Get to Know the 2024 Class of SYTM Social Media Endofluencers
The AAE is thrilled to announce our 10 Save Your Tooth Month Social Media Endofluencers of 2024! These Instagram accounts went above and beyond this past May in celebration of SYTM2024. They touted our specialty via creative posts, reels, patient contests and more, and emphasized the importance of saving one's natural teeth.
A gracious honorable mention goes out to everyone who posted about SYTM or changed their profile photo to include our special SYTM frame. Our reach gets a little wider every year, and we couldn't do it without each of you spreading the word.
Learn more about our SYTM Endofluencers below! Give them a follow and get inspired by their social savviness, all year-round.
Edgewater Endodontics
(@edgewater_endodontics)
Brains behind our social media:
Rob Heydrich, DMD, MS, Andrew Jattan, DMD, MS
Why we decided to be active on social media during SYTM / the effect it had on our team:
SYTM is a great time to showcase who we are and what we do as endodontists. The AAE brass has done a great job moving the needle and getting "endodontist" into the American vernacular with past and current AAE President's media tours. SYTM is a great conversation starter. I had a colleague share a story about a patient who found their practice on FindMyEndodonist.com, that she heard about on the Today Show. That's impressive.
Our posting process:
Some content is planned, other content can be spontaneous. We try and have content that relates to saving your natural tooth, debunking root canal myths, or posting patient reviews. Anecdotally, I feel patient reviews or testimonials help breakdown the old stigma of "painful/scary" root canal treatments. The AAE SYTM Toolkit can be a big help in planning your content.
Advice for endos trying to up their social game, our favorite platform, and how we find time to post:
It may seem obvious, BUT....just do it.
Find something that you find interesting, inspiring or funny as it relates to endodontics or your practice and create a post.
Instagram is the platform that works for us. It is easy to post content and doesn’t really take a lot of time. It also allows you to post on Facebook and Threads at the same time. However, finding time can sometimes be a challenge. If time is not on your side, consider outsourcing.
Our favorite SYTM moment:
It's hard to pick just one, but the one that stands out is seeing the SYTM messaging on a Time Square billboard. Impressive to say the least. Once again, the AAE did not disappoint.
Eastcoast Endodontics
(@eastcoastendova)
Brains behind our social media:
Dr. Jesse Harris, Dr. Richard Sedwick, Dr. Adam Sarnowski, Dr. Sean Fitzgibbons and Lindsay Parker, our Professional Relations Coordinator who is in charge of our social media and marketing.
Why we decided to be active on social media during SYTM / the effect it had on our team:
While we are active on social media year-round, we look forward to participating in Save Your Tooth Month every year because it is the perfect time to show off our amazing team of tooth-saving superheroes! By spotlighting our awesome doctors, sharing their stories about why they got into endodontics, and talking about what they love about their work, we were able to connect with our patients in a fun and engaging way.
Our goal was to make our doctors and staff more relatable and show that they’re not just skilled professionals but also kind, fun, and approachable people. We knew that personal stories and engaging content, like photos and videos featuring our team, would resonate well with our audience. This approach helped us make endodontic care feel less intimidating and more personal.
The impact was fantastic! Our patients loved getting to know the men behind the mask of their dental care, which made them feel more comfortable and confident about their treatments. Our posts weren’t just entertaining—they also helped educate everyone about the importance of endodontic care and why saving natural teeth is so important.
Our posting process:
Absolutely! We planned our Save Your Tooth Month content in advance to make sure everything was spot on. We use Canva to design most of our posts because it’s super user-friendly and lets us get really creative. Depending on what we're posting, we also like to play around with the editing options on Instagram and TikTok to add a bit of extra flair. Using these tools, we can make sure our content is engaging and reflects the fun, approachable vibe of our practice.
To keep everything running smoothly and stay ahead of our busy schedules, we use Zoho Social to schedule our posts. This tool is a game-changer because it lets us focus on the creative and design process without worrying about the actual posting. It’s nice to know that we don’t have to interrupt our workday to hit "post" on our platforms and it frees us up to concentrate on what we love—saving teeth and connecting with our patients!
Advice for endos trying to up their social game, our favorite platform, and how we find time to post:
As the social media and marketing coordinator, I've got some tips for endodontists looking to level up their social media game. First and foremost, mix it up! While it’s great to share informative content about how root canals save teeth, don’t forget to show your fun side too. Our audience loves seeing the human side of our practice, so we make sure to post content that’s not just educational but also entertaining.
We find that videos get the most engagement, especially when we feature our team on camera. Patients love seeing that we’re real people who work hard but also have a lot of fun. To keep things interesting, we use tools like Canva for designing posts and the editing options on Instagram and TikTok for that extra bit of creativity.
Planning is so important. We use Zoho Social to schedule our posts, which is a total lifesaver. It helps us stay organized and ensures that we don’t have to stop in the middle of a busy workday to post something. This way, we can focus more on the creative side of things.
Right now, our favorite social platform is Instagram- it’s super diverse and really easy to work with. Whether it’s stories, reels, or posts, IG offers so many ways to engage with our audience.
Our favorite SYTM moment:
Oh, definitely! Save Your Tooth Month was full of great moments, but if we had to pick a favorite, it would be getting engagement from the AAE. Seeing them interact with our posts was really awesome and felt like a big nod to our efforts. It was such a highlight!
Another fun part was discovering what each of our doctors’ “kryptonite” was in our Superhero spotlight posts. It added a playful twist to our content and gave everyone a good laugh. Plus, you never know when that info might come in handy!
Root Canal Specialty Associates
(@rootcanaldocs)
Brains behind our social media:
Michele Brautnick, Dr. Martha Zinderman (President) and Kimberly Middlekauff (Director of Operations)
Why we decided to be active on social media during SYTM / the effect it had on our team:
Participating in Save Your Tooth Month is an annual marketing effort for us. We often create content designed to change the perception of root canals to help patients understand why saving their natural teeth, if possible, is always the best option. Emphasizing this message collectively with other endodontists and the AAE makes good sense for our brand.
Our posting process:
We plan all of our social content, especially our SYTM plans. Being prepared ensures consistency in terms of messaging and the frequency of our posts. It also forces us to serve up a good mix of content designed to educate, entertain, and inspire.
Advice for endos trying to up their social game, our favorite platform, and how we find time to post:
We would encourage other endodontists to leverage social media to inform patients about the safety and effectiveness of root canals. There is still so much misinformation out there about root canal treatment. Together we can change the perception and help alleviate patient anxiety.
Our favorite SYTM moment:
One particular post included a testimonial of a repeat patient who scheduled an emergency appointment the day before they left town. Reviews like this remind us that our doctors save more than teeth. They can save upcoming vacations, they can save you from pain, and they can simply save the day.
River Street Endodontics
(@riverstreetendodontics)
Brains behind our social media:
Dr. Sara Markovic
Why we decided to be active on social media during SYTM / the effect it had on our team:
It is a great time to celebrate the impact we have on patient's lives and the work we do together to help!
Our posting process:
We go over our postings on a bi-weekly basis. This year we really wanted to hear from our patients and incorporated reels rather than mainly static posts.
Advice for endos trying to up their social game, our favorite platform, and how we find time to post:
Collaborate with your team to get a fresh approach and try to show your office culture and enthusiasm for what we do as a profession. Our favourite platform is Instagram because we can plan posts in advance and have them scheduled remotely. Our content is created as a team and tasks are delegated to streamline things based on our schedule.
Our favorite SYTM moment:
We had fun doing our opening post utilizing a viral trend and fun music.
Afton Endodontics
(@aftonendodontics)
Brains behind our social media:
Kathryn Watts, DMD, MS, Zak James, DMD, Gregory Gell, DDS, MS, Katelyn Rios (Marketing & Social Media Manager)
Why we decided to be active on social media during SYTM / the effect it had on our team:
At Afton Endodontics, we strive to stay active on social media to connect with and educate our community. During Save Your Tooth Month, our content is specially curated to highlight the importance of endodontic care and the value of saving natural teeth. By sharing informative and engaging posts, we aim to educate our broader community about root canal treatments and overall dental health.
Save Your Tooth Month had a profoundly positive impact on our office. The increased engagement from our online community, motivated our team and reinforced the value of the work we do. It fostered a sense of accomplishment and pride in our practice. We also encouraged our patients to share their positive experiences at Afton Endodontics with friends and family, hoping to reshape perceptions of root canal treatments as painless and beneficial procedures.
Our posting process:
We plan our posts and virtual activities well in advance to maximize engagement. One of our favorite annual events is the #SYTM Giveaway, which encourages sharing #SYTM-themed content. We also involve our referring offices to educate their patients on the importance of saving natural teeth. A few months before May, we create a general #SYTM posting calendar, ensuring our content is both fun and educational.
Advice for endos trying to up their social game, our favorite platform, and how we find time to post:
We primarily post on Meta (Instagram and Facebook), as we find our local community offices are most active there. While we also have a TikTok presence, Meta remains our main focus. For other endodontists looking to enhance their social media presence, we recommend hiring a full-time marketing and social media manager. While some endodontists can create engaging content themselves, our office benefits from having someone dedicated solely to our marketing and social media efforts. This ensures our content is consistent and allows the rest of our team to concentrate on their primary tasks.
Our favorite SYTM moment:
One of our favorite aspects of #SYTM is selecting the giveaway winner. We use a random picking system to ensure fairness, but it’s always exciting to contact the winner and inform them that they've won a prize, usually a gift card. We also love engaging with the American Association of Endodontists (AAE) online, viewing content from other offices, and being recognized as endofluencers!
Advanced Endodontic Care
(@advancedendodonticcare)
Brains behind our social media:
Adriel Schulz, Rolf M. W. Wuerch, DDS, Stephen W. Hansen, DMD, Jeremiah J. Hawkins, DMD, MSD
Why we decided to be active on social media during SYTM / the effect it had on our team:
We maintain consistent activity on social media throughout the year, which helps grow our follower base across the three platforms we use. This increased exposure is particularly beneficial during Save Your Tooth Month, as our messages reach both our regular followers and those outside of our referring area.
Additionally, our social media efforts keep our team engaged and provide opportunities to thank the many referring offices that trust us with their patients.
Our posting process:
Yes, we did. We knew we wanted to use the month to showcase not only endodontics but also to show our patients and referring offices what they can expect when they visit us. We also wanted to thank our community, so we planned specific giveaways to encourage their participation. Since we work with three different social media platforms, we determined the style of content we wanted to share on each platform and created tailored posts for each one. We have found success using the editing programs in the social media platform itself, and choosing posting times that offer the greatest audience reach.
Advice for endos trying to up their social game, our favorite platform, and how we find time to post:
We recommend choosing a theme for your social media, some aim to educate, while others aim to entertain. Social media is most effective when it feels authentic and relatable, so choose your target audience and create content with them in mind. If social media is not something you are comfortable with or enjoy, select a team member who does and allow them to work with you on creating and editing content.
Our favorite platform is Instagram. It's user-friendly, and allows us to reach our dental community while providing the opportunity to show support to other local businesses.
#DentalLife can get chaotic, and social media is time-consuming. We have found success by keeping a running list of content to work on, and having prepared content stocked up to post as well. Consistency is important, so maintaining a content calendar and determining the best times to post for your audience can be very helpful.
Our favorite SYTM moment:
We always enjoy seeing the content other offices choose to include. We had the opportunity to create a ‘day in the life of an emergency patient,’ which allowed us to showcase the experience in our office. We loved this project and are motivated to incorporate similar videos into our marketing plan through the year.
Kauai Endodontics
(@kauai_endo)
Brains behind our social media:
Joseph H. Chu, DDS; Maile Welsh (social media coordinator and dental assistant), and Paulina Zulueta of Slingshot Outsourcing (social media manager)
Why we decided to be active on social media during SYTM / the effect it had on our team:
For the past two years, our team has gradually developed our brand presence on social media. Inspired by Save Your Tooth Month, we aimed to share accurate information about root canals and inform our audience about the activities at Kauai Endodontics. Social media serves as a platform for our patients and partner clinics on the island to become more familiar with Kauai Endodontics.
Our posting process:
Our team likes to keep content fresh, so we plan weekly posts. Our team in the office (Lihue, HI) sends over any videos and photos to be featured on the page. Then Paulina from Slingshot social media works on the building content, from planning, to creation, and publishing.
Advice for endos trying to up their social game, our favorite platform, and how we find time to post:
Managing social media is always a team effort; you don't have to handle everything by yourself. We consistently collaborate on what to post, but Pau does most of the work since the office is always bustling. AAE.org offers a wealth of resources for endodontists to create graphics and informative videos or reels. It's where we source much of the information used in our social media posts.
Our favorite social media platform for sharing content is Instagram! However, the island audience still uses Facebook as well.
Our favorite SYTM moment:
Our favorite #SYTM24 posts are those motivational in nature, reiterating the message that natural teeth are worth saving.
One type of post we love to make is a static post featuring the smiles behind Kauai Endodontics. The content that performs best on social media are posts that feature people and their compassionate elements.
Emirates Facial and Dental Implant Center
(@drcwb_endoqueen)
Brains behind our social media:
I say thanks to my number one supporter and ideas guy, my husband, Christopher Beecher (IG @christopher.beecher625) as well as my social media page handlers, Humbird Media Ja (IG @humbirdmediaja).
Why we decided to be active on social media during SYTM / the effect it had on our team:
Saving one's teeth is an essential aspect of our everyday lives, and being a part of a society and country that is moving away from extractions to saving more teeth, I find it fun to participate in the SYTM campaign and increase awareness. Participating each year pushes me to think of more creative ways to encourage people to save their teeth on the virtual platform and in the physical space. I am already looking to do more next year to engage the staff and patients on a larger scale.
Our posting process:
Yes, I plan them out in advance. My husband and I usually sit and brainstorm ideas and then we meet with my social media managers (who also come with their ideas), and we work together to see how best we can get the message across to my followers on the importance of saving their teeth.
Advice for endos trying to up their social game, our favorite platform, and how we find time to post:
If you are like me, your only focus in life is not just Endodontics and root canals, and even if it is, we are so focused on the job that other things like social media feel secondary at times. As a wife, mom and endodontist, keeping up with social media is not my strong suit. It takes so much work and time to create content and then post it and as such, I engaged the help of a company that handles social media to help turn my ideas into posts and share them on my social media page in a timely manner.
I would encourage everyone to get the external help they need if they wish to engage in this. If you are savvy at posting or remembering to post regularly, then my hats off to you, but for the rest us, get help. Once you have the help, the process doesn't seem all that daunting. 🙂
Amarillo Endodontics
(@amarilloendo)
Brains behind our social media:
Dr. James Douthitt, Dr. Kirk Coury, Dr. Kenneth Falk, the staff at Amarillo Endodontics and Sara Smyth, who manages our social media. To create content in office, it takes a team effort. Our office enjoys working with Sara.
Why we decided to be active on social media during SYTM / the effect it had on our team:
Spreading awareness about saving your natural teeth is important to us. We want patients to know root canals are not what they used to be. SYTM is an opportunity for us to really push the importance of saving your natural teeth and keeping your natural smile.
Our posting process:
Our content is planned the month before. Creating content ahead of time allows us to be intentional with what we want to say.
Advice for endos trying to up their social game, our favorite platform, and how we find time to post:
Having a presence on social media is important because we want to be where our audiences is. Having ads is important because we can reach a larger audience other than those who follow our page. This encourages users to contact us or like our page. Having Sara Smyth create the content allow us to remain focused on our patients. As a busy practice, we do not have time to take videos or pictures. Sara takes care of all that for us.
Our favorite SYTM moment:
Our favorite post is the video of pictures of our stuff going in and out to the song, Hey Ho! Let’s Go!, by the Ramones.
Endodontic Associates
(@endoassociates)
Brains behind our social media:
Drs. Christopher Cain, Mark Freeland, Michael Murray, Clay Sparrow, Phillip Faucette, Annie Jones, John Workman, Austin Carr, Lynda Davenport, R.D.A., F.A.A.D.O.M. (Practice Manager), Lindsay Shinn
Why we decided to be active on social media during SYTM / the effect it had on our team:
This is a big year for Endodontic Associates- it is our 60th anniversary! I’m so proud to work for this practice and the amazing doctors who own it, so it seemed like the perfect time to really lean into Save Your Tooth Month. I will admit that I learned so much while conducting my research for these posts- and I think our team did too- most notably how rudimentary root canals were completed in ancient civilizations! It is my hope that patients reading our posts will see that while their feelings and/or fears surrounding coming to see us are acknowledged, they can also find comfort in the assurance that we are here to relieve their pain.
Our posting process:
Our content was planned in advance! I wanted to start with the basics, expand on them, and then dispel some popular myths surrounding root canals. That last part is crucial in providing peace of mind for our patients- there is so much misinformation out there! To ensure that we were putting quality content on our social media and not just adding to the noise in this corner of dentistry, sourcing information for reputable sites was very important. AAE.org is a treasure trove of quality research and information- I found myself coming back to it again and again! And lastly, because most of us are very visual when it comes to what catches our attention on social media, it was my goal to put all the information together with calming colors and modern graphics in a way that would make someone want to stop and read.
Advice for endos trying to up their social game, our favorite platform, and how we find time to post:
As we all know, root canal therapy has such a negative connotation in so many peoples’ minds, and that can prevent them from coming to see us to get the help that they need. I think it’s so important to get the message out that we are here to help our patients and restore their dental health and comfort. The most important thing is working off of quality information- then just have fun with it! Polls, quizzes, and true or false posts and stories are such a great way to interact with patients and other dental professionals. Instagram has such a great dental community- it has been so fun to see how other offices get their content out there! I am so blessed and honored that Endodontic Associates encourages me in my efforts to put out content and gives me the opportunity to represent them on our social media platforms!
Our favorite SYTM moment:
Any time AAE shared our SYTM content to their Instagram stories, it meant so much! And of course, earning one of the coveted “Endofluencer” titles has been such an honor. The whole experience of participating in Save Your Tooth Month 2024 has been so much fun, in fact I’m already thinking about content for SYTM 2025!