(By Dr. Joseph D. Lim and Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI)
BEHAVIORAL and social sciences work hand in hand with oral health care.
That’s the Consensus Statement of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), a not-for-profit organization with over 10,000 members worldwide who are involved in dental, oral, and craniofacial research.
The behavioral and social sciences are central to understanding and addressing dental, oral, and craniofacial health, diseases, and conditions, and are relevant to every discipline in dentistry, the Consensus Statement states.
In 2020, the IADR Behavioral, Epidemiologic and Health Services Research Scientific Group sponsored the Behavioral and Social Oral Health Sciences Summit, a three-day virtual meeting of over 400 oral health stakeholders, researchers, and clinicians with expertise in the behavioral and social sciences.
The first-ever international meeting of its kind, the summit served as a launch-point for promoting oral health globally by advancing the application of behavioral and social sciences.
The result is the Consensus Statement endorsed by the IADR, the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR), over 40 other organizations, and more than 300 individuals internationally.
The AADOCR is the largest Division of the IADR with 3,100 members in the United States.
“Working together across regional and national boundaries over the globe, we can more fully realize the potential of behavioral and social sciences in regard to their essential role in oral health,” says Dr. Daniel W. McNeil, one of two co-organizers of the Summit and a co-first author of the Consensus Statement article.
“Uniquely positioned to help advance racial, cultural, and other equity in oral health, behavioral and social sciences must be integrated into the education, training, and mentoring of all oral health clinicians and researchers.”
The “Consensus Statement on Future Directions for the Behavioral and Social Sciences in Oral Health,” published in the Journal of Dental Research (JDR), highlights the current state of knowledge in the behavioral and social oral health sciences and identifies future directions for the field.
“Having reached consensus, action is now needed to advance and further integrate and translate behavioral and social sciences into oral health research, education, and practice,” says Dr. Cameron L. Randall, the other co-organizer and co-first author.
“We hope those working to ensure oral health for all take up the charge outlined in the Statement to advance the field.”
Dr. McNeil and Dr. Randall, along with a Steering Committee of 10 other colleagues, organized and conducted the Summit and authored the resulting JDR article.
The JDR is a multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the dissemination of new knowledge in all sciences relevant to dentistry and the oral cavity and associated structures in health and disease.
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Dr. Joseph D. Lim is the former Associate Dean of the College of Dentistry, University of the East; former Dean, College of Dentistry, National University; Past President and Honorary Fellow of the Asian Oral Implant Academy; Honorary Fellow of the Japan College of Oral Implantologists; and Honorary Life Member of the Thai Association of Dental Implantology. For questions on dental health, e-mail jdlim2008@gmail.com or text 0917-8591515.
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Dr. Kenneth Lester Lim, BS-MMG, DDM, MSc-OI, graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine, University of the Philippines College of Dentistry, Manila, 2011; Bachelor of Science in Marketing Management, De la Salle University, Manila, 2002; and Master of Science (MSc.) in Oral Implantology, Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany, 2019. He is an Associate professor; Fellow, International Congress of Oral Implantologists; Member, American Academy of Implant Dentistry and Philippine College of Oral Implantologists. For questions on dental health, e-mail limdentalcenter@gmail.com/PN
