Introducing My Reason to Smile Campaign

Thanks to the relentless legislative advocacy led by the Maryland Dental Action Coalition (MDAC) and its collaborators, Maryland Medicaid coverage now includes dental benefits for adult enrollees. However, despite this significant milestone, there's still a crucial need to enhance awareness, understanding, and engagement among eligible Marylanders. To tackle this challenge head-on, MDAC has launched the My Reason to Smile campaign, a two-year social media outreach initiative aimed at informing adult Medicaid beneficiaries about their newfound dental benefits.

Insights from Background Research

To lay the groundwork for our campaign, we conducted a brief anonymous survey in November 2023, with low-income Maryland residents. The survey asked respondents about their their utilization of dental services, awareness of oral health importance, preferred methods of receiving healthcare information, familiarity with dental coverage for Medicaid-eligible individuals, and their social media habits. With 208 responses received, we gained valuable insights for shaping an informed social media awareness campaign.

Key findings highlighted a pressing need to expand patient outreach and education regarding benefits. Alarmingly, nearly half of the respondents had not visited a dentist in the past two years due to either lack of insurance or uncertainty about covered dental services. Barriers identified included fear, complex treatment plans, limited availability of dentists accepting adult Medicaid patients, transportation challenges, and distrust of medical services. 

Below is an infographic summarizing the survey results.  If you want to print and share this infographic, you can access it here or click on the image below.

My Reason to Smile Campaign

Our campaign strategy comprises a blend of organic and paid social media posts, along with targeted YouTube advertisements. These channels will disseminate key messages about the new benefits, underscore the critical role of oral health in overall well-being, and motivate beneficiaries to take the pivotal step of scheduling a dental visit—without premiums, deductibles, or copays. Launched in March 2024, the My Reason to Smile campaign utilizes Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube platforms, and engages our audience in both English and Spanish. People are directed to our campaign landing page, MyReasontoSmile.org, offering comprehensive details on expanded dental benefits, locating a dentist, and additional resources.

How You Can Contribute

Are you interested in learning more or helping us spread the news about the Maryland Healthy Smiles Dental Program and dental benefits?

Please feel free to download and share the following resources with your colleagues. The more people who know about Maryland Healthy Smiles Dental Program the more we can improve the oral health of all of our residents in our great state.

Our toolkit resources are in English and Spanish, and include:

• Social media posts 
• Newsletter/blog article
• Patient letter/email
• Rack card (Printed copies available upon request. Please contact Arin Ahlum Hanson, MDAC’s Director of Programs at ahanson@mdac.us)