4th Global Oral Health & Climate Action Conference

University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine hosted the 4th Global Oral Health and Climate Action Conference (4th GOHCA) during official COP30 UN Climate Conference hosted in Belém, Brazil from 10th -21st November 2025.

The 4th GOHCA program was held over 10 days and hosted 24 sessions with over 100 speakers from around the world. Its aim was to set out key themes and issues facing the oral health community and dentistry aligned with the WHO Global strategy and action plan on oral health 2023–2030. A foundational element is the model for sustainable dentistry which provides a coherent and inclusive approach to structuring the programme, session discussions and outcomes.

(A model for Sustainable Dentistry. British Dental Journal ‘Dentistry in A Changing World; from Inertia to Action’)

The model of sustainable dentistry describes four pillars:

  1. Preparedness – preparing for, responding to and recovering from emergencies, natural disasters and crises
  2. Protective prevention – adopting and implementing a planet-centric, health-promoting and prevention-focused model of oral health services and care
  3. Safeguarding planetary and human health for future generations – holistic approach to the use of natural resources and waste management to ensure no breach of planetary health boundaries
  4. Foresight – adopting anticipatory and future-oriented culture and practices for adaption and mitigation strategies.

“This model emphasises sustainability as an evolving concept, as well as a continuous and dynamic process, and should not be considered in isolation to the planetary health boundaries,” noted Drs. Julian Fisher and Michael Glick from Penn Dental Medicine’s Center for Integrative Global Oral Health. “The oral health community cannot afford to watch and wait for threats to arrive on its doorstep or it will be faced with the consequences of late-stage and costly interventions for which we are ill-prepared.” (Fisher, J., Glick, M. Dentistry in a changing world: from inertia to action. Br Dent J 239, 559–560 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-025-9290-2)

View conference session videos at the page linked below.