root canal treatment.

Much of that success can be attributed to timely outreach opportunities by the AAE. Be it consumer health angles using studies from the Journal of Endodontics or original initiatives, such as Demystifying the Root Canal or Root Canal Awareness Week, the campaign’s media outreach strives to be relevant to the majority of American consumers with great results. View many of the key placements attained during the course of the campaign.

The AAE’s public awareness campaign, Endodontists: the root canal specialists, has seen some impressive results since its launch in February 2005. Leading media outlets including the Chicago Tribune, WCBS-AM in New York City, and online health news giant WebMD have each covered important endodontic topics in great detail as a result of the campaign’s outreach. However, those media hits only provide a small glimpse into the success of the campaign thus far.

The AAE researched print, wire, audio and online media coverage of the specialty in 2004 to establish a baseline. Media coverage obtained in 2005 was compared against the baseline to assess the impact of the campaign’s outreach during its first twelve months of activity.

Based on the research, from 2004 to 2005, there was an overall increase in print media coverage by 262 placements (a 79 percent increase) and a total estimated audience of 76,143,762 (a 50 percent increase). Placements are actual published articles, while the estimated audience is calculated by taking into account the number of people likely to read a single physical copy of a newspaper or magazine.

Perhaps the campaign’s greatest success is that the additional coverage was, for the first time to this extent, on the Association’s and the specialty’s terms. Since most of the media messaging generated by the campaign in 2005 was printed or aired exactly as presented, the AAE retained control of the communicated information verbatim. As a result, consumers now have more accurate and timely information that will help them make informed decisions about endodontic care.

Further, the campaign success demonstrates the appropriateness and viability of its approach and messages, and lays the groundwork for media outreach and other activities in 2006 and beyond. The AAE will examine more specific metrics regarding the campaign’s progress this summer, in order to determine whether it is achieving its primary goals:

• increases in the segment of the population that has heard of a type of dentist that specializes in root canal treatment;
• increases in the segment of the population, if given a choice, that would prefer to have root canal treatment performed by a specialist versus a general practitioner, or an extraction;
• improvements in attitudes toward endodontists among general dentists; and
• improvements in attitudes toward endodontics and endodontists among dental educators and senior dental students.
  

Media coverage of endodontics has increased by more than 300 percent as compared to what it was before the AAE’s campaign. In fact, early metrics showed that our efforts were yielding the results we wanted. In 2007, our consumer survey data showed that we had successfully increased the number of consumers who had heard of a root canal specialist from 46 percent in 2003 to 49 percent in 2007 as planned (an increase of roughly 9 million people), and that we had increased the number of consumers who would prefer to have their root canal treatment performed by a specialist from 47 percent in 2003 to 49 percent in 2007 as planned (an increase of roughly 6 million people).

Unfortunately, our second set of consumer benchmarks delivered in January 2009 came back looking very different. We found that despite our efforts, consumer awareness is still at baseline levels (45 percent). Though it may be difficult to accept, it is hard to argue with the data that show the following realities over our eight-year period of study:

• Fifty-eight percent of consumers think about advice from their general dentist as the primary factor in deciding between root canal treatment and extraction as compared to only 50 percent in 2003; the general dentist’s advice is more important a factor than knowing root canal treatment is virtually painless or knowing there is an option to save the tooth!
• An astounding 63 percent of consumers would do whatever their dentist recommends, compared to only 39 percent in 2003.
• Significantly fewer consumers would research options on their own (44 percent now compared to 56 percent in 2003), but if they do, the Internet is their preferred resource.

In response to this data, the campaign is transitioning from public outreach to a focus on dental professionals. In this year of transition, we will continue well-established outreach activities such as Root Canal Awareness Week, but we will also focus on research into referral dynamics to identify factors that we can influence in our favor. We will also expand our communication to general dentists, to leverage their positive perceptions of our specialty and encourage referral to endodontists when it is in the best interest of the patient.

This year represents the second major metrics milestone for the campaign. The metrics for general dentist outreach are based on benchmarking survey data collected in 2005, and are compared to results from a follow-up survey conducted in fall 2007.

The metrics for campaign outreach to general dentists approved by the Board of Directors are listed in the table below, along with the corresponding survey results:

Topic	2005 Baseline Metric	Anticipated 2007 Result	Actual 2007 Result
1. Characterization of relationship with community endodontists as excellent	61%	70%	59%
2. Belief that endodontists are willing to teach you about endodontics	72%	80%	75%
3. Perception of endodontist as partner (response of 0 on a scale 0=partner to 100=competitor)	58%	68%	51%

General dentists are one of four groups approved by the Board as key audiences for the campaign. While the 2007 results outlined above did not meet their projected goals, the Association's public relations consultant believes that the initial targets may have been overly aggressive given that a small percentage of campaign funds are designated to educating general dentists. The majority of campaign resources and funding is devoted to consumer awareness, whereas general dentists are a secondary audience.

Additionally, it is important to note that campaigns such as these often take time to make a significant impact on audience perceptions; the survey results indicate we are on the right track. Overall, the data showed that general dentists have a very positive perception of endodontists.

In the fall, the AAE received results of an awareness survey targeted to dental educators and predoctoral students that showed what both groups thought of endodontists. Among the key findings, more than 90 percent of both groups view the AAE as one of the most credible sources for endodontic information. Furthermore, both groups see individual endodontists as key resources in supplying the latest in endodontic education and information.

The results from these surveys will help activities to these groups as outlined in the Association’s strategic plan and public awareness campaign plans. A full report has been disseminated to all AAE leadership and committees for their consideration and use.
Summary for the survey findings

In May 2007, the AAE received the results of a nationwide consumer awareness survey that was conducted by an independent survey firm. The survey was a repetition of an identical study conducted by the AAE in 2003, prior to the launch of the campaign. A comparison between the 2003 and 2007 results represents the first objective measurement of campaign progress in meeting the AAE’s identified consumer goals, which were approved by the AAE Board of Directors as follows:

• In 2007, a three percentage point increase (from 46 percent to 49 percent) in the segment of the population that has heard of a type of dentist who specializes in performing root canal treatment.
• In 2007, a two percentage point increase in the number of survey respondents who would prefer root canal treatment performed by a specialist, versus a general practitioner or an extraction (from 47 percent to 49 percent).

Based on survey analysis, the Public and Professional Affairs Committee is pleased to announce that the AAE has successfully met its first set of campaign metrics! Consumer awareness of a type of dentist who specializes in root canals has increased as projected (from 46 percent in 2003 to 49 percent in 2007), and there has also been a projected two percent increase in the number of consumers who would prefer a root canal performed by a specialist versus a general dentist (from 47 percent in 2003 to 49 percent in 2007). Complete survey results and implications will be shared with members in an upcoming issue of the Communiqué newsletter and in other outlets.

Fully 95 percent of general dentists regard their endodontic relationships as “good” or “excellent,” and also are more likely to view endodontists as partners rather than competitors on the dental team. In fact, endodontists have a great opportunity to establish and cultivate relationships with their referrers; two- thirds of dentists would be open to having an endodontist teach them more about the specialty, and nearly 75 percent of respondents believe that endodontists are willing to do so. Endodontic topics of most interest to general dentists include:

• rotary instrumentation systems;
• obturation techniques; and
• endodontic diagnosis and troubleshooting.

While general dentists vary in their handling of root canal work, 56 percent of the general dentists surveyed indicated that they refer at least half of their root canal treatments to specialists; the average generalist performed only two root canal treatments per month. These responses and others signify that general dentists appreciate the expertise and knowledge that endodontists contribute to the dental team.

The results of this survey will serve as a baseline against which to measure the future impact of campaign activities targeted to general dentists, in an effort to improve their perceptions of endodontists and the specialty.

View the full general dentist survey report.