The International Council of Dentists (ICD) held its second annual Stakeholder Day on April 29, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts, according to a May 27, 2025 press release from the International Council of Dentists (ICD).
The event, held at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, and the gala dinner were sponsored by Henry Schein. The event was attended by distinguished guests from various oral health organizations, including representatives of the ICD Global Oral Health Leadership (GOHL) Institute 2025 from 10 countries, ICD Fellows, and distinguished individuals from industry and academia.
Stakeholder Day is a key event of the ICD Global Oral Health Leadership (GOHL) Institute. The Institute aims to support leadership in global oral health and foster meaningful discussions that promote collaborative and sustainable public-private solutions.
During the event, GOHL 2025 delegates engaged with thought leaders, innovators, and activists in oral health and beyond, and promoted the GOHL Institute’s goals to interested collaborators: to build a global community of practice, lead systemic change through evidence and innovation, empower transformational leadership, build bridges across sectors, and catalyze cross-sector impact.
The Stakeholder Day kicked off with two panel discussions moderated by Dr. Marco Vujicic, Chief Economist and Vice President of the American Dental Association’s Health Policy Institute, and Dr. Greg Chadwick, President of the FDI World Dental Federation and Dean of the School of Dentistry at East Carolina University.
During the discussion, they explored how to conduct evidence-based advocacy and policy development in challenging environments, how to achieve systemic change through interdisciplinary collaboration, and how to take practical measures through innovation and sustainability.
“I believe we are at the beginning of a ‘golden age’ for international oral health,” Dr. Vujicic said in his keynote address. “Ten years ago, we didn’t have convincing evidence that investing in oral health would improve pregnancy outcomes or reduce healthcare costs for people with diabetes.
Today, the value proposition for oral health is very strong, and we didn’t have that ten years ago. Oral health is gaining momentum, and a lot of that has to do with economics. Being able to demonstrate that investing in oral health can deliver financial returns is critical at the policy level.
The ‘golden age’ opportunity for oral health doesn’t fit with existing financing and service models. So I think leaders in the oral health industry need to address this paradox and fundamentally refocus oral care.”
Keynote speaker Dr. Hugh Silk, professor of family medicine and community health at the University of Massachusetts Chan School of Medicine, gave a fascinating talk on how to lead the way to change through curiosity, creativity, and compassion.
In his talk, he shared his journey of integrating oral health into overall health to benefit more patients. In addition, Dr. William Janobile, dean of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, expressed his pride in being part of such an important collaboration.
“As we all know, the academic, education, and research communities are facing significant challenges right now, so it’s more important than ever to see a program dedicated to global oral leadership,” said Dr. Giannobile.
“One of the visions of Harvard Dental School is to transform access to healthcare and advance scientific research to prevent and find cures for oral disease. One of our missions is to foster a diverse community of global leaders in research, education, and clinical innovation to truly connect medicine and oral health.”
The Stakeholder Day not only showcased GOHL’s important interdisciplinary approach, but also challenged current norms and inspired practical change in global oral health. “What really matters, and I’m sure we all felt, is ‘It’s about time,’” said Andrea Albertini, CEO of Global Distribution and Technology at Henry Schein.
“Holding a forum like this is more important than ever. We need open, honest dialogue between public and private stakeholders, educators and practitioners, policymakers, and patients because no single sector – be it government, large corporations, or academia – can tackle the enormous challenges of expanding access to care and developing proactive healthcare systems alone.”
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