Dugoni School Launches ?Dental Care is Essential Care? Public Service Campaign

University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry (Dugoni School) has launched a San Francisco Bay Area public service ad campaign to deliver the message that dental care is an essential part of overall health.

“The mouth is a window into the health of the body, and research continues to show the connections between oral health and overall health,” says Nader A. Nadershahi, D.D.S., M.B.A., Ed.D., Dean of the Dugoni School.

“For example, a growing set of evidence has linked oral conditions, particularly periodontal (gum) disease, to several chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Preventive dental care can reduce the complications of other diseases and prevent more serious and costly dental and medical conditions down the road. As the Bay Area continues to reopen, we want to encourage people to get back on track with ongoing care and visit their oral health care professionals.”

The initial theme of the public messages is the importance of children’s oral health, pointing out that dental cavities are the number one chronic disease among California’s children.

Posters were installed across San Francisco’s Muni and San Mateo County’s SamTrans public transit systems to run during the summer season. As ridership increases with the local economic reopening, the posters are a visible reminder about keeping mouths healthy—and the school’s dental clinics that serve the public. Each year, thousands of patients of all ages receive care at the clinics located in downtown San Francisco.

The school’s marketing and communications team worked to secure advertising space at no cost to the school, thanks to the transit agencies’ pro-bono PSA program for non-profit organizations. The school is also working on additional messaging opportunities to run across online, local TV and other Bay Area media outlets this summer and fall.

On June 27, Assistant Professor Natasha Lee, D.D.S., was interviewed about the importance of oral health by NBC Bay Area’s Asian Pacific America TV show. Watch the interview.

Courtesy of Dan Soine, M.B.A., Associate Dean of Marketing and Communications, University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry

Published on August 11, 2021