Oral health – where do we go from here?

On 15 March, Johnson & Johnson hosted The OH! Panel at the British Dental Association in London.

Chaired by Stephen Hancocks, it brought together eight key opinion leaders in dentistry: Ben Atkins; Julie Deverick; Penny Hodge; Tim Newton; Anthony Roberts; Julie Rosse; Nicola West; and Helen Whelton. Each was selected for their ability to provide unique insight into how the dental profession can be best supported going forwards, given the current oral health landscape.

A vision was agreed by The Panel as something all dental professionals should work by to help improve patients’ oral health: ‘The ultimate outcome is to improve oral health and therefore systemic health. The vision is that every dental health care professional, upon seeing a patient with gingivitis and / or periodontitis, can and will: • Make a diagnosis(es) and communicate the relevance of the condition to the patient. Explore risk factors and modify behaviour for successful outcomes • Help every patient who receives the diagnosis(es) to be empowered to improve their oral health for life.' 

Julie Deverick commented: ‘I’m excited about the vision in the statement, because it’s something we can all now bring to our Societies and to our profession.’

Johnson & Johnson have an ongoing commitment to the vision statement, and will work with that in mind, ensuring that all professional communications support the concept, to the benefit of the profession and patients.