2 August 2022
This article was first published in the ADA’s News Bulletin, August 2022
Every year, August heralds the return of (DHW). It’s increasingly somewhat of a misnomer, since the event provides the impetus for many organisations and associations around Australia to ramp up their efforts in the common goal of improving oral health and education in our country. These accompanying initiatives create an inspiring backdrop of activity throughout the month of August and well beyond.
This year, it feels like an easing in the pandemic conditions that affected the community reach of the last couple of years’ events is contributing to an air of unmistakable optimism. Even the theme of this year’s DHW has a playful bent, its Valentines-like feel created by ADA member Dr Elice Chen as the result of a design competition that engendered some delightful and truly unique entries.
“This year’s core message is Love Your Teeth and focuses on prevention,” says Dr Mikaela Chinotti, the ADA’s oral health promoter. “Aussies are being asked to show their teeth love by employing good oral hygiene habits, including brushing, interdental care, and low-sugar diets, as well as visiting the dentist regularly. The campaign artwork has been greatly received. It was great to give ADA members the ability to have input on this year’s campaign design.”
Hundreds of members have already prepared for the DHW festivities by pre-downloading promotional and educational materials from the , or even pre-ordering the educational Bright Smiles, Bright Futures kits – but there is plenty more happening.
“New for 2022, we are asking for dental practitioners help in fundraising for the Australian Dental Health Foundation (adhf.org.au). The Foundation works to facilitate pro-bono care for disadvantaged Australians and any funds raised will go a long way to helping those who may not otherwise be able to access care,” says Dr Chinotti, adding that although the ADA runs its own online advertising campaign, involvement from dental practitioners around the nation is key to helping increase Dental Health Week’s reach.
Outside of the main DHW festivities and efforts, momentum brought to the profession and associated industries also has an admirable effect in terms of advocacy, legislation and sheer promotional power. Here, we look at some initiatives that are now in play, that will positively impact the oral health of Australians for future years.
A new consensus statement on oral health promotion
Even against the overwhelming backdrop of the advent of COVID-19 in 2020, the ADA’s consensus statement on Ankyloglossia and oral frena quickly gained attention and traction throughout our profession. Likewise, the inaugural Consensus Statement on Environmentally Sustainable Oral Healthcare, launched in April this year by the FDI World Dental Federation was widely held to be a significant and positive step for the international dental community.
Consensus statements are meaningful and influential because they create and confirm common goals,
with the power of research and concentrated collaboration behind them. To have a new consensus statement in the works, on subject matter as important and as salient to DHW as oral health promotion is, therefore, newsworthy indeed.
The ADA-led project, with the University of Melbourne as research partner, is essential on a number of levels. Dr Mihiri Silva, consultant paediatric dentist and clinician-scientist fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Royal Children’s Hospital, and Divisional Lead Cariology, Population Health & Oral Health at Melbourne Dental School, University of Melbourne, is also Deputy Chair of the ADA Oral Health Committee and an instrumental figure in the formation of this consensus statement project.
“I am most excited about the opportunity this project brings to develop a collaborative evidence-based statement that is inclusive and engaging,” she says. “This statement will enable us to use the evidence that
has emerged since the last statement, and it’s really exciting to be involved in such translational work, bridging the gap between knowledge generation and implementation. I am also excited about working with colleagues, consumers and stakeholders from around to country and to develop this a forward-looking statement together.
Dr Silva’s own work within the paediatric space has informed her work on the statement in ensuring that
all aspects of dental care, including oral health promotion are underpinned by robust scientific evidence.
“My research program focuses on using longitudinal cohorts to understand child oral health and implementing evidence-based strategies to improve the oral health of children,” she says. “My work has focused on early life
influences such as sugar consumption, early dental visits and early childhood caries and enamel hypomineralisation. From my own work and many others’, it’s clear that public health policy is really important in ensuring children get the best start to life.
“This statement is really important in guiding policy and practice, and I really believe it will achieve a lot. We know of course there is a lot more work to be done. New challenges and opportunities emerge and it’s important that we continue to be innovative and continue to work at improving the oral health of the community, especially through advocacy.
“Oral health promotion is a complex area, and I would like to see more evidence-based approaching being embedded to oral health promotion at every stage, from conception to evaluation,” Dr Silva says. “For example, it is great to see more and more oral health promotion activities that consider concepts like behaviour change theory that have been used widely in other areas of health. We know that simply providing knowledge is not enough; we need to think more comprehensively about how to support behaviour change. We must recognise the importance of ensuring health policy and higher-level strategies that support individuals in adopting healthy behaviours, because the environment around us is so important, as is making sure we include consumers and our patients as equal partners in oral health promotion.”
