{"id":29352,"date":"2025-06-30T10:04:44","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T15:04:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aae.org\/specialty\/?p=29352"},"modified":"2025-06-30T11:02:28","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T16:02:28","slug":"presidents-message-from-broadcasts-to-breakthroughs-aaes-bold-new-chapter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aae.org\/specialty\/presidents-message-from-broadcasts-to-breakthroughs-aaes-bold-new-chapter\/","title":{"rendered":"President’s Message: From Broadcasts to Breakthroughs: AAE\u2019s Bold New Chapter"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Wow!<\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t have imagined that exactly four weeks after becoming AAE President, I would be spending an entire day in a New York City broadcast studio. But that\u2019s exactly where I found myself the first Friday in May \u2014 conducting interviews for Save Your Tooth Month<\/strong>, touting our value as endodontists, and emphasizing endodontics\u2019 crucial role in saving natural teeth. Even though my predecessors Drs. Flake, Hirschberg, and Zweig gave me the proverbial heads-up about the experience, I have to admit: I was well outside my comfort zone.<\/p>\n

By 8:30 pm that evening, I had wrapped up my final interview with a Boston-based radio show. The day was long and exhausting, but deeply rewarding. Our message about the importance of endodontics reached \u2014 or will soon reach \u2014 more than 100 media markets across the U.S., with an estimated total audience of over 200 million people. Many of them may be hearing about endodontists for the very first time. The importance of saving natural teeth is being broadcast loud and clear!<\/p>\n

From Toolkits to TikTok<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I began practicing in the late 1980s, there was no social media, mobile phones were just emerging, and although artificial intelligence had existed in theory since the 1950s, it had not yet entered practical use. While there was plenty of talk about promoting endodontics, we lacked the instruments and know-how to do it effectively. The AAE allocated marketing assessments and created a Toolkit to help us connect with our general dentist referrals. There was even talk of billboards or TV commercials, but those efforts were often too expensive, impractical, and unreliable. (Just think of the \u201cGot Milk?\u201d campaign\u2014despite its popularity, it didn\u2019t move the needle on consumer behavior.) And reaching out to patients directly, bypassing referrals? That was entirely off the table.<\/p>\n

Today, the landscape has transformed considerably. MySpace became the first social platform to hit a million users in 2004. Now, in 2025, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok collectively boast more than 8 billion user accounts\u2014surpassing the global population (many people use multiple platforms). Social media has changed everything \u2014 the way we communicate, the way we shop to the way we inform. It gives the AAE a direct line to millions of patients and consumers. We can target messages with precision, tell our story our way, and shape the public narrative about who we are and what we do.<\/p>\n

National Recognition, Local Impact<\/strong><\/p>\n

From high-impact national media coverage to millions of digital impressions through Worth Saving<\/strong> and Save Your Tooth Month<\/strong>, the AAE is changing the public narrative and ensuring endodontists are front and center in the conversation about quality dental care. And patients are listening \u2014 they\u2019re choosing endodontists. Year-over-year insurance claims data shows a clear trend: endodontists are increasing both patient share and treatment volume, solidifying their role as the go-to experts for root canal treatment.<\/p>\n

Data commissioned by the AAE, based on U.S. dental insurance claims analyzed by Fluent, shows continued market share growth in both the number of endodontic procedures and patients being treated by endodontists:<\/p>\n