I had the great pleasure to speak with Ms. Ruth French, Professor in the Dental Hygiene and Assisting programs at Niagara College in Welland ON. She is currently in Pakistan teaching the second cohort of the Dental Hygiene program at the AGA Khan University and with her students, they celebrated World Oral Health Day with an oral health community outing in Karachi.  Chiraz Guessaier, CDA Oasis Manager World Oral Health Day is celebrated globally every year on 20 March and is organized by FDI World Dental Federation. World Oral Health Day was launched in 2013 to raise awareness of the importance ...

I had the pleasure to host Dr. Jack Cottrell, Canadian dentist and Treasurer at the World Dental Federation FDI. We spoke about the importance of World Oral Health Day, coming up on March 20th, 2017. Chiraz Guessaier, CDA Oasis Manager Highlights   Oral health is multi-faceted and includes the ability to speak, smile, smell, taste, touch, chew, swallow and convey a range of emotions through facial expressions with confidence and without pain, discomfort and disease of the craniofacial complex. This year World Oral Health Day is tagged Live Mouth Smart: Good oral hygiene habits, avoiding risk factors and having a regular ...

Dr. Harry-Sam Selikowitz, Chair of the Science Committee at FDI, spoke with Dr. Chiraz Guessaier about the recent FDI Annual Congress as well as his role in adopting the new oral hygiene definition and policy statements. Highlights  Overall, the meeting was successful in formulating and adopting eight new policy statements due to the efforts of various committees. At the meeting, various committees met to discuss their areas of concern. The Science Committee covered topics including phasing-down amalgam, dental materials, antibiotic resistance, and are working on scientific updates in the fields of genetic testing and nano technology. The scientific program of the ...

In this interview, Dr. Chiraz Guessaier speaks to Dr. Jack Cottrell who recently attended this year’s FDI meeting Poznan, Poland. Highlights FDI’s role is global advocacy with the World Health Organization, World Health Alliance and Non-Communicable Disease Alliance, which are powerful lobby groups in Geneva, Switzerland. As such, FDI is able to advocate for oral health and its relationship and role in one’s general health. The organization also formulates and develops policies related to oral health. This past congress developed, passed and raised consensus on a new definition of oral health and developed advocacy tools regarding sugar reduction, the Minamata ...

Dr. Bill Calnon, Vice President of Scientific Research at the ADA Foundation, spoke with Dr. John O’Keefe about the foundation’s upcoming symposium which will take place August 17 – 19, 2016. The symposium is titled: “If Childhood Caries is a Preventable Disease, Why is it Still a Problem?” Highlights Childhood caries is the single most common chronic disease of young children, commonly prevalent in poor minority populations. Numerous studies have been conducted to examine the epidemiology and etiology of childhood caries, and those studies have led to the development of products and techniques to address the problem. The widely shared understanding ...

Dr. Timucin Ari, President elect of the International Association for Disability and Oral Health, briefly spoke with Dr. John O’Keefe about the upcoming 23rd iADH Congress which will take place between April 14 and 17, 2016 in Chicago. Dr. Timucin ARI graduated from Marmara University Faculty of Dentistry, Istanbul, Turkey in 1996. He has finished the combined speciality and PhD program in Pediatric Dentistry at Marmara University in 2002. His interest in Special Care Dentistry started during his residency and since 2000 he has been an active member of IADH. He served as a council member of Turkey from 2000 ...

Every year, the World Dental Federation (FDI) provides a wealth of resources for dentists and local and international dental organizations to celebrate World Oral Health Day. Resources provide guidance on what can be done to mark this important day and flexible tools which can be adapted and localized by you for use in your own activities and events. The toolkit contains key aspects to take into consideration in the areas of: branding, media relations, social media and special activities. Communication Tips The emergence of internet-based social media has made it possible for one person to communicate with hundreds or even thousands of ...

Every year on March 20th, FDI, World Dental Federation, celebrates World Oral Health Day (WOHD). #WOHD16 is an international day to celebrate the benefits of a healthy mouth and to promote worldwide awareness of the issues around oral health and the importance of oral hygiene to looking after everyone old and young. CDA is joining the global community in celebrating this day and spreading the message for good oral habits for life. Visit World Oral Health Day website for more information.  Why is WOHD Important? Because 90% of the world’s population will suffer from oral diseases in their lifetime and many of them ...