IFDH eNews: September 2024
Member News
Australia
DHAA and ADOHTA Joining Forces for the First Time
The Dental Hygienists Association of Australia (DHAA) is partnering with the Australian Dental and Oral health Therapists’ Association (ADOHTA) to run their first-ever joint Oral Health Congress in October in Sydney. The extensive program features internally renowned Professor Nicola Innes and Professor Ian Meyers as keynote speakers. Click for further details.
Canada
New Position Paper
Aerosol-Generating Procedures and Associated Control/Mitigation Measures is 
CDHA’s latest position paper, developed in collaboration with the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, summarizes the evidence on effective devices, methods, and protocols for mitigating the risk of infection transmission during aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) in oral health clinical environments. Key considerations are presented at the end of the position paper.
Denmark
Thank you, South Korea!
Thank you for a lovely time in your fantastic country. It was a very good and well-planned IFDH HoD meeting, with an inspiring presentation on management. And it was a pleasure to experience that more Dental Hygienists than before were presenters at the Symposium. The Symposium was also well-planned and gave us all more inspiration to carry out our jobs and positions as Dental Hygienists. It was clear that we as Dental Hygienists can do more ourselves than ever in regard to our patients, and that prevention of dental diseases is central to our profession.
Getting into the Core of the Profession
The Danish Dental Hygienists is in the process of revisiting the foundation and values of dental care and our profession. This includes a a paper on our core expertise and our vision and mission as Dental Hygienists. The aim of this paper is that it will work both as inspiration for us as Dental Hygienists, with a particular focus on the newly educated Hygienists, but also to employers and citizens, so that it is clear to them what Dental Hygienists can offer clinically in regard to education, as well as in health.
Ireland
New Projects
- Sara Keane Award for 2024 to honor the contributions of Dental Hygienists and recognize their dedication and excellence in the field who can inspire others in the field and will be launched at our conference on October.
- The Kin Hygienist of the Year was changed to a new format where finalists are now required to provide an infographic as part of their selective process, and the award is being implemented across four regions.
Recent Events
- In June our first mentees successfully completed the mentoring course as a part of the IDHA Mentorship Program. We are hoping to launch the program for our members later this year.
- Congratulations to our Past IDHA President Dr Catherine Waldron who received the IFDH “Lifetime Achievement Award” at the ISDH in Seoul in July.
Israel
Annual Conference a Hit!
Last May 2024, the Annual Israeli Dental Hygiene Association conference was held. 500 Dental Hygienists came to listen to new and fascinating lectures. The Annual Conference is the largest and most significant conference and shows all the innovations from the Dental world.
Our Awards at ISDH
We are happy to share that we won two awards at the ISDH in Seoul, South Korea 2024:
- Social responsibility for an oral health education program among the mentally challenged – we won third place in the Social Responsibility awards program.
- Oral health education for Israeli residents who evacuated from their homes due to a security threat – we won a prize for a small association in the Impact Awards program.
We are proud of the Israeli Dental Hygienists who volunteered, gave their time, and shared their knowledge for the residents of Israel, the mentally challenged, and the evacuees.
Slovak Republic
A Successful Conference!
The Association of Dental Hygienists in Slovak Republic (ADHS) organized the Days of Dental Hygiene Conference for Dental Hygienists and Nurses in 2024. It took place in the town of Bešeňová in May. This event was full of lectures focused on the treatment of severe periodontal patients. This conference was special because it was attended by the invited founders, Doctor Paul Kraus and Marta Križanová, also guest Iveta Šluchová, the President of Medical and Technical Workers in Slovak Republic, who oversees ADHS.
Continuing to Educate Children
Our association continues to be involved in the Slovak preventive project named Generation Without Decay. Since the beginning of 2024, we have educated children in more than 50 schools and kindergartens.
United States
A Lot Happening at ADHA!
It has been an exciting summer for ADHA.
- As many know, we proudly celebrated Jill Rethman being installed as IFDH President and wish her the very best in her term! ADHA’s current Delegates Kelli Swanson Jaecks MA, RDH, FADHA is completing her second term of service, and recently Tammy Filipiak RDH, MS, FADHA was reappointed to serve another term.
- ADHA installed new leaders in June
- ADHA held their Annual Meeting in New Orleans in July – for more information on the conference and key take aways, click the links below:
