Former Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez is continuing to serve as a patient ambassador for gum disease as Bausch Health welcomes a new collaborator to its oral health campaign.

Rodriguez is participating in the Cover Your Bases effort to foster a greater understanding of gum disease detection in the Hispanic community.

The campaign, which is supported by Bausch Health’s OraPharma brand, is being bolstered by a collaboration with the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). The partnership, announced Thursday, is timed to coincide with Hispanic Heritage Month in September.

Going forward, Rodriguez will be featured in educational resources produced by OraPharma and LULAC that will be distributed across social and digital channels. OraPharma will also be participating at LULAC’s National Health Summit in Dallas next month to educate attendees about gum disease and available treatment options. 

Treating gum disease and oral health is a particular focus for OraPharma as well as its lead celebrity patient. Rodriguez, who won a World Series title with the New York Yankees, has been open about his gum disease diagnosis throughout this year. 

At the end of May, OraPharma launched Cover Your Bases to coincide with Oral Health Month in June and featured Rodriguez in testimonial videos for Arestin (minocycline HCI). 

The antibiotic, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2001, can fight infections that cause gum disease and can be incorporated into an oral health routine when used in combination with scaling and root planing.

Rodriguez also appeared on CBS Mornings to discuss how most Americans have gum disease but either don’t know it or haven’t received proper treatment for it.

“I’m proud to welcome LULAC to the Cover Your Bases campaign to help educate the Latino community on the importance of identifying the signs and symptoms of gum disease,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “I was lucky my dentist diagnosed my gum disease early and implemented a comprehensive treatment plan. I hope that by sharing my story I can help more people do the same, especially since we know gum disease is more prevalent in men and within the Latino community.”

For an April 2024 article about A-Rod stepping up to the plate as an equipment manager in Lysol ad, click here.