During the World Oral Health Form (WOHF) held recently in Geneva, Switzerland, the FDI World Dental Federation launched a campaign that asks dental associations to make a commitment to delivering sustainable oral healthcare.
Acknowledging the enormity of the issue at hand, and that challenges like climate change, pollution and loss of biodiversity are a problem for all, the WOHF, which was dedicated entirely to the topic of sustainable dentistry, encouraged “all stakeholders of the dental profession and industry to take action towards more sustainable practices”.
FDI member associations, which includes the ADA, have been encouraged to sign the pledge, which seeks to better align the oral health profession, industry and wider community with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The WOHF session, moderated by well-known UK journalist Victoria McDonald, explored the barriers, opportunities and drivers in sustainable oral healthcare with a particular focus on how the dental profession can reduce its environmental impact.
By signing onto the pledge, member associations can take steps to realising this goal by committing “to increase awareness, promote ‘reduce and recycle’ solutions, promote sustainability as a collective responsibility, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and harnessing science, technology and innovation to achieve the UN SDGs”.
One handy tool released by FDI to drive awareness and action on sustainable dentistry is the Toolkit for Sustainable Dentistry which equips dentists and their teams with the ability to adopt greener practices and to chart how well they are performing.
For more on this story, go to “Dental associations pledge to deliver sustainable oral healthcare”
