Navigating a Crisis and Preserving the Reputation of Risas Dental

10 to 1 Public Relations is a 10-year-old professional services company that provides communication expertise and consultation to organizations seeking to elevate brand awareness. The company has 10-team members at its office in Scottsdale, Arizona. This talented team guides and implements customized public relations strategies for each client with a focus on media relations, internal communication, public affairs, awards, speaking presentations, and crisis communications.

With 27 locations in Phoenix, Tucson, Denver, San Antonio and Las Vegas, Risas Dental and Braces is one of the fastest-growing dental practices in the country. Since its inception, Risas Dental and Braces has provided over $8 million in free dental care and holds their Labor of Event, where they give away free dental care to the community every year in September.

In late August 2021, a video depicting a family with their adopted daughter went viral across all social media platforms, garnering thousands of impressions and engagements. In the video, the family, while traveling home to Arizona from Disneyland is accused of neglect, abuse, and racism. The father in the video was identified by social media users as a dentist working at the Risas Dental and Braces Mesa office location. The video led to TV news stories in Palm Springs (where the incident occurred), and was garnering thousands of views that led to an outpouring of online social justice warriors calling on Risas to fire the dentist. This also led to a slew of social media posts on company pages, and fake appointment bookings online and through Risas’ phone center. In a few cases, even co-workers of the dentist were personally targeted.