Dr. Minars Urges Patients in Hollywood, FL to Participate in Orthodontics Video Contest Hosted by AAO

April 27, 2010  

Written By: Pam Paladin of the AAO Marketing Department

Retrieved From: Expertclick.com

Two College Scholarships to be Awarded by American Association of Orthodontists – Enter by June 1, 2010

When orthodontic treatment changes looks, outlooks can change, too. The metamorphosis can be remarkable—and worthy of a video that could lead to a college scholarship.

The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) is sponsoring the “How Orthodontics Changed My Life” video contest. There will be two winners; each winner will be awarded a $2,500 scholarship.* Funds may be used toward the winners’ post-high school educational expenses at a college, university, vocational or technical school.

“Almost every day a patient tells me that orthodontic treatment has made a difference in their lives,” said Robert James Bray, DDS, MS, president of the AAO. “It’s the patients themselves who are best at explaining the transformation that orthodontic treatment brings. Here is a fantastic opportunity for young people to create a video chronicle of their experiences, inspire others and have the chance to win a college scholarship. I am looking forward to seeing and hearing how orthodontic patients are helped by what my colleagues and I do every day.”

Tell your story. What were you like before you had orthodontic treatment? How have you changed? How proud are you of your new smile? When did you notice changes in yourself? What kinds of changes are they? What does your new smile mean to you? What would you say to others whose smiles make them self-conscious?

The “How Orthodontics Changed My Life” video contest is open to students who are legal residents of the U.S., Puerto Rico, Guam and Canada, who are 18 years of age or younger as of June 1, 2010, and who have had orthodontic treatment by a member of the AAO. Contestants should be in, or have completed, the active retention phase of treatment.

Contest guidelines, available at www.braces.org/Scholarshipcontest.cfm, provide instructions to contestants on submitting their videos, which are to be submitted on DVDs or USB flash drives and accompanied by a signed release (form posted on the contest guidelines page) and mailed to:

Linda Gladden

Director of Communications and Marketing

American Association of Orthodontists

401 N. Lindbergh Blvd.

St. Louis, MO 63141

All video entries must be postmarked by June 1, 2010. Videos submitted should be two minutes in length or less. Entries are limited to one per person. There is no fee to enter.

Ten finalists will be chosen. A panel of AAO-member orthodontists will select the two winning entries from the ten finalists. By June 15, 2010, the 10 finalist videos will be posted on the AAO Web site, braces.org, and on the specialty Web site, AAOinfo.org.

The two winners will be announced by July 1, 2010.

All entries become the property of the AAO.

Roll camera and smile your way to college!

ABOUT THE AAO

The AAO has 16,000 member orthodontists in the United States, Canada and abroad. Founded in 1900, the AAO is the world’s oldest and largest dental specialty organization. The AAO supports research and education leading to quality patient care and promotes increased public awareness of the need for and benefits of orthodontic treatment.

Orthodontists are dentistry’s specialists in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of dental and facial irregularities. They are uniquely qualified to correct “bad bites.” Orthodontists receive an additional two to three years of specialized education beyond dental school to learn the proper way to align and straighten teeth. Only those with this formal education may call themselves “orthodontists,” and only orthodontists are eligible for membership in the AAO.

The AAO’s Web sites are www.Braces.org and www.AAOinfo.org.

*All federal, state and local taxes are the sole responsibility of the winners. Additional terms and conditions apply. Please review the contest guidelines at http://www.braces.org/Scholarshipcontest.cfm for more information.