As your new Communications Director, my role is to get you involved and informed.  The President of NESO, Dr. John Callahan, wanted me to focus on three specific messages early in 2012.  First we want you to join us for a fantastic upcoming meeting in New York from November 8-11th.  Save the date as we have a great speakers and New York is always a destination favorite- bring your staff, bring your loved ones and have some fun!  Our second mission this year is to get our members engaged in the Consumer Awareness Campaign – we want this campaign to have the maximum benefit for you and your office. Third we want to ask you, “What can NESO do for you?”  These are changing times, and we need your feedback to move our profession ahead.  I see the profession of orthodontics rapidly evolving- it is my role to meet this change head on.  How will Clear Aligners shape our market?  Is Custom Archwires or Customized Fixed Appliances truly a new way of being an orthodontist?  What does the public really think about their choices in treatment?  Do Moms simply want someone they trust?  How do we get our own offices online and get our message out there?  I think everyone may have a different answer.  I also have good news for everyone:  It is not the brackets that treat people; it is not a clear piece of plastic that treats people; and a robot bending a wire does not treat our patients.  We do.  We are orthodontists, and we come with a team of highly-trained staff who make orthodontics their specialty, too.  Don’t forget to market your team – no dentist has a team like that.

There have always been tools to align teeth.  Focus on the tools and it could become a commodity.  If that were the case, the straighwire technique should have eliminated our specialty.  It was not that easy. What makes anyone think it is different now?  No particular treatment modality is magic. With that, it all depends on how we choose to promote who we are.  Did you ever think that Consumer Awareness could also come in the form of other companies advertising direct to the public making them realize that they can actually be treated? Many adults think that they should have had orthodontic treatment when they were younger and it stops there – some think it is not even possible.  I finally learned to ask the parents of my young patients how they felt about their smile when they were growing up.  “Do you mean you could treat me too?” Sure we can and we do more now than ever.  Think of how many marketing salespeople offer to charge you a fee to get patients in your door – guess what, there are many already all around you and it’s free.  Maybe it is time to check out the Consumer Awareness Campaign marketing to adults.  See you in New York (you know it will be great).  And I will ask you on behalf of all of us who belong to NESO, “What can NESO do for you?” 

Dr. Dan Stuart
info@drdanstuart.com
Communications Director, NESO

NESO Members Attend the Professional Advocacy Conference from AAOinfo on Vimeo.

The AAO’s Professional Advocacy Conference provides an excellent opportunity for AAO members to gather in Washington, DC, in order to promote the legislative agenda of the AAO. It is also an opportunity to network, learn more about the AAO’s government relations activity, and to hear from allied organizations such as the ADA, AAOMS and AAPD.

Attendees gathered in Washington, DC from January 23 – 25 and received extensive information from the AAO’s staff and lobbyists about the legislative agenda, including “talking points” and tips on how to effectively communicate with legislators and their staff. The conference is held every two years and is offered free of charge as a member benefit.

NESO participants included: President Dr. John Callahan; Immediate Past-President Dr. Philip Mansour; Past Presidents Dr. Justin Martin and Dr. Lesley Will; President-elect and COGA Chair Dr. Dennis Hiller; PAC Representative Dr. Lisa Howard; Trustee Dr. Hugh Phillis; Dr. Marlin Salmon; and Harvard resident Dr. Rishi Popat.