Bausch Health’s oral health business OraPharma is launching a new “Cover Your Bases” gum disease awareness campaign with World Series champion Alex Rodriguez.
The campaign, which includes an educational element about gum disease and asks patients to talk to their dentist about treatment options, coincides with Oral Health Month this June.
Rodriguez, also known as A-Rod, who hit 696 career home runs and won the World Series with the Yankees in 2009, is the face of the campaign.
The new campaign builds on his role as OraPharma’s ambassador for Arestin, the company’s antibiotic which, used in combination with scaling and root planning, is used to treat gum disease.
Rodriguez appeared on CBS News this week to talk about gum disease, which is personal to him. Despite having a Hollywood smile, he said on the segment: “Looks can be deceiving. I just recently went to see my dentist and not thinking anything about any gum disease. And the dentist tells me the news, and then I come to find out over 65 million Americans have this gum disease.”
The campaign comes with a dedicated website for Arestin that is now heavily focused on Rodriguez, which shows signs and symptoms of gum disease and also directly talks about the drug.
“This campaign is the first of its kind for OraPharma, and we couldn't be more excited to have Alex onboard to share his experience not only to help educate patients about this often misunderstood and underdiagnosed disease, but also to encourage them to talk to their dentist,” said Tom Stern, vice president and general manager at OraPharma, in a press release.
“We hope that this campaign will help bring awareness to gum disease and empower others to take charge of their dental health by seeking out appropriate treatment options that may help manage this serious disease.”