The Global Caries Initiative launch event will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 15-17, 2009.
The conference is scheduled to bring together leading subject matter experts of the international dental community who will explore solutions to help meet the challenge of the burden of dental caries while improving the quality of life for communities in Latin America.
The anticipated outcome of the conference is to compile a Call to Action by the three international dental organizations representing practice (FDI), research (IADR) and education (IFDEA), which will be aligned with explicit roles, responsibilities and timelines.
About the Global Caries Initiative
The FDI World Dental Federation recognizes that the burden of dental caries and its impact on health continues to present a major global public health challenge.
Key areas are:
* reducing prevalence of dental caries globally, which despite significant efforts in many communities, remains a major burden due to its contribution to total morbidity and impact on health systems
* how to bridge the gap between current scientific knowledge of dental caries and caries management in clinical dental practice
* prevention as the foundation for oral health policy, which supports an
evidence based whole-population approach with implementation at a
community level
* advocacy for health promotion and the use of fluorides
* health workforce education issues and their influence on the delivery of, and access to, primary dental care services
* issues that might influence the current management of dental caries,
particularly the assessment of risk factors associated with caries at the
individual level
* the use and availability of restorative materials, those which support the concept of 'minimum intervention', and those which may influence the carious process
Wide consultation and multi-stakeholder collaboration should be required to
develop any new paradigm for managing dental caries, one which would need
to be based on current knowledge of the disease process so as to deliver
optimal general health and well being to all communities.
Register for the conference by going to Global Caries Initiative.
To read more about dental caries, go to dental caries.
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