Alexandria, VA – A symposium analyzing how three national oral health research-related strategies can contribute to improved oral health care and policy was presented at the 54th Annual Meeting of the AADOCR, which was held in conjunction with the 49th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research, on March 12-15, 2025 in New York, NY.
The WHO’s “Global Strategy and Action Plan on Oral Health 2023-30” was published in May 2024 and has six strategic objectives, one of which focuses on the development of national oral health research agendas. Currently, very few countries have fulfilled this objective. Nevertheless, the release of this WHO plan gives impetus for countries to engage in such a process and promote oral health research globally. Multiple fields (e.g. climate change, sustainability and health care) and methodological, technical and analytical approaches in health research are quickly advancing.
This symposium used examples of three national oral health research-related strategies and priorities to promote a wider reflection on how they can contribute to improved oral health care and policy. Symposium speakers presented the “Top 10 Priorities for Oral Health and Dental Health Research” published by the UK National Institute for Health Care Research in 2018, the "2021 Oral Health in America Report,” the “NIDCR Strategic Plan 2021-26” published in 2022, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research “National Oral Health Research Strategy” published in 2024. They each presented the content, goals and achievements of their strategies thus far, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of their approaches.
Organized by Paul Allison of McGill University, Montreal, Canada, the symposium, “Can National Oral Health Research Strategies Help Oral Research?” took place on Thursday, March 13 at 8 a.m. Eastern Time (UTC-4).
About AADOCR
The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research to advance health and well-being. AADOCR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. AADOCR is the largest division of the International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research. Learn more at www.aadocr.org.
