Convening the oral health community

Dr Kathryn Kell

FDI President

London calling

My last stop before heading to Buenos Aires for the FDI World Dental Congress (WDC) was the 96th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) in London. It was a great opportunity to strengthen our ties with our research colleagues. Over the past few years, FDI has developed a good relationship with IADR by collaborating to elevate oral health on the global health and development agenda.

I was delighted to address the IADR Council and thanked IADR President Angus Walls for the opportunity to discuss common goals and give an update on recent FDI projects. At the IADR Opening Ceremony, it was a pleasure to see so many awards given to students embarking on their promising research careers.

While at the IADR meeting, I attended many interesting sessions on universal health coverage, critical thinking, antimicrobial resistance, minimal intervention and amalgam alternatives. FDI held a workshop with the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) on the draft set of adult oral health measures and was involved in a symposium on leveraging the NCD Alliance to prioritize global oral health research.

I also attended an awards reception for Unilever and attended a dinner with GC. The closing event was a reception passing on the IADR Presidency from Professor Angus Walls to Professor Rena D’Souza. Thank you to IADR for such an excellent meeting.

International Dental Journal impact factor increases

I am pleased to announce that the impact factor of FDI’s International Dental Journal (IDJ) has increased for a second year in row to 1.389. As you may know, IDJ is FDI’s main scientific publication. It features peer-reviewed articles relevant to international oral health issues and focuses on three key areas: practice-related research, international public health, and inter-professional education and practice.

Previewing Buenos Aires

The 2018 FDI WDC will be the absolute meeting point for the oral health profession. There are many exciting events and sessions at this year’s congress. I urge all attendees to consult the online scientific programme and map your schedule well in advance as we have a full programme. Below, I have bookmarked the following sessions which I strongly encourage attendees to attend:.

World Oral Health Forum • 5 September • 14:30-17:00
This year’s World Oral Health Forum will take an in-depth look at oral health and healthy ageing through a series of case studies of elderly oral healthcare models from Asia, Europe and South America. Oral health is vitally important as we age yet it is often a neglected area of healthy ageing.

Global Periodontal Health Project Symposium • 6 September • 09:00-11:00
The Global Periodontal Health Project will host a symposium entitled Proactive prevention and effective periodontal care: Major challenges, scientific updates and key issues for success. The symposium will be a terrific opportunity to get first-hand practical knowledge from leading experts in the field of periodontology. The Periodontal Diseases Chairside Guide will also be released at this event.

FDI-NCD Alliance-WHO Joint Session • 7 September • 09:00-11:00
FDI, NCD Alliance and the World Health Organization are leading a joint session, Curbing the Sugar Rush: Tackling oral diseases and other NCDs through a unified approach. A panel of health experts, including Dr Verónica Shoj, Director of Health Promotion and NCD Control at the Argentine Ministry of Health, Katie Dain, CEO of the NCD Alliance, Dr Benoit Varenne, WHO Oral Health Programme Officer, Dr Stefan Listl, FDI Vision 2020 Think Tank Member and Martha Yaneth Sandoval Salazar, Educar Consumidores Policy Coordinator will discuss how the oral health and NCD community can collaborate and advance cost-effective and preventive interventions focused on lowering the daily levels of sugar intake.

2019 World Oral Health Day Launch • 7 September • 09:00-11:00
The 2019 campaign for World Oral Health Day (WOHD) will be revealed at the congress. During the launch of the 2019 WOHD campaign, key results from WOHD 2018 including the WOHD award recipients will be presented. The launch event is organized for FDI member associations and WOHD global partners, as well as anyone looking to get involved with the campaign.

The WDC mobile application is now available to download from the App Store (iOS) and the Google Play Store (Android). If you are going to be active on social media, please don't forget to include the congress hashtags in your posts: #FDI2018Argentina and #WorldDentalCongress.

I wish you a safe journey and look forward to seeing you in Buenos Aires!

Dr Kathryn Kell

FDI President