Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Hello, and welcome to a special episode of Marketing Chairside by Pro Impressions Marketing. Today I have a guest on with me. It’s Tracy Abel from ICCMO, the International College of Cranio-mandibular Orthopedics. I’m always really proud of myself when I say that without stuttering. Tracy, thank you for coming.

Tracy Abel:

Thanks for having me, Jonathan.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

And of course we say ICCMO a lot. That’s okay, right?.

Tracy Abel:

Yes, definitely.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Yeah. Yep. But Tracy is an amazing person. She puts together a wonderful event every year that we’re going to be talking about, but I’m just really excited to have you on the show, Tracy, because I feel like you and I are kind of in similar roles in that we head up organizations that work with amazing dentists that know how to solve problems with TMD and sleep apnea. Your role is to help them continue to improve their skills, and my role is to help them get more patients, but bottom line, we’re helping patients make the world a better place. So that’s why I was really excited to have you.

You’ve got an event coming up and I guess I should first say we are sponsors, ICCMO, of this event. The reason again is just the dentists that are members of ICCMO are truly our favorite clients. So just to me, is a perfect match. Dentists who love to treat sleep and TMD are our favorites and those people love ICCMO. So it’s just like a win-win-win but I’ll shut up now. Would you please tell us about the event that you have coming up?

Tracy Abel:

Yeah, absolutely. So we are hosting our Annual Bernard Jankelson Lecture Memorial Forum in Louisville, Kentucky, the dates are October 13th through the 16th. We will be running three tracks and it’s a perfect opportunity for a dentist, neuromuscular practice, or even if you’re wanting to learn more about neuromuscular dentistry and sleep to provide better care for your patients and also team, we have some great program or lectures that are specifically for the team, such as myofunctional therapy lecture that you can actually apply for certification after you take that course. So, yeah, we’re really excited and we’re just really looking forward to getting back together. We haven’t been together since 2019 in Kansas City. I think Jonathan you were there.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

I know.

Tracy Abel:

Yep.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Yeah.

Tracy Abel:

So, yeah, we’re just so excited to finally… Everybody get back together and just get some great education.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Right. So if someone… Let’s say they don’t know anything about neuromuscular, maybe they’re totally new, maybe they don’t know who Bernard Jankelson is.

Let’s start there, can you tell us a little bit about who Bernard Jankelson is and what his philosophy was?

Tracy Abel:

Yeah, absolutely. So Dr. Barney Jankelson founded ICCMO in 1979 and his motto really was “If you can measure it’s a fact, if you can’t measure it’s an opinion.” So he started this college, and it’s an international organization, but he really started this college to be a non-profit, non-commercial entity for like-minded dentists to get together and discuss new ideas and treatment and also research, which is another huge piece of ICCMO is the research that goes into treating the patients.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Right. So when people show up there for the first time or… It’s been two years, so I guess when we all show up there, what do people typically tell you is their favorite part of the meeting?

Tracy Abel:

Well, I mean, number one always is the education we’re ADA-approved so you do get continuing education. But the other big takeaway from our meeting is the camaraderie and the networking opportunities. For example, I was just talking to a dentist. He is a dentist in Wisconsin and he was telling me that he’s very excited to meet up with another dentist that lives in Florida, actually, and they’re going to discuss a case that one of the dentist has been having some difficulty with. So this is just a really great opportunity for them to get together in one location. I mean, that’s just one example, but oftentimes we don’t see… Our West Coast, don’t see our East Coast friends until we all are together at this meeting. So I think that’s one of the big, big takeaways that from this meeting is just that friendship and that camaraderie and that networking opportunity.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Yeah. I mean-

Tracy Abel:

And the mentorship too. I should add that in too. We have newer people who maybe aren’t familiar with ICCMO, and then we have dentists who have been, I mean, they’ve been here a long time. So they really do provide that mentorship to some of these younger dentists who are just starting in their career.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

For sure. I love the mix of just different people at ICCMO and during the whole pandemic thing, you had a virtual event. I saw that collaboration even in that virtual event, which I think speaks to just the enthusiasm and engagement of the community there, I mean, those virtual events can be kind of tough as what most of us have experienced. I mean, you guys brought value like crazy there, so kudos there. So if someone is like, “Yes, I want that. I want to be a member of that community or at least attend the event.” What do they do? How do they sign up?

Tracy Abel:

Yeah. So our website is www.iccmo.org. So www.iccmo.org and right on the main page there, you’ll see the landing page for the meeting. So you can just click on “More Information” or “Registration,” and that will take you directly to the registration process. We do list all the classes and the subjects and the speakers. So you’re able to view that. Also if you want to even become a member right there, you can go and click on “Become a Member,” basically, or renew your membership and you can become a member too. So both ways to get involved with ICCMO right there on our website.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

I’m still on the hunt for an honorary DDS so that I can be a full member. I mean, that’s got to be a thing somewhere and you forgot to mention that there’s going to be a rockin’ awsomw marketing talk during the seminar or the…

Tracy Abel:

Yes. Absolutely, Jonathan. We have one of our awesome sponsors. We’ll be speaking on marketing, and honestly you don’t want to miss that.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Yeah. Truly I’m excited, I’ve been putting it together. It’s going to be a great talk. Well, Tracy, thank you. You so much for joining us.

Tracy Abel:

Jonathan, can I ask you this really quick?

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Do it.

Tracy Abel:

Maybe it’s not appropriate, but one thing that you had mentioned to me about your sponsorship is that you might be doing head shots at your booth.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Yes.

Tracy Abel:

So I just went to a conference and they were offering headshots and it was the longest line in the hall.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Excellent.

Tracy Abel:

It’s a big hall.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Excellent.

Tracy Abel:

So I really think that’s really a nice bonus. So…

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Yeah, definitely. We will have that at our booth. Tracy, it’s not just for dentist either. If you want a new headshot, you can stop by and we’ll take a picture of you.

Tracy Abel:

Well, I went back to that booth several times. I think the photographer was getting super irritated.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

“Do you know? I think I had a hair the last time. Can we do it again?”

Tracy Abel:

I did, I said, “Can you make me look like this?”

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

We’ll have some Snapchat filters.

Tracy Abel:

Yeah, there you go.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

No, it’s not. It’s going to be legit, but thank you for pointing that out because I totally would’ve left that out. Well, yes. Do go to iccmo.org. I will have the link in the description as well and… Yeah.

Tracy Abel:

One other thing, Jonathan, can I mention too?

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Do it.

Tracy Abel:

Okay. You’ll want to stay through the end of the conference because Saturday night we are having our kind of a night out at the races. So we’re going to sort of bring… Emerald Downs. Right? I think that’s… No, not Emerald Downs. The Kentucky Derby let’s just say.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Right.

Tracy Abel:

Yeah. The Kentucky Derby to you. So I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and you’ll want to stick around and after all the education, it’s just going to be a great way to unwind and relax and just meet up and have a lot of fun.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

Right. I can’t wait. I know I’m going to have a fun time there. Well, Tracy, thank you so much for joining us.

Tracy Abel:

Thank you, Jonathan.

Jonathan Fashbaugh:

And for those of you watching, please like, subscribe and do all those fun social thingies. Give us a comment with any questions and if it’s about ICCMO, I’ll have Tracy answer. Otherwise, we’ll see you in Louisville or next time on Marketing Chairside.