Biopsies Save Lives Campaign Heads to TX, CA, and FL

The IPPF Awareness Program recently launched a strategic media and marketing campaign that stresses the importance of a biopsy when diagnosing pemphigus and pemphigoid (P/P). The Biopsies Save Lives campaign hit the road this past quarter, traveling to Texas, California, and Florida. We reached thousands of dental professionals through ads in state dental association journals and conference programs, outreach to local dental societies, social media, emails, and mobile alerts.

We kicked off the month of May by exhibiting at the Texas Dental Association Annual Meeting in San Antonio. We were excited to show off our updated booth with new pop-up signs and images to catch dentists’ attention. We even had a presentation on the exhibit floor, where Outreach Manager Becky Strong shared her diagnosis story as a part of an Educational Theater presentation. We went big to make sure that dental professionals in Texas know about P/P!

Next, we put on our IPPF sunglasses and visited sunny California to exhibit at the California Dental Association meeting in Anaheim. Dental professionals who stopped by our exhibit booth were handed our new educational material. This handout centers on a single take-away for dental professionals: “Biopsies Save Lives: 4 questions to ask your patient to determine if a pemphigus/pemphigoid biopsy should be considered.” This information not only helps dental professionals recognize the symptoms of P/P, but also goes a step further to emphasize the importance of a biopsy. We made a big splash and tried to make sure every dentist in California heard about us.

Most recently, we exhibited at the Florida Dental Convention in Orlando. Patient volunteers shared their diagnosis stories with dental professionals who stopped by our booth. As most patients can attest, the pathway to a correct P/P diagnosis is often long and winding with multiple referrals, misdiagnoses, and ineffective treatments. We spoke to hundreds of dental professionals about the Biopsies Save Lives campaign and reinforced the dental professional’s unique opportunity to accelerate P/P diagnosis times.

It was a busy few months, but our work isn’t finished. New York and the New England Region are up next!

Kate Frantz, MPH, is the IPPF Awareness Program Director. She lives in Michigan with her husband and daughter.