CIGOH Addresses Sustainable Oral Health at Major Dental Conference in Brazil  

 

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Philadelphia — Dr. Julian Fisher, Director of Oral & Planetary Health Policies within Penn Dental Medicine’s Center for Integrative Global Oral Health (CIGOH), joined Dr. Benoit Varenne, Chief Dental Officer in the Department of Non-Communicable Diseases at the World Health Organization, to deliver keynote lectures as part of  the International Round Table Sustainable Oral Health – Leave No One Behind held January 24, 2025 at CIOSP in São Paulo.

The event marked the kick off of preparations for CIGOH’s  4th Global Oral Health and Climate Action Conference, to be held in conjunction with COP 30 in Belem, Brazil, November 10-22, 2025.

A large and engaged audience of national policy makers, national dental associations, and academia and oral health professionals actively participated in discussions on new strategies and actions for dentistry. “Participants were very conscious about the impact of climate change on dental practice and the oral health of their patients,” notes Dr. Fisher.

Dr. Fisher spoke on sustainable oral health leadership, rethinking the approach to achieving health and well-being, and our relationship with the planet. “I sense a real change with many audiences experiencing the consequences of climate change in their daily lives and at work,” says Dr. Fisher. “They want education alongside evidence-based, practical, and feasible strategies and actions.” Dr. Fisher adds that “this was a hybrid event, which provided a high-level of audience and speaker interaction, which reinforces our approach to the design of the 4th Global Oral Health and Climate Action Conference.”

As part of the Round Table program, Dr. Claudio Fernandes, Chairman of the Innovation Agency of the Fluminense Federal University at Nova Friburgo Institute of Health, highlighted the role of innovation, alongside leadership and collaboration, in advancing sustainable and equitable oral health.

The event launched a call to action — ‘Commitment to the Future of Sustainable Oral Health’ — that will support global oral health diplomacy efforts as well as feed into the policy briefs planned for COP 30 in November.