Skip to main content (BUTTON) Toggle navigation Home Search form _______________ (BUTTON) (Search) Search * Who we are + About FDI o Annual Report o History o Mission o Strategy + People & Structure o Governance o Leadership # Council # Executive Committee # Committees # Task Teams # Working Groups o List of Honour o Members # New member associations # Travel Grants # Types of Membership o Regional Organizations o Sections o Team * What we do + Advocacy o Advocacy Strategy o Declarations o Dental amalgam o Minamata Convention on Mercury o Oral health and noncommunicable diseases o Statements o Universal Health Coverage + Awards & Grants o FDI Smile Award o World Oral Health Day Awards o World Dental Development Fund + Journal + Partnerships o Corporate partnerships o Institutional partnerships + Projects o Brush Day & Night o Caries Prevention Partnership o Endodontics in General Practice o Global Periodontal Health Project o Health and Safety in the Dental Workplace o Oral Cancer o Oral Health for an Ageing Population o Oral Health in Cleft Patients Project o Oral Health Observatory o Partially Dentate Patients Project o Peri-implant Diseases Project o Refugee Oral Health Promotion and Care Project o Smile Around the World o Sports Dentistry o Whole Mouth Health + World Dental Congress + World Oral Health Day * Oral Health + What is Oral Health o Definition o Connection to General Health + What is Oral Disease + What are the Risk Factors o Tobacco use + Prevention + Ask the Dentist o Dental Terms o Facts, Figures & Statistics # Data Hub o Fluoride o Radiology o Myths * Resources + Publications o Annual Reports o Brochures o Chairside Guides o Fact Sheets o Journal Articles o Manuals o Oral Health Atlas o Proceedings o Surveys o Toolkits o White Papers + Policy Statements + Multimedia o Infographics o Videos o Webcasts * News + Letter from the President + Press releases * Events + FDI Member Events + FDI Partner Events + CE Programme + World Oral Health Forum + World Dental Congress o Past Congresses * Contact Search form _______________ (BUTTON) (Search) Search * Home * Press Release News * Letter from the President * Press releases FDI unveils new universally applicable definition of ‘oral health’ 06 September 2016 6 September 2016 FDI unveils new universally applicable definition of ‘oral health’ Poznan, 6 September 2016 – FDI World Dental Federation today launched the new definition of ‘oral health’ – positioning it as an integral part of general health and well-being – at its Annual World Dental Congress in Poznan, Poland. It was adopted by over 200 national dental associations (NDAs) and will now be rolled out to the oral health community, globally. “This new definition is an important milestone for the oral health profession,” said Dr Patrick Hescot, FDI President. “True to our Vision 2020 advocacy strategy and our ambition to lead the world to optimal oral health, the new definition will allow us to develop standardized assessment and measurement tools for consistent data collection on a global level.” As defined by FDI: Oral health is multi-faceted and includes the ability to speak, smile, smell, taste, touch, chew, swallow and convey a range of emotions through facial expressions with confidence and without pain, discomfort and disease of the craniofacial complex. Further attributes related to the definition state that oral health: * is a fundamental component of health and physical and mental wellbeing. It exists along a continuum influenced by the values and attitudes of individuals and communities; * reflects the physiological, social and psychological attributes that are essential to the quality of life; * is influenced by the individual’s changing experiences, perceptions, expectations and ability to adapt to circumstances. The new definition was coined by FDI’s Vision 2020 Think Tank members, which includes experts in oral health, public health and health economics. Together with a companion framework tested against external stakeholders, the new oral health definition is the result of a wider consultation which included patients, oral health professionals, NDAs, the public health community, academia, government, industry and third-party payers. “With this new definition, we want to raise awareness of the different dimensions of oral health and emphasize that oral health does not occur in isolation, but is embedded in the wider framework of overall health” said Prof. David Williams, Co-Chair of FDI’s Vision 2020 Think Tank. “We are proposing a contemporary definition of oral health, which resonates with that used by many NDAs and the World Health Organization,” said Prof. Michael Glick, Co-Chair of FDI’s Vision 2020 Think Tank. “It is therefore not a revolution, but an evolution.” FDI plans to widely disseminate this oral health definition and advocate for its operationalization to establish a standard measurement instrument that can be applied across countries. A measurement toolbox will be ready in 2017 to allow for assessment of individual and population needs that can inform and drive oral health policies. Media contact Charanjit (Chaz) Jagait PhD, FDI Communications & Advocacy Director E-mail: cjagait@fdiworldental.org | Tel: +41 22 560 81 48 About FDI World Dental Federation FDI World Dental Federation serves as the principal representative body for over 1 million dentists worldwide. Its membership includes some 200 national member associations and specialist groups in over 130 countries. FDI’s vision: ‘leading the world to optimal oral health’. www.fdiworldental.org For more FDI News, visit www.fdiworldental.org FDI WORLD FEDERATION - AVENUE LOUIS CASAI 51 - CH - 1216 COINTRIN - GENEVA - SWITZERLAND © FDI World Dental Federation - All rights reserved www.fdiworldental.org Share it Sections * Who we are + About FDI o Annual Report o History o Mission o Strategy + People & Structure o Governance o Leadership # Council # Executive Committee # Committees # Task Teams # Working Groups o List of Honour o Members # New member associations # Travel Grants # Types of Membership o Regional Organizations o Sections o Team * What we do + Advocacy o Advocacy Strategy o Declarations o Dental amalgam o Minamata Convention on Mercury o Oral health and noncommunicable diseases o Statements o Universal Health Coverage + Awards & Grants o FDI Smile Award o World Oral Health Day Awards o World Dental Development Fund + Journal + Partnerships o Corporate partnerships o Institutional partnerships + Projects o Brush Day & Night o Caries Prevention Partnership o Endodontics in General Practice o Global Periodontal Health Project o Health and Safety in the Dental Workplace o Oral Cancer o Oral Health for an Ageing Population o Oral Health in Cleft Patients Project o Oral Health Observatory o Partially Dentate Patients Project o Peri-implant Diseases Project o Refugee Oral Health Promotion and Care Project o Smile Around the World o Sports Dentistry o Whole Mouth Health + World Dental Congress + World Oral Health Day * Oral Health + What is Oral Health o Definition o Connection to General Health + What is Oral Disease + What are the Risk Factors o Tobacco use + Prevention + Ask the Dentist o Dental Terms o Facts, Figures & Statistics # Data Hub o Fluoride o Radiology o Myths * Resources + Publications o Annual Reports o Brochures o Chairside Guides o Fact Sheets o Journal Articles o Manuals o Oral Health Atlas o Proceedings o Surveys o Toolkits o White Papers + Policy Statements + Multimedia o Infographics o Videos o Webcasts * News + Letter from the President + Press releases * Events + FDI Member Events + FDI Partner Events + CE Programme + World Oral Health Forum + World Dental Congress o Past Congresses * Contact Follow us @fdiworlddental Loading Tweets Contact FDI Avenue Louis-Casaï, 51 1216 Geneva Switzerland T +41 22 560 81 50 info@fdiworlddental.org FDI Newsletters (BUTTON) Sign me up for FDI news Connect with us ©2020 FDI World Dental Federation • Disclaimer • Privacy Policy