Diplomacy for Advocacy. So long FDI!

August 30, 2013

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When I took office as FDI President two years ago at the meeting of the General Assembly in Mexico City, I made a commitment to leave FDI in a stronger position and reinforce its reputation as a reliable, trustworthy and credible partner to our members, stakeholders, the industry and partners.

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In concrete terms, FDI has made measurable achievements in a number of areas over the past year.

The ones I would like to highlight are:

  • The Vision 2020 project, and the launch of FDI Observatory for Oral Health Prevention and Control;
  • NCD’s Non-Communicable Diseases: the success in the FDI for within the United Nations and WHO in imposing the view that oral diseases share risk factors with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases; they would therefore benefit from similar prevention and control activities;
  • the FDI Strategy for Africa;
  • our global partnership with Unilever renewed in Istanbul for 3+ 3 years;
  • our approach in the field of dental materials and its immediate results within the United Nations environment program;
  • the launch of the 2014 World Oral Health Day campaign;
  • Annual World Dental Congress (AWDC), India, New Deli 2014;
  • AWDC Thailand, Bangkok 2015;
  • Regional FDI Congress in Santiago de Chile 2015;
  • And last but not least, returning to surplus in 2013, ending a series of disappointing financial results.

I invited you to scroll down and take a look at some of it in FDI Istanbul 2013.

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Download the full report/book here (pdf).

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FDI and TDA Congress press conference with Taner Yücel president of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) and of the Turkish Dental Association (TDA)

16,197! That is the final tally of visitors attending the 2013 FDI Annual World Dental Congress (AWDC) and Exhibition, held in Istanbul (Turkey) from 28 to 31 August 2013. That makes it the biggest FDI congress for over one decade; that also makes it the largest medical congress ever held in Turkey.

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Vision 2020 phase 2 press conference: launch of FDI Observatory for Oral Health Prevention and Control.

From left to rigth, Juan Carlos Llodra Calvo (chair of FDI Public Health Committee), Nermin Yamalik (FDI Councillor), Mayur V. Dixit (Sunstar Global Strategic marketing & Scientific Affairs), Roberto Labella (head of Scientifica and Professional Affairs, Oral Care, at Johnson & Johnson).

It was also uppermost in our thoughts when, out of the different areas of focus identified in Vision 2020’s, two elements intimately related to our work on NCDs emerged as priorities. The first of these is the development of an observatory for oral health prevention and control, including data retrieval, oral health surveillance and oral health indicators.

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The other priority area identified is collaborative practice. This has two dimensions: intra-professional collaborative practice, which places oral health care within the context of a team of oral health practitioners led by the dentist.

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VIP Unilever reception. With Marie-Anne Aymerich (senior vice president Unilever Oral Care).

My words to the delegates:

…”So, it is my task once again to thank our friends at Unilever … for kindness, hospitality and all the support I have received during my term as FDI president. It has, literally, spanned all continents.

As the second phase of this unique partnership closes, I am sure that we are all looking forward to seeing the evolution and innovations of phase 3, which is set to launch later this year. “

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The 2014 theme is “Celebrating healthy smiles”.

It will be celebrated worldwide on 20 March again.

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Contract signature between FDI and the Dental Association of Thailand for the Bangkok AWDC 2015. From left to right, with Jean-Luc Eiselé (executive director of FDI) Tin Chun Wong (president-elect of FDI), Lt Gen Phisal Thepsithar (president-elect of the Dental Association of Thailand) and Adirek S. Wongsa (president of the Dental Association of Thailand).

Bangkok will be hosting the 2015 FDI Annual World Dental Congress from 22-25 September 2015.

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Regional Congress Santiago de Chile 2015 – signature with LOC representatives. From left to right, with Francisco Omar Campos Sanhueza (director Sociedad Odontológica de Chile), TC Wong, Mauricio Rudolph (president Sociedad Odontológica de Chile), Daniel Amigo (director Sociedad Odontológica de Chile) and Jean-Luc Eiselé.

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Istanbul Declaration signature approved at the 101st FDI AWDC. Oral health and general health: a call for collaborative approach ”To strongly defend oral health as a fundamental human right and an integrated part of general health and well-being.”.

From left to right, with Harry-Sam Selikowitz (vice Chair of FDI Science Committee), Li-Jian Jin (Chair of FDI Science Committee) and Taner Yücel (president of TDA).

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Escarcel study press conference. From left to right, with Teresa Layer (vice president, Oral Health Category Research and Development at GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare), Denis Bourgeois (professor of Periodontology and Public Health, Vice President of Science and Medical Faculty and Dean of the Faculty of Odontology at University of Lyon 1, France), Adrian Lussi (professor and Head of the Department of Operative, Preventative and Paediatric Dentistry, University of Bern, Switzerland), Nicola West (professor in periodontology and Head of Department, Bristol Dental Hospital and School, UK) and David Bartlett (professor and Head of Prosthodontics at Kings College London Dental Institute, London, UK).

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At the Colgate booth with Marsha Butler, VP, Global Oral Care Colgate and local responsible officers.

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World Oral Health Forum 1: “How might the Minamata Convention on Mercury affect dentistry”.

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World Oral Health Forum 2 that I had the privilege to open: “Addressing Oral Health within the Global Non-Communicable Disease (NCDs) initiative: A focus on the opportunities provided by such integration at regional and country level”.

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Opening of the Exhibition. 16000 visitors!

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Opening Ceremony of the FDI AWDC Istanbul.

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Portugal…

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Turkish Minister of Health, Mehmet Müezzinoğlu, Taner Yücel and me. Heavy burden, but worth the effort!

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A moon over the Bosphorus… A crescent shaped by a bite……“In Eastern mythologies the crescent moon also represents women, motherhood… and again as the shape of the bull horn is a symbol of power in Anatolian cultures.”, from Cem Sağbil.

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My welcome speech: “ This Annual World Dental Congress is a reflection of what FDI represents in the world today: relevant, influential, well-informed, ubiquitous”…

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The great performer Burhan Öcal.

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“Fire of Anatolia “ and “Sultans of dance” performance.

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Handover of FDI Presidential Chain to president-elect TC Wong.

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The Turkish Dental Association Organizing Committee. Well done!

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Crowds at the exhibition… more than 270 companies showcasing their products and services in some 6000 square metres…

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…and at the scientific sessions with 171 speakers and 1190 abstracts presented!

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Thanks for the support of Industry. With the president of International Dental Manufacturers (IDM) Jürgen Eberlein.

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My last Council meeting…

By joining hands in the pursuit of these goals, we have been able overcome the heavy challenges of recent. This is due to the Council, the Executive Committee, the FDI staff under the leadership of the Executive Director, and volunteers both within and external to the Committees, our industry partners and other stakeholders, all working together with the same passion and commitment to succeed.

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World Parliament

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“… I would like to personally thank ‘our man at WHO’, chief of its oral health programme, Dr Poul Erik Pedersen for his tireless efforts to keep oral health on the WHO agenda….”

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Organizing Committee New Deli, India 2014 at the GA.

FDI 2013 Istanbul was a huge success – and we are expecting the same from New Delhi. Why this confidence? A single word ‘venue’.

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Receiving certificate of appreciattion of the FDI.

“ For the future, my message is that FDI should pursue its long-established role as advocate for oral health combined with compatible diplomacy, uniting the profession and working collaboratively with other oral health specialists and health professions.
I personally stand ready to continue my engagement with FDI World Dental Federation as a passionate and committed fan of its work and achievements. “

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Thank you to the FDI staff and…

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Special thanks to the FDI Executive Director, Jean Luc-Eiséle.

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President and president-elect of the FDI, TC Wong and Patrick Hescot. Good luck for the future!

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Me with the new FDI Council!

So long! See you in New Deli!


Report from the FDI President

August 21, 2013

oms-fdi-headshotWhen I took office as FDI President two years ago at the meeting of the General Assembly in Mexico City, I made a commitment to leave FDI in a stronger position and reinforce its reputation as a reliable, trustworthy and credible partner to our members, stakeholders, the industry and partners.

By joining hands in the pursuit of these goals, we have been able overcome the heavy challenges of recent times and can at last perceive on the horizon a glimmer of hope and enthusiasm. This is due to the Council, the Executive Committee, the FDI staff under the leadership of the Executive Director, and volunteers both within and external to the Committees, all working together with the same passion and commitment to succeed.

In my role as FDI ambassador, communicating the ethical and practical messages of FDI among its members and stakeholders around the world, I have been touched by the enthusiasm of my hosts in 30 countries or more for the work of FDI and their commitment to the values of the dental profession. It is this energy and enthusiasm that helped me accomplish what I set out to do.

In concrete terms, FDI has made measurable achievements in a number of areas over the past 12 months. The ones I would like to highlight here are Vision 2020, the FDI Strategy for Africa, our global partnership with Unilever, our success in the field of dental materials and its immediate results, and, finally, World Oral Health 2013.

Following last year’s adoption of Vision 2020, a revised version was published in the International Dental Journal. At a meeting in Chicago in February, a decision was made to move into Phase II in two specific areas, data collection/oral health indicators and collaborative practice. We have managed to gain some industry financing for this initial stage. We had a meeting in June to lay the groundwork of for moving forward in these two areas.

June of this year saw the publication of FDI’s Strategy for Africa, in reality not only a strategy but also a list of activities to be undertaken by Africa-based NDAs and by FDI. The published statement was the result of a summit in Cape Town in November 2012, which included group and break out sessions, and reached a true consensus on the way forward.

We continue to score successes with our global Live. Learn. Laugh. Partnership with Unilever Oral Care, now in Phase II and involving 27 countries. The meeting for 2013 took place in Athens, where all the participants were able to report the latest developments. Phase II, as you are probably already aware, has a more particular focus on data collection and analysis.

One of the major successes in 2013 was ensuring the continued availability of dental amalgam by ensuring its phase-down, rather than phase-out in the Minamata Convention, the international treaty on mercury to be signed in October in Minamata, Japan. This success was due to a concerted effort by FDI, IADR and with the support of the Oral Health Programme of WHO over a three-year negotiating period, launched in 2010.

In return, the dental community had promised a concerted effort in the field of prevention and reduction of dental amalgam impact. I am happy to report that, in collaboration with UNEP, WHO, IDM, we have already move into the implementation phase with a pilot project on dental waste management in East Africa.

Finally, I would like to draw the General Assembly’s attention to the success of World Oral Health Day 2013. We had no illusions that 20 March would be celebrated everywhere, especially considering the change of date from 12 September: in fact, it is unlikely that we would ever achieve a 100% alignment around the world. What we did achieve was a sustained worldwide effort and a group of case studies as we encourage more and more countries to join us in the coming years. 36 countries is about one fifth of the world’s nations: it’s already an important beginning.

To close, I would like to salute the reports from the Treasurer and the Executive Director demonstrating progress over the past year both in the performance of the Geneva office and the good news of returning to surplus, ending a series of disappointing financial results. It reflects well on all of us that, once the alert was given, we immediately adapted our work and style of living to the new realities.

For the future, my message is that FDI should pursue its long-established role as advocate for oral health combined with compatible diplomacy, uniting the profession and working collaboratively with other oral health specialists and health professions.

I personally stand ready to continue my engagement with FDI World Dental Federation as a passionate and committed fan of its work and achievements. I would like conclude by thanking my colleagues in Portugal and Portuguese speaking countries, especially of the Portuguese Dental Association, Ordem dos Médicos Dentistas, for their support throughout my term as FDI President.

Sincerely yours,

Orlando Monteiro da Silva

FDI President (2011-2013)