2013: Celebrating 100 Years of Dental Hygiene!

2013 marks the 100th Anniversary of the opening of the first dental hygiene program started by Dr. Alfred C Fones in Bridgeport, Connecticut. 

The American Dental Hygienists' Association will be celebrating this milestone at their 2013 meeting in Boston, June 19-23rd.

For more information, go to:<http://www.adha.org/annualsession2013/index.html>

Sunstar World Dental Hygienist Awards

http://sunstarawards.com/World_Dental.html

World Dental Hygienist Awards  
In 2007 the Sunstar Foundation, in collaboration with the International Federation of Dental Hygienists (IFDH) and the International Journal of Dental Hygiene (IJDH), established the World Dental Hygienists Awards to recognize and encourage dental hygienists and dental hygiene students who have made important contributions to the dental hygienist community, their profession or to the general public.

The Award is presented every three years in the following categories:

• Research Category: $5,000
• Activity/Project Category: $3,000
• Student Research Category: $2,000
• Student Activity / Project Category: $2,000

With each award, a trophy will also be presented. Winners and/or a representative of each winning group, if submission was made as a group, will be invited to the Award Ceremony at the International Symposium on Dental Hygiene. The next World Dental Hygienist Awards will be presented in 2013 at the International Symposium on Dental Hygiene in Cape Town, South Africa.

Plans for the 2013 International Symposium on Dental Hygiene (ISDH) are coming along nicely, thanks to Marie Ferreira, Chair 2013 International Symposium on Dental Hygiene, Elna Shutte, and the rest of the Organising Committee. The call for abstracts will be published very soon on the IFDH <http://www.ifdh.org/> and OHASA <http://www.ohasanet.co.za/> websites. The 2013 ISDH website is active and you can visit the site by clicking on the 2013 ISDH logo (left) and that will link to the 2013 ISDH website. There is information available on Cape Town, the Cape Town International Convention Centre where the Symposium will take place, as well as all various categories of accommodations in Cape Town. 
 

I encourage everyone to view the August issue of the International Journal on Dental Hygiene. It is a Special issue celebrating 45 years of the Dutch Dental Hygienists' Association. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/idh.2012.10.issue-3/issuetoc>. President Corrie Jongbloed-Zoet and her colleagues write about Dental hygienists in The Netherlands: the past, present and future. "Abstract: Dental hygiene education in the Netherlands started in 1968 after a long political debate about roles, functions and the working domain. From a slow start with five students in a school based on the American model with a 2-year curriculum, dental hygiene education is now a 4-year, higher professional education with an admission of 300 students annually who pursue the degree of Bachelor of Health at a University of Applied Sciences. In the 45 years of its existence, the dental hygiene profession has undergone a tremendous change. In the beginning, dental hygienists worked under the supervision of a dentist, which changed in 1992 to their working ‘under referral’ from a dentist, and again in 2006, when dental hygienists became directly accessible. One-third of the working force of approximately 2700 dental hygienists (2010) is now working in their own independent practice. The focus of professional practice has changed from the prevention of caries via periodontology to the relationship between dental health and general health and well-being. The profession, the education and the Dutch Dental Hygienists’ Association (Nederlandse Vereniging van Mondhygie¨nisten) have matured, and its members are now serious parners in oral health care."

Corrie and Maria

President Corrie Jongbloed-Zoet

I know this is not possible at this time, but what do you think about a future global mandatory 4-year, higher professional education for dental hygienists?

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog as President of the International Federation of Dental Hygienists (IFDH)! I encourage you to visit our website at <http://www.ifdh.org>.  

As well, we welcome you to join us for the  19th International Symposium on Dental Hygiene,14th to 17th August 2013,Cape Town, South Africa. For more information, visit <http://www.embassyconferences.co.za/portfolio/present/19th-international-symposium-on-dental-hygiene/10>.

 

Let us hear from you!