CDE: Integrative Global Oral Health Lecture Series ft. Habib Benzian

Presented virtually via Zoom webinar
This lecture will be recorded and made available in the online classroom after the event.

Time: 5:30-7:00 pm EST; This virtual lecture will begin promptly at 5:30 pm via Zoom Webinar.
Registration: FREE; Registration is still required.
CE Credits: 1.5 lecture credits
**NOTE: For the best viewing experience, use the Google Chrome browser or download the Zoom app.

Changing attitude and altitude to achieve universal oral health equity

Course Description

Addressing the oral health needs of 3.5 billion people affected by untreated oral disease is the challenge of this decade. In the lecture, we will analyze the dimensions of this challenge and discuss how policy and action have to go hand in hand, both locally and globally, to make progress towards universal oral health equity. The need for reform requires that we change attitude (= the way we look at challenges and solutions); and altitude (= our understanding of how global and local contexts work together). The lecture will present concepts and examples of how public policy, action, local engagement and global guidance can work together in a systemic way. Everyone has a role to play – policy and decision makers on different levels, science and academic research, oral health professionals, communities and patients.

Learning Objectives

Participants will gain an understanding of:

• The scope and magnitude of global oral health challenges
• The need for change in various dimensions to improve oral health equity
• The way different levels of public policy and action can interact on a local or global level
• The contributions of various relevant stakeholders in the reform process ahead

Speaker

Habib Benzian, DDS MScDPH PhD, is Research Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Health Promotion, College of Dentistry, New York University, and Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Quality Improvement & Evidence-based Dentistry. Following an accomplished career as oral surgeon, Dr Benzian has been at the forefront of global advocacy to end the neglect of oral health. As expert in international (dental) public health, health policy, NCDs, and school health, he works at the intersection of academic research, policy and practice. He is senior adviser to the WHO, UNICEF, governments, and donor agencies and supported major national, regional and global health policy processes. He co-developed the awarded Fit for School Approach which combines essential school health, sanitation and hygiene improvements and oral health, currently reaching every day more than 20 million children in Southeast Asia. Dr Benzian was co-editor-in-chief for the Oral Health Atlas, a unique publication mapping the state of oral health worldwide, providing substantial resources for policy and international advocacy. As a member of the Lancet Commission on Oral Health he leads the working group on Global Governance & Advocacy.