September 2024

Greetings, IFDH Members!

Jill Rethman, RDH, BA

"If we are to prosper together in our increasingly small world, we must listen to and learn from each other's stories" ~ Queen Noor of Jordan

Where to begin? As I write my first President's Report to you, I can only think how humbled and honored I am to be your 2024-2026 President. The path that has led me here has taken many twists and turns, but ultimately, I know I'm where I should be... working with all of you in these exciting, changing times of opportunity!

Hygienists from 36 Countries Attend Our 2024 International Symposium in Seoul

How nice it was to see many familiar faces after two years! Over 1,300 attendees from 36 countries attended the International Symposium on Dental Hygiene, in Seoul, S. Korea. A powerful education program offered a plethora of topics under the CORE themes of Collaboration, Optimization, Reimagination, and Equality, featuring 101 oral presentations and 158 poster presentations from 24 countries! Read the full article and pictures too.

House of Delegates Meeting:
Views from Around the Globe
In the city of Songdo, S. Korea, 90 minutes outside of Seoul, three days prior to ISDH, representatives from 20 IFDH national association members met to renew and develop new friendships and discuss common issues. Read more.

Delegate Leadership Workshop:
Growing. Learning. Leading!
The 2024 Leadership Workshop engaged and inspired IFDH delegates to fully understand and participate in their important roles as leaders in their organizations, along with how best to advocate for change. Read more.

Global Oral Health Summit:
Global Perspectives on the Changing Demands of Oral Healthcare
The IFDH Global Oral Health Summit series again brought together influential worldwide leaders in a panel format to discuss how Dental Hygienists can contribute to reduce the burden of oral health diseases and its economic global impact. Read more.

Sharing Oral Health Knowledge for Sustainable Smiles
Award Winners Give Presentations in Seoul
The 2022 - 2024 IFDH Social Responsibility Campaign "Sharing Oral Health Knowledge for Sustainable Smiles," was embraced by Dental Hygienists worldwide. The 3 winning projects that shared oral health knowledge with teachers, colleagues, assistants, nurses and care givers who in turn can help others - Teaching the teacher - explained their programs at a workshop at the International Symposium in Seoul. Click to see the winners.

IFDH NEWS

New Board Elected

Congratulations to the new IFDH Board of Directors recently elected at the HoD Business Meeting in Songdo, S. Korea. Led by incoming President Jill Rethman, of the United States, see the full list, photos and bio's.

New Committees
The incoming President has appointed a new slate of Chairs for the 9 Committees immediately after the HoD Business Meeting. They have received their charges for the next two years and many have already met and started their work. See the full list, photos and responsibilities.

New Membership Criteria Added!

Dental Therapists, Oral Health Therapists & Oral Therapists

After more than two years of research, interviews and discussions, the IFDH House of Delegates voted to allow national organizations which include Dental Therapists, Oral Health Therapists and/or Oral Therapists to join IFDH as Full Association Members. There will also be a new category of Individual Membership for the same professionals. Watch for updated membership materials and web pages coming soon.

IFDH White Paper Making the Rounds

Canada, USA, Seoul & Online

The IFDH White Paper on Evidence-Based Self-Care Recommendations Matter: Findings from IFDH global surveys has been a hot topic around the world recently. It was featured at:

Two presentations at the JDIQ (Journées Dentaires Internationales du Québec, Canada) in May 2024. The presentations reached more than 900 attendees.
The ADHA Annual Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. On the first day of the conference, Crest +OralB used the findings to conduct an informative panel discussion for the Opening General Session.
The International Symposium on Dental Hygiene in Seoul, S. Korea, where all registrants received a copy.

Our 9th Survey Completed!

ORTHODONTIC HYGIENE

The IFDH recently completed its 9th survey - this one entitled "Orthodontic Hygiene" - helping to better understand global Dental Hygienists' practices around orthodontic hygiene. We thank P&G for their support of this program. Click here for a summary of the results.

IFDH PROGRAMS

IFDH Awards Announced in Seoul

Impact Awards

The 2023 IFDH Impact Awards for national association programs that made the most impact on the improvement of oral health, and based on the quality of the program, were awarded, based on size of the national associations. Click to see the winners.

Innovation Awards

The IFDH Innovation Awards program recognizes innovative Dental Hygienists with a focus on technology and treatment who is currently in the process of developing, or already developed (in the past 5-6 years) in these 2 categories:

New equipment for achieving optimal oral health; or
New treatments or oral health products

Click to see the winners.

Research Grants

The IFDH Research Grants program for students enrolled in dental hygiene graduate programs conducting thesis research were awarded. Click to see the winners.

World Dental Hygienist Awards

Since 2007, IFDH and the Sunstar Foundation have joined forces to present the World Dental Hygienist Awards to recognize Dental Hygienists who have made significant contributions to dental hygiene science, or to patients, the community and the general public. Click to see the winners.

MEMBER NEWS

Click on a title to read an article.

Australia

• DHAA and ADOHTA Joining Forces for the First Time

Canada

• New Position Paper

Denmark

• Thank you, South Korea!
• Getting into the Core of the Profession

Ireland

• New Projects
• Recent Events

Israel

• Annual Conference a Hit!
• Our Awards at ISDH

Slovak Republic

• A Successful Conference!
• Continuing to Educate Children

United States

• A Lot Happening at ADHA!

Calendar

2024

Oct. 11-12: The Irish Dental Hygienists Association (Irish DHA) - IDHA conference
Galway, Ireland

Oct. 17-19:Canadian Dental Hygienists Association (CDHA) - CDHA National Conference Practice 360
Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada

Oct. 17-19:Dental Hygienists Association of Australia (DHAA) - ADOHTA-DHAA National Congress
Sydney, Australia

Oct. 25-26: Oral Hygienists' Association of South Africa (OHASA) - OHASA-AGM and National Conference
Cape Town, SA

Nov 8: Belgian Professional Association of Dental Hygienists (BBM) - Fall Conference
Amersfoort, Netherlands

Nov 9-10:Czech Dental Hygienist's Association (ADH ČR) - Autumn Conference
Jezerka, SEČ

Nov 20-21:Israeli Dental Hygiene Association (Israel DHA) - International Hygiene Day
Modi'in, Israel

2025

April 11-12:Czech Dental Hygienist's Association (ADH ČR) - Spring Conference and Annual Meeting - 25th Anniversary
Prague, Czech Republic

May 27:Israeli Dental Hygiene Association (Israel DHA) - Annual Scientific Conference
Modi'in, Israel

Oct 2:The Danish Association of Dental Hygienists (Dansk Tanplejerforenging) - Fagkonferencen (Annual DH Conference)
Kolding, Denmark

Oct 10-11:Oral Hygienists' Association of South Africa (OHASA) - OHASA AGM and National Conference
Cape Town, SA

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CONTACT eNews

Published by

Editors:
Peter Anas, Executive Director
Clare Karpinski, Membership Director

with support from

100 South Washington St., Rockville MD 20850 USA.
Phone: 240-778-6790
www.IFDH.org

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