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.
The World Dental Hygienist Awards is open for applications for its 2024 edition. After a two-year hiatus forced by Covid-19, Sunstar Foundation and IFDH present a revamped version of the World Dental Hygienist Awards. See the News Release.
New Program Now Open for 2023-24
The World Dental Hygienist Awards is open for applications for its 2024 edition. After a two-year hiatus forced by Covid-19, Sunstar Foundation and IFDH present a revamped version of the World Dental Hygienist Awards.
The Awards aim to recognize Dental Hygienists who have made significant contributions to the dental hygiene field in a wide variety of areas, such as research, education, patient care, public health, or the general public.
Two New, Main Updates:
- The creation of regional awards in Europe and North America, The Awards of Distinction. If you are not from one of those regions, you can send in your nomination for the World Dental Hygienist Awards directly.
- The possibility to nominate oneself or a colleague.
Together with two regional awards of distinction – in Europe, and North America – the World Dental Hygienist Awards form a unique awards program designed to celebrate dental hygienists all over the world who are helping to elevate the Dental Hygienist profession. They are presented every two years at the International Symposium on Dental Hygiene (ISDH).
The World Dental Hygienist Awards consist of a trophy, cash prizes, and reimbursement for participation and travel to the ISDH. The 2024 awards will be presented at the International Symposium on Dental Hygiene (ISDH) in Seoul S. Korea, July 11-13, 2024.
The Regional Awards of Distinction & Global Awards
New to the World Dental Hygienist Awards program are the integration of two regional Awards of Distinction:
- One for Europe and
- One for North America.
Those from Africa, Asia, Latin America & Oceania can send in their nomination for the World Dental Hygienist Awards directly.
Besides their objective to recognize regional individual success stories in dental hygiene, these two regional awards of distinction also act as a “qualification round” for the global World Dental Hygienist Awards (WDHA) program, as each winner will be automatically nominated for the global awards.
Dental Hygienists from Europe and North America must first participate in the regional Award of Distinction program. After each regional edition, which will be celebrated yearly, the SUNSTAR Foundation will be in touch with the regional winners to coordinate participation in the global World Dental Hygienist Awards.
Applications & Deadlines
Applicants for the World Dental Hygienist Awards must first choose the field they want to compete in from six different categories:
- Public Health
- Full-time Clinician
- Academia
- Entrepreneur
- New RDH
- Research
Then, the application consists of two parts:
- Written answers to a set of questions inquiring about what has been done to elevate the Dental Hygienist profession, and
- A 1-minute video explaining the nomination to the general public.
Always bear in mind that those applying from Europe or North America will have to first go through the Regional Awards of Distinction.
Nominations Deadlines & Forms
- Europe and North America:
- January 23rd, 2023, to March 31st, 2023
- The Sunstar/EDHF European Award of Distinction for Dental Hygienists
- The Sunstar/RDH Award of Distinction (North America)
- January 23rd, 2023, to March 31st, 2023
- Africa, Asia, Latin America, Oceania:
- January 23rd, 2023, to January 15th, 2024
Awards
A total of six winners will result from each of the European Awards of Distinction and North American selection, and each of them will receive 1,000 EUR and will be automatically nominated for the Global World Dental Hygienist Awards.
Those selected from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Oceania will go directly as a nominee to the Global World Dental Hygienist Awards.
A trophy will be presented for each category at the International Symposium on Dental Hygiene (ISDH). In addition, each recipient will receive $1,500 prize money and reimbursement for their participation to ISDH, including full registration and coverage of travel costs. The Sunstar Foundation will determine the travel allowance to be paid. The award winner is responsible for making all travel arrangements him or herself.
Find more information on the
This program is on hold as it is being modified. Watch this page for updates.
