“That’s Root Canals, Right?” Our Public Relations Journey

“So you are an Endodontist? What exactly is that? Some type of dentist I assume?” How many times in the past have we heard that? Thankfully, the public’s awareness of our specialty has greatly increased in recent years, so now I normally hear “That’s root canals, right?” This may not seem like a huge difference, but over the span of my career, observing this shift in public recognition seems like a quantum leap for Endodontics in my eyes. We all might think that this has evolved organically because of the increasing number of patients who have seen an endodontist during their lifetime, but that is only part of the story. A great deal of credit goes to our Marketing and Communications department and their efforts to raise the profile of Endodontics in the public eye.

For those of you old enough to remember our first public awareness venture – one that carried an assessment of $250 in addition to our regular dues – it might seem this was a long time in the making. In some aspects, you would be correct. That first campaign was targeted at general dentists, hoping to identify endodontists as a member of their patient care team, standing at the ready to help not only the patient, but the dentist as well, in a time of need. Well, as we all observed, the best of intentions did not produce the desired result. A strategy change was definitely indicated, and although we did not wish to alienate our general dentist colleagues, we took the message directly to the patient population. By highlighting the advanced training that Endodontists receive, the wider variety of treatment options that we can offer, as well as our expertise and advances in instruments and technology, we have slowly and subtly altered the expectations of our potential patient population. Essentially, our message has been “cut to the chase and call the Endodontist whenever you have a problem” delivered in the most diplomatic fashion of course.

One of the most effective and successful components of this campaign has been the “Save Your Tooth Month” program. Every May our Mar/Comm department does a remarkable job in creating events centered around the advantages and virtues of preserving natural teeth. They also do a fantastic job at promoting these events to the media, ensuring that our message reaches the public through multiple venues. Press releases, media pitches, social media posts, and a curated satellite media tour with the current President are all hallmark features of Save Your Tooth Month, but these activities are actually ongoing throughout the year. We also, through the efforts of our members, secure government proclamations to call attention to the importance of preserving one’s natural teeth. Of course, in each of these messages we identify the Endodontist as THE specialist best suited to help preserve the natural dentition.

In addition to promoting the preservation of natural teeth, we have expanded our efforts to include combating mis- and disinformation regarding root canal treatment. As you might all realize, mis- and disinformation takes only seconds to fabricate, but the evidence to discredit or disprove it can take months or even years to produce. Even then, the public’s attention span for scientific research is pretty limited, so our team has taken the approach of packaging our counter message in the same format as our detractors to increase the chances that the average person will read the entire message and hopefully give it equal if not preferential consideration. In addition they create Instagram reels, YouTube videos and Facebook posts to reach a broader audience. These efforts in combating mis-and disinformation have been so effective that they earned our Mar/Comm department four Chicago Skyline Awards from the Public Relations Society of America. A notable achievement.

The net result of these extensive efforts has, as I indicated earlier, resulted in an increased public awareness of Endodontics and Endodontists. This is evidenced by our ever-increasing market share of endodontic procedures relative to our general dental colleagues. Endodontics is the only specialty to enjoy this steady increase. So whenever you have an opportunity, please thank Kim FitzSimmons, Elisabeth Lisican and Rae Burach for working so hard on our behalf. We are extremely lucky to have such a capable and effective team managing our public relations.