Educating the Public: AAE’s Worth Saving Campaign
I’ve been an endodontic educator for a very long time, but this year I have found myself addressing a different student body: the public.
As part of the AAE Executive Committee, we’re made aware early on that our eventual Presidency will involve media appearances. In recent years, the number of appearances has risen sharply, to a new record total of 58 interviews for Past President Dr. Stefan Zweig last year! (And about 200 million-plus views generated from a total of 2,461 outlets that ran the interviews!)
Admittedly, it’s hard for me to fathom conducting that many interviews in the course of a year. I admire Stefan for becoming the media aficionado he is now. Staff assures me that I, too, will become increasingly comfortable speaking with reporters.
My initiation occurred when I represented the AAE on Fox 31’s Great Day Colorado on May 23 and on CW33’s Inside DFW on June 5. Although I confess that this took me out of my comfort zone, my confidence has increased after my two initial TV appearances. But still – 58 interviews is a lot! I especially enjoy informing the public that they can refer themselves to an endodontist by using findmyendodontist.com. I wish this valuable tool existed when I completed my training 40 years ago!
For anyone who needs a refresher, the AAE’s “Worth Saving” public campaign is meant to bring to light that, like your natural teeth, there are things, people and places that are worth revering.
As a directive from the AAE Board, in 2019 we implemented a multi-year public awareness campaign with the goal that: “The public will value saving their natural teeth and seek endodontists as the first choice for their care. They will understand what an endodontist does and how they are different from general dentistry providers.”
To gain more knowledge on the campaign, I recommend referencing this publication, which details campaign activations from 2019-2022 – this year’s update will have much more to add to that timeline!
One of the larger offshoots of our Worth Saving campaign is Save Your Tooth Month. In addition to off-the-charts social media engagement (hundreds of followers gained on Instagram alone), 2023’s iteration of this special month included Illinois, Tennessee and Texas state legislatures proclaiming May as Save Your Tooth Month in their respective states. If you missed seeing this live at AAE23, I hope by now you’ve seen the images of our Save Your Tooth Month “pièce de resistance” – our message that boldly lit up the Chicago skyline May 5-7 … check it out again!
It may seem like the stars have aligned to make activations like those happen, but in reality, it’s by design: In recent years, the Worth Saving campaign has become linked more tightly than ever with the AAE’s Strategic Plan: Goal 1 follows that the public will value saving their natural teeth and seek endodontists – the specialists in saving teeth – for their care.
Our desired outcomes for this goal are to increase the value the public places on saving their natural teeth, increase public awareness of the specialized training and expertise of endodontists, increase public awareness of the relationship between oral health and systemic health, elevate AAEs digital presence, and help members see the value and participate in public awareness initiatives.
There are also those media moments and campaign opportunities that come out of the blue: a prime example being President Joe Biden’s root canal procedure a few weeks ago. As soon as we heard word that President Biden had undergone root canal treatment, the AAE issued a news release designed to help the public better understand the procedure – given that the term was practically trending. The release enjoyed a potential audience of more than 293 million, and 387 individual pickups.
We have only just begun the 2023-2024 membership year! While we cannot anticipate every opportunity provided by the news cycle to promote public awareness, we will continue to disseminate the truth that teeth are worth saving and that endodontists are the experts in saving teeth – and I look forward to all of the upcoming opportunities to deliver that message.