THE EDITOR'S CORNER

Many orthodontists are expressing dissatisfaction with the advertising campaigns of their professional organizations and a growing reluctance to support those efforts financially. It is an error of the first magnitude to hold such a view and it would be extremely short-sighted if these programs were allowed to wither away and die.

Whether we like it or not, whether we approve of it or not, whether we consider it to be professional conduct of the highest level, it would be a mistake to live in the past. The world has taken a turn. Orthodontics, along with all the other professions, has been thrust into the marketplace through the legalization of professional advertising. To attempt to compete in the marketplace and to consciously avoid using the tools of the marketplace to best advantage invites failure. We do not know whether organizational advertising will prevent a burgeoning of individual advertising, but to the extent that it might be successful enough to do that by increasing the utilization of orthodontics, it deserves a decent try.

Many express the view that they are not seeing quick results from the advertising in terms of new patients in their practices. It should be pointed out that an orthodontist could make an annual contribution of $500 to such an endeavor and, since the amount is tax deductible, recover his investment with one new case in ten years.