June 2017

Dear TAO Colleagues,

Greetings from the Texas Association of Orthodontists (TAO)!  With the upcoming distribution of the2017 dues statements, please allow me the share my experience with you.  In the past, I did not feel that I received much benefit from being a member of the TAO.  I paid my dues only out of a sense of obligation as a new orthodontist. However, through my leadership within the TAO, I have come to realize that these dues have a direct impact on protecting our orthodontic specialty.

As you know, in November 2015, the TAO membership voted to increase 2016 dues to $635 to fully leverage the funding in the AAO Consumer Awareness Program (CAP) matching program.  That dues increase led to some membership withdrawal, particularly amongst our new and younger members, because they did not associate any value in the dues increase.   The dues increase allowed the TAO to receive a dollar-for-dollar match from the AAO, which resulted in us receiving approximately $260,000 from the AAO!  Please note that 2017 TAO dues will actually decrease from $635 to $480.  Our membership dues are so important in protecting our specialty, as with each passing year, our specialty distinction becomes more and more diluted.

You may wonder how the TAO uses money collected from dues.  Membership dues helped fund an aggressive 2016/2017 Consumer Awareness Campaign locally in Texas, which included radio, print and digital online advertising.  This was the first time advertising directly promoted TAO orthodontists.  Membership dues also enabled the TAO to launch our new website: www.texasortho.org .  We believe that the new TAO website will have a strong presence and direct potential Texas patients to TAO member orthodontists.  The TAO has also become more proactive than ever in participating in legal issues because of a recent lawsuit involving Texas general dentists who can advertise as “specialists” in fields not recognized by the ADA in Texas.  Our dues make it possible for the TAO to participate in these legal issues to protect our specialty.

Quite frankly, I struggled with the level of detail to include in this letter.  I could go on and on about what the TAO has been doing, what we are involved in, etc., but the main point that I am trying to make is that our dues are important and they enable the TAO to do important work, all in the interest of protecting the orthodontic specialty and promoting TAO orthodontists.  For those of you who are interested in some of the issues I mentioned above, I have included further details on the back of this letter.  And if you would like to discuss any of these issues, or you have questions or comments, please contact me directly on my cell phone (240-271-3475) and I would be more than happy to have a conversation with you, as I truly feel passionate about the work the TAO is doing.   I hope to meet you in person at an AAO/SWSO meeting.

I would like to personally thank each one of you for choosing to be one united voice for our patients and our great profession!

Warmest Regards,

Jesse Teng, DDS

President

Texas Association of Orthodontists

MEMBERSHIP DUES WORKING FOR TEXAS ORTHODONTISTS…

Membership dues funded an aggressive 2016/2017 Consumer Awareness Campaign locally in Texas:

In 2016, we earned approximately 23 million total media impressions, which is the number of times our content was displayed.  Our campaign included 16 weeks of paid media advertising in the form of radio, print and digital content.  It was also augmented by public relation efforts, branded content and social media.  We secured 70% reach, which indicates that 70% of our target audience of adult consumers, skewing females ages 35-54, saw our message.  We had 7.2 times frequency, which indicates that our target audience saw our message 7.2 times.  Our campaign produced over 20,000 clicks from Texas to the mylifemysmile.org website, which was an increase of 16% of web traffic from Texas to the AAO website.

One important requirement of our campaign was to include all 19 Texas media markets in the digital/online component of our marketing.  TAO is continuing the digital marketing in 2017, so every TAO member will receive this type of media coverage.

As you have probably seen in 2017, we’ve received wide TAO media coverage surrounding the DIY orthodontics topics—there has been approximately 12 million impressions based on this story. Our underlying message is always to make sure patients are visiting an orthodontic specialist for their treatment. This topic has been a great way to address the message of “choose a specialist for orthodontic care” and encouraging the public to seek an orthodontic specialist over attempting to do it themselves.  This message was spread all over Texas by 20 news stories online and broadcasted on radio and TV.

Membership dues enabled TAO to launch our new website: www.texasortho.org

Our impressive brand-new TAO website features an orthodontist locator/directory, which:

• Allows users to search for a listing by city or zip code
• Uses auto locator to get user’s current location
• Allows searching by map
• Displays Google map with the markers of the locations and information window for each market
• Members can edit their information through a secure portal

We believe that the new TAO website will have a strong presence and direct potential Texas patients to TAO member orthodontists.  It will bolster our consumer awareness campaign with emphasis on the differences between dentists and orthodontists, reflect the professional values/mission of our organization and provide a searchable directory of TAO member orthodontists.   The website is currently in the testing phase.

Membership dues enable the TAO to be proactive legally:

On March 31, 2016, the TAO was represented by a TAO member orthodontist and Sean Murphy, AAO associate general counsel, at a Texas State Board of Dental Examiners’ (TSBDE) stakeholder meeting, where specialty advertising was discussed.   The TAO was the only group that submitted proposed draft specialty regulations.  TSBDE’s General Counsel appreciated TAO/AAO’s revisions, and in drafting a new proposal, will likely include some of our revisions.
A previous court ruling currently allows Texas general dentists to advertise as “specialists” in fields not recognized by the ADA in Texas.  On April 26, 2016, the TAO joined the Texas Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and The Texas Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (collectively referred to as the “Texas Specialty Groups”) and filed a 24 page brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.  Our dues help the TAO involvement in these legal issues to protect our specialty.

Another legal issue the TAO participated in was on November 1, 2016, when a TAO member orthodontist went to New Orleans for the 5th Circuit oral argument for the lawsuit filed regarding specialty advertising – AAID v. Parker.

On April 25, 2017, TAO placed a card of support in favor of House Bill (HB 831) carried by Rep. Doc Anderson (R-Waco).  The TAO was also represented by a TAO member orthodontist who submitted oral testimony at the hearing at the House Insurance committee meeting.  The purpose of this bill is to ensure health plans cover all necessary treatment and secondary/derivative treatment related to craniofacial abnormalities in children.

Our TAO lobbyist is currently scheduling a meeting at the Governor’s office to recommend one of our TAO members for a position on the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners.
Mark your calendars – MASQUERADE! in New Orleans, Louisiana

September 14-17, 2018

GLAO/MSO/SWSO Combined Annual Session

TAO Membership Meeting – Saturday, September 16 at Noon!

Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria Hotel

Room Block Now Open – The Roosevelt Waldorf Astoria Hotel

Call (504) 335-3138 – or – 800 WALDORF (800 925-3673)

Ask for the SWSO (Southwestern Society of Orthodontists) Room Block.

The rate for King/Queen Deluxe Room or Superior Room is $250 per night.

Your TAO Board,

Dr. Jesse Teng, President; Dr. Deji V. Fashemo, President-Elect; Dr. Omar M. Issa, Vice-President; Dr. Matthew C. Ng, Secretary-Treasurer; Dr. Kelly R. Heetland, Immediate Past President; and Members at Large: Dr. Catharine Borders, Dr. Hardik Kapadia, Dr. Les Starnes, Dr. John C. Wise

Cindy Metcalf, TAO Executive Director