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FDI WorDental Daily 30 Aug

News Friday&Saturdayday, 30–31 August 2013 I am just at the beginning of what promises to be a very exciting two-year term as FDI President. Thereismuchtobuilduponfromthe work of my predecessor, Dr Orlando Monteiro da Silva.We have the right projects, the means and the expert- isetofulfilourambitions.Butfirst— and this may seem a strange ques- tion, as we are in the final stages of the FDI Annual World Dental Con- gress—what is the FDI, and what does it mean to be part of it? My own simple definition is that the FDI is the authoritative voice of dentistry worldwide. That is a powerful claim—and it is a powerful position in which to be. Iwouldgoevenfurthertosaythat the FDI is a truly global organisation and, as the only one serving the spe- cific needs of dentists, it is unique. Partofwhatmakesituniquehasbeen in evidence during the course of the congress and the FDI World Dental Parliament,heldsimultaneously.The FDIrepresentstheworldwidesolidar- ityofdentists:ifyouwanttoreachthe world, you do it through the FDI. We certainly hope that we have reached you, congress participants, during your time here in Istanbul. Some of the sessions that partici- pantshaveattendedoverthelastfew days reflect the FDI’s priorities over thelast12monthsormore.Forexam- ple,on29August,asessionwasheld to assess what effect the Minamata Convention on Mercury may have on the dental profession. Since the con- vention,whichwillbesignedinJapan in October this year, covers restric- tions on the mining of, access to, and trade in mercury, it will necessarily have an impact on the future avail- ability and use of one of dentistry’s key restorative materials, dental amalgam, an inert compound con- taining50%mercury.TheFDI,among othergroups,successfullyarguedfor a phase-down rather than phase-out of amalgam. The discussions here in Istanbul measured that success but assessed the implications. On the same day, we saw the launch of what is set to become the key link in the FDI’s Vision 2020 ar- mour for 2014: the new tablet-based data-retrievalapplicationfromwhich theFDIwillendeavourtogaindeeper knowledge about the socio-eco- nomic, behavioural and literacy as- pects of oral health worldwide. For the moment, this is a pilot project in- volving dentists and their patients in a few selected dental practices on all the continents. However, when we roll it out in full, the aim is to provide toourmembersthetoolsforanalysis of the survey results in order to be in apositiontosupportandadvisegov- ernments worldwide on aspects of oral health policy. This, like all FDI initiatives, is linked to other areas under discus- sion, for example at the World Oral Health Forum, which addressed oral health within the context of the United Nations’ initiative on non- communicable diseases (NCD). Readers will recall that the FDI has been a strong supporter of the NCD initiative and, along with like- minded partners, succeeded in hav- ing oral health included in the NCD agenda. Oral disease is not, in most cases, a life and death issue, al- though evidence reported during the course of the FDI Science Com- mittee session suggests an estab- lished link between oral disease and other NCDs, such as diabetes. However, even though oral disease is not generally fatal, it should not blind us to the fact that toothache equals pain, can mean time off school or work, or loss in self-confi- dence, or have other deleterious ef- fects on daily life. Peopleindevelopedcountriesare much more aware of disease than those in developing countries are. That is why it is important for govern- ments worldwide to be aware of oral health and adopt measures to im- provetheoralhealthoftheirnational populations. This congress has, we hope, proved to be an inspiration in terms of the continuing education it has of- fered to people from all over the world and the opportunities it has provided for exchanges with col- leagues from other countries. But it has also been important in terms of its contribution to the ongoing de- bate on oral health and general health within governments and mul- tilateral institutions. I am looking forward to hearing from you, and meeting you in a year from now in New Delhi in India for whatalreadypromisestobeanexcit- ing congress. Organised by: In partnership with: THANKYOU! WOHD’13:37 Countries,5 Continents,1Day http://www.fdiworldental.org/wohd2013 AD IDrTinChungWongposingwithchildreninHanoiduringWorldOralHealthDay2013.(DTI/PhotocourtesyoftheFDI, Switzerland) 2 www.fdiworldental.org ByDrTinChunWong,FDIPresident2013–2015 FDI:Addressingkeyareasoforalhealthandpolicy “…it is important for governments worldwide to be aware of oral health and adopt measures to improve the oral health of their national populations.” IDrTinChunWongtakingoverthepresidentialchainfromDrOrlandoMonteiro daSilva.(DTI/PhotoClaudiaDuschek)