American Dental Association
ADA Sinks Its Teeth Into Licensing


Problem
Well-known and respected, the American Dental Association was experiencing low membership growth due to competition from new dental associations offering similar services to dentists. While it was still one of the strongest professional associations in the US, the ADA needed additional and compelling reasons for dentists to join — and stay with — the ADA instead of the new alternatives. The ADA wanted to be more valuable to its existing members and more enticing to potential members. In order to thrive, the organization required new ways to gain respect among all dentists by being especially pertinent to their practices and patients.

Solution
The ADA’s “seal of approval” is an effective program for therapeutic products such as toothpaste, floss and mouthwash. However, it is very limited in terms of product applicability. LMCA determined that for consumers to fully address their dental development and health, new ADA-approved products must be identified beyond the standard therapeutic offering. These products include foods, beverages, confectionary and others designed to bolster dental health.

To properly support this new initiative, LMCA helped to developed a new logo and symbol that would relate to the venerable ADA certification but represent this new type of product. The “Smile Healthy” logo tested very positively with consumers and is now used to certify that products meet the ADA’s standards for promoting dental development and health.

Results
One of the first products identified as a priority for the Smile Healthy ADA product approval program was bottled water. As children have drastically increased their ingestion of non-fluoridated bottled water instead of fluoridated tap water, an increase in cavities has been observed by dentists. The first product licensed with the Smile Healthy logo was fluoridated bottled water, which is being launched nationally in 2008.

The next step will be to expand the Smile Healthy program into other new categories, such as foods that help promote the growth of strong and healthy teeth.

These efforts are being shared with existing and potential member dentists to promote the relevance of the ADA in today's market. The incremental royalty income gained through the Smile Healthy program will be used to educate consumers on dental health and to provide dental care for needy children.

With a myriad of beneficial products approved by the ADA, dentists will see the organization as much more pertinent in helping promote dental health. The ADA will be perceived as a much more valuable and relevant dental association than its new competitors.