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| Year : 2018 | Volume
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| Issue : 3 | Page : 261 |
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| Moving forward in dentistry with FDI |
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Kathryn Kell
President, FDI World Dental Federation, Geneva, Switzerland
Click here for correspondence address and email
| Date of Web Publication | 13-Jun-2018 |
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How to cite this article:
Kell K. Moving forward in dentistry with FDI. Indian J Dent Res 2018;29:261 |
The FDI World Dental Federation was founded in 1900 by a group of dentists dedicated to improving oral health for all populations around the world. Since that time, the FDI continues to thrive thanks to its member countries, organizations, and individuals who volunteer to continue the good work started in 1900. The FDI Mission is “Leading the World to Optimal Oral Health.” For generations, this has been accomplished by growing and maintaining an active membership of almost 200 organizations, advocating for best practices in health care, and sharing knowledge with colleagues and the public. FDI has been joined by a large number of corporate partners who also follow our mission and believe that by working together we can build on our successes rather than working alone.
FDI develops policy statements through its committee structure that are approved by the FDI Council and then ultimately approved by our General Assembly before being released to the membership to use for their own advocacy and scientific purposes. Experts from our Science, Education, Public Health, Membership, and Dental Practice Committees gather the most recent information to develop statements and continually review previously developed statements when updates are needed. This ensures that the most recent, globally accepted information is communicated to our national members and down to a grassroots level.
Communication tools are important in a global organization and FDI has adapted to recent forms of communication through social media, developing a useful website, and continuing through print and online subscriptions with the International Dental Journal, FDI has five committees: Membership, Education, Science, Public Health, and Dental Practice. Committees develop policy statements, projects, papers, fora, toolkits, educational sessions on oral health, and helping to monitor important oral health issues. These committee members are experts in their fields and elected by their colleagues at the FDI World Dental Congress General Assembly. Their work is essential to improving oral health and bringing new knowledge on issues to the attention of our membership to share with their dental colleagues and patients.
The FDI General Assembly recently adopted a new strategic plan for the years 2018–2021. The focus will be the three pillars of Membership, Advocacy, and Knowledge Transfer. Membership and Knowledge Transfer were noted and FDI also spends much of its efforts on advocating for good health through good oral health. FDI advocates for good oral health with the United Nations agencies and others including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Environmental Protection agency, the Noncommunicable Disease Alliance, and the World Health Professions Alliance.
Each year, FDI partners with one of its member associations to produce an annual Congress in the fall. This includes an exhibition hall and education sessions, but what is unique are special fora on oral health topics, global networking opportunities, and a chance to interact with global leaders at the General Assembly, the Women, Military, and Public Health Session, and meetings held by the FDI Regions. This year 2018, the FDI Annual Congress will be held in September in Buenos Aires. FDI would like to invite everyone interested in oral health to attend this Congress, so hope to see you there.
Correspondence Address:
Kathryn Kell
President, FDI World Dental Federation, Geneva
Switzerland
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijdr.IJDR_482_18
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