ADA News

Las Vegas—This year at Annual Session, a professional photographer awaits members who wish to update their profiles for Find-a-Dentist on ADA.org and Sharecare.com, two online resources that can help boost dentists’ practice visibility to potential patients.

Smile: An ADA member sits for a professional photo during the 2009 Annual Session in Honolulu.

Members can even upload the photo on-site and take a copy home on a portable flash drive. It’s a special benefit for ADA members only and one of many that will be showcased during Annual Session. Visit the Welcome Center in Las Vegas next month for a closer look at ways that ADA membership helps dentists succeed in their practices.

Sharecare, Find-a-Dentist, the ADA Evidence-Based Dentistry website, products and services that help members manage the business side of their practices, insurance benefits and more are on display.

Sharecare

The ADA is collaborating with Sharecare.com, an online resource co-created by Mehmet Oz, M.D., and Jeff Arnold, founder of WebMD, that invites the public to submit health-related questions and have them answered by professionals. Sharecare enables dentists to engage with millions of people as a leading resource and advocate for oral health. Active licensed members who’d like to start answering questions on oral health can visit ADA.org/sharecare. 

The ADA already has its own page on the Sharecare website, (www.sharecare.com/group/american-dental-association), where consumers can find answers to questions about oral health. There are more than 220 oral health questions with answers on the ADA Sharecare site.

To become an ADA Sharecare contributor:

• apply at ADA.org/sharecare then follow the link provided to complete the application process at Sharecare.com;
• build your profile on Sharecare.com;
• log in and start answering the public’s questions on Sharecare.com.

ADA Sharecare contributors can also create their own profile page on the Sharecare website and link to their practice websites. Sharecare is a great way for a dentist to establish him- or herself as a local expert, said Dr. John B. Nase of the ADA Council on Communications, one of first members to become Sharecare contributors.

“Never before has there been a vehicle that so aptly puts my oral health expertise in front of the community in which I practice and the greater public in a single swoop,” said Dr. Nase. “It allows those audiences to really know what I think on specific issues and gives them a feel for how I practice dentistry. In effect, I am beckoning to the particular patients that I want to walk through my door.”

Find-a-Dentist

Find-a-Dentist on ADA.org is a member benefit that helps dentists promote their practices at no additional cost. The site allows potential patients to find dentists and learn more about their practices.

By updating a profile on Find-a-Dentist, members can manage profile photos, practice information and other details. Nearly 20,000 unique searches are performed on Find-a-Dentist, where patients can see the address, a photo of the dentist, map and office hours, contact information (including link to practice website), education, languages spoken, years in practice, insurance acceptance and payment options, and recognized specialty affiliations.

For more information on Find-a-Dentist on ADA.org, visit ada.org/memberprofile.

If you’re not currently a member dentist, consider applying today. Dentists who join in the last quarter of the year are eligible for $0 national dues through Dec. 31, and many state and local dental societies match that rate.

For more information about ADA membership and applications, visit ada.org/join.