The FDI World Dental Parliament kicked off at the Open Forum 1. The different FDI Policy Statements were presented and debated. In the paper, FDI Position on Free Sugars, Dr Chow acknowledged that it was an excellent, timely and very needful emphasis for healthcare throughout the world. He suggested that perhaps a slight addition to the title may be helpful. He suggested to add the word “added” to the title as in:- “FDI Position on Added Free Sugars”. The major rationale was so that a reader will receive an immediately more accurate and precise perception as to what the important paper is about. The word “added” will inform the reader it is different from that which is natural and and already found within the food. The focus is on the sugars that have been added over and above what is already naturally present. Added sugars are unnecessary to normal healthy nutritional needs.
The MDA President Associate Professor Dr Mas Suryalis in the APDF/APRO(Asia Pacific Dental Federation / Asia Pacific Regional Organisation AGM queried as to the special allocation of funds for the General Secretary Emeritus to attend APDF AGMs for the next 5 years. As a result, the allocation was suspended.
NLO Forum. Dr Chow the Malaysian NLO rose to enquire as to how many NLO countries offered to make presentations at the NLO Forum and how many were allowed to make presentations. The answer was 23 nations and only 8 were allowed to present. Dr Chow urged the organiser to endeavour to allow more nations to present.
In 2014, the MDA NLO was in New Delhi for the FDI WDC where he set through a 3 hour presentation by WHO experts who presenting comprehensive information on sugar consumption and the WHO position that adults should not be taking more than 10 teaspoons per day of added sugar in their food and drinks. The following year in Bangkok the WHO came again to give a similar presentation and this time the advice was 5 teaspoons added free sugars per day per adult. The message was clear: there is something wrong with our diet especially in our excessive consumption of added sugars in our food and drinks. In the 24th SCATE, we launched Operasi Sifar Gula to assist in alerting Malaysians to reduce added free sugars to their food and drinks in order to reduce caries, obesity and other chronic NCDs like diabetes, heart disease and even cancer. This later led to the 6% tax on SSBs(Sugar Sweetened Beverages) in 2019. Yes…..change for the better is not easy and takes time, but it will come provided we keep working at it.
The FDI WDC( World Dental Congress) is an important annual event for dentists all over the world to gather and discuss in the world dental parliament various policy statements on dentistry and related oral health issues. These statements are well researched documents drafted by FDI Scientific Committees and debated comprehensively before being accepted via voting by all the nations present. The annual WOHD(World Oral Health Day) is also launched with many useful aids and tools that can be used which may be accessed via the FDI WEBSITE. The Scientific Congress and exhibition is also carried out concurrently with scores of well known speakers and experts from all over the world attending. Posters and short presentations by many enthusiastic students and academics on a wide variety of topics are carried out daily. It is a wonderful place to learn and network with participants from all over the world.
The event was also reported daily in Facebook by the Hon Gen Sec, together with the help of Dr Mas, Dr Lim and Dr Chow as per the following posts:
21st September 2023: 1st Day of FDI Event in Sydney, Australia
MDA is grateful to be part of the FDI World Dental Parliament Session in which several oral health issues will be discussed over the coming days. MDA had sent 4 representatives: Associate Professor Dr Mas Suryalis, President; Dr Lim, Immediate Past President; Dr Chow, National Liaison Officer; and Dr Faris, Hon Gen Sec.
The topics discussed during the first session are as follows:
Alcohol as a risk for oral health
Alternative-restorative-materials
Mental Health for Oral Health Professionals and Dental Students
Non-carious tooth surface loss
Oral Health for Healthy Ageing Perinatal and Infant
Oral Health Social and commercial determinants of oral health
Collaboration between oral health professionals and other health professionals FDI Position on Free Sugars.
MDA is proud to contribute in providing input to the 2023 Policy Statements which can be assessed via https://www.fdiworlddental.org/2024-general-assembly. Among the topics that was debated by the Malaysian representative are: Alcohol as a risk for oral health and FDI Position on Free Sugar. It is with high hopes that with MDA being part of this prestigious event, we are able to elevate the field of oral health internationally and also locally.
22nd September 2023: 2nd Day of FDI Event in Sydney, Australia
MDA participated in the 2nd session of the FDI World Dental Parliament Session. This session includes the report for the past year activities of FDI. Also, the first voting sessions for some of the agenda started yesterday, including for some new members to be approved. We welcome the new members and hope for better collaboration between our countries. We hope that the vote from MDA would contribute to making a stronger and better international effort for oral health.
23rd September 2023: 3rd Day of FDI Event in Sydney, Australia
MDA representatives sat in the Open Forum 2, discussing any other matters that is part in determining the pathway of the FDI. In the afternoon, MDA representatives joined the Asia Pacific Dental Federation delegates meeting, where MDA members provided a hopefully valuable input to the future of APDF.
Finally, the day is wrapped up with the opening ceremony, where we could see the Malaysian flag soaring proudly amongst 132 other countries registered under FDI.
NLO Forum APDC/APRO SECTION
24th September 2023: 4th Day of FDI Event in Sydney, Australia
The fourth day of the event is the day of seeking potential collaboration and opportunities of new initiatives for MDA. In the morning, the FDI National Liaison Officer (NLO) forum was conducted. NLOs from various countries presented their achievements and initiatives throughout the past year. The forum was attended by the NLO, President and the Immediate Past President. The Honorary General Secretary on the other hand attended the FDI Sessions conducted by the Public Health Committee: 1. Capacity Building on Tobacco; 2. Dental care and social responsibility: examining the politics, ethics and social dimensions of dentistry. On the evening session, the MDA delegates attended the World Oral Health Day Launch. The launching ceremony includes the presentation of the vision and the pathway that would be taken by the respective dental associations. The theme for the next 3 years event is “A Happy Mouth Is… A Happy Body” and the mascot is Toothie the Beaver. Look forward for many exciting events to come from MDA!
25th September 2023: 5th Day of FDI Event in Sydney, Australia
The fifth day of the event is another day of seeking collaboration and knowledge for the delegates of MDA. As the Open Forum Session 3 of the FDI Parliament session was cancelled, the delegates did not squander the opportunity to attend lectures as well as visiting the traders’ booth. Lots was learned in both avenues, and it is hoped it will be translated in the MDA’s activities in the future. At the same time, the MDA President was also invited to join the Women Dentist Worldwide Session, an excellent and progressive session in promoting women in the industry. Not forgetting, the MDA President too went in supporting other Malaysian delegates in the Oral/ Poster Presentation held her in FDI WDC.
26th September 2023
The sixth day at FDI could be considered the highlight event for the World Dental Parliament. The morning session starts off with the World Oral Health Forum in which two sessions and with a total of 8 panellist described the challenges and aspirations they have for the betterment of oral health in their respective countries. It was an eye-opening experience that delves into policy making as well as the need for commitment in collaboration and integration to improve the oral health landscape all around the world.
The evening session started with the passing of the Presidency post from Prof. Ihsane Ben Yahya to Dr Greg Chadwick, followed by a session for voting which includes the FDI position statement which will be posted in the MDA website and Facebook soon (so stay tuned!) as well as voting for several key positions in FDI. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Assist. Prof. Nikolai Sharkov who was voted as the President Elect, Prof. Young Guk Park as the treasurer and Prof. Dr Hiroshi Ogawa as the Councillor of the Asia Pacific region. May all of you bring FDI to greater heights!
10 Oktober 2023: Lawatan Kunjungan Hormat Ahli Majlis Malaysian Dental Association (Mda), Putrajaya
Pengarah Kanan (Kesihatan Pergigian), YBrs. Dr. Noormi binti Othman telah menerima kunjungan hormat MDA yang diketuai oleh YBrs. Prof. Madya Dr.Mas Suryalis binti Ahmad serta wakil Council Members sesi 2023-2025. Sesi dimulakan dengan ucap tama oleh YBrs.Dr. Noormi dan seterusnya membincangkan hala tuju KKM dalam menyampaian perkhidmatan kesihatan pergigian kepada penduduk negara.
Antara lain kunjungan tersebut adalah untuk meneruskan kolaborasi serta membincangkan kerjasama dua hala public-private collaboration dalam pemberian perkhidmatan pergigian yang sejajar dengan Pelan Dasar Kesihatan Pergigian Kebangsaan dan Pelan Strategik Kesihatan Pergigian Kebangsaan 2022-2030s dan Agenda Kesihatan Pergigian Global 2030 terutamanya penekanan dalam ‘Corporate Social Responibility’ (CSR). Disamping itu turut berbincangn perlaksanaan turun padang iaitu “MDA Roadshow” yang turut akan melibatkan wakil dari PKP KKM. Moga hasil perbincangan singkat ini akan dapat bersama-sama mempertingkatkan taraf kesihatan mulut rakyat Malaysia.
Prepared by:-
Dr Chow Kai Foo
MDA NLO
Part of the article contributed by
Dr Muhamad Faris bin Muhamad Noor.
MDA Honorary General Secretary
September 2023
Leave a comment