ADA, FDI collaborate to offer free education based on FDI Oral Health Atlas
Eight-chapter online course teaches participants about the global burden of oral diseases
The FDI and ADA have partnered to develop an online MOOC course based on the FDI Oral Health Atlas, which highlights the extent of oral diseases worldwide and reflects on policies and strategies addressing the global burden.
The eight-chapter course — over three hours — was approved by the ADA Board of Trustees and funded by the ADA in 2022-23.
A login and an account are required for access, but the course is free.
The course, The Challenge of Oral Disease: A Call for Global Action, is available at ADA.org/FDIMOOC. It’s based on the second edition of the Oral Health Atlas, released at the FDI’s 2015 Annual World Dental Congress in Bangkok, Thailand.
Health Volunteers Overseas and the American Dental Education Association were also collaborating organizations.
The course is led by a panel of global oral health experts, including online course editor Elizabeth Shick, D.D.S, and co-editors of the second edition of the Oral Health Atlas, David Williams, B.D.S., and Habib Benzian, D.D.S., Ph.D.
"The Oral Health Atlas was a milestone publication that shed light on the global status of oral health, the inequalities and their drivers, but also on some potential global solutions,” said Dr. Benzian, a professor and researcher at the New York University College of Dentistry. “The transformation and update to the online format is highly welcome and will bring the important content to new audiences.”
Through the course, participants will learn how to:
• Describe oral health and oral disease, including the importance of oral health in general health.
• Explain key strategies for oral health promotion, oral disease prevention and treatment.
• Identify oral health risk factors and ways to mitigate them.
• Discuss the oral health workforce and each person’s role on the oral health care team.
• Describe critical elements of the global oral health agenda and associated policy implications.
