Ad Council, dental coalition team on oral health campaign

The Ad Council is collaborating with a coalition of more than 20 U.S. dental organizations to conduct a three-year oral health literacy campaign to improve children's oral health.

The goal of the campaign will be to raise awareness and educate parents and caregivers about the value of good oral health for their children and how it can be achieved.

The campaign is the brainchild of the Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives dental coalition, which is led by the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation.

The coalition includes the Academy of General Dentistry, American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Academy of Periodontology, American Association for Dental Research, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, American Association of Orthodontists, American Association of Public Health Dentistry, American Association of Women Dentists, American College of Prosthodontists, American Dental Education Association, Association of State & Territorial Dental Directors, California Dental Association, Hispanic Dental Association, Medicaid SCHIP Dental Association, National Dental Association, National Network for Oral Health Access, Oral Health America, Society of American Indian Dentists, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, and the Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention.

Many notable organizations have worked with the Ad Council to address social issues through public service campaigns. Some popular slogans from the Ad Council's previous campaigns include the United Negro College Fund's "A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste" and the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's "You Could Learn A Lot From A Dummy" and "Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk."

The campaign is slated to begin appearing in national media and on a customized website in 2012.