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Minister Marcella Corcoran Kennedy opens 13th Annual conference of the Oral Health Promotion Research Group
Minister of State for Health Promotion, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, today opened the 13th Annual conference of the Oral Health Promotion Research Group in the Ashling Hotel, Dublin
Speaking at the conference the Minister confirmed the central role that health promotion and disease prevention will play in the new National Oral Health Policy, which is currently being developed by the Department of Health.
“The new policy will aim to set out how services can be best integrated with general health services and aligned with the current and future needs of the population,” said the Minister
The new Policy will be informed by the views of oral health professionals and the public. The Minister thanked those who have participated in the consultation process.
The theme of this year’s conference, “Promoting Oral Health: Challenge of a Lifetime” reflects the importance of health promotion throughout the life course, from infancy to old age. Promoting, protecting and improving oral health is also a challenge that spans the career of those working in oral health.
The Minister congratulated the Oral Health Promotion Research Group for organising another excellent annual conference. She thanked all members of the Group for their hard work and dedication in continuing to raise the status of oral health promotion in Ireland.
ENDS
Note for Editors
1. The Oral Health Promotion Research Group – Irish Link, was launched in September 2003 as a multidisciplinary group aiming to raise the status of Oral Health Promotion in Ireland, North and South, through the dissemination of good practice based on sound theoretical framework and practical research. The group has been supported by the Dental Health Foundation Ireland, who fund a Bursary to facilitate Oral Health Promotion and Development within Ireland
2. Work commenced in the Department of Health on the development of a National Oral Health Policy in 2014. The objective is to achieve completion of the strategy by early-2017. The overarching objective is to develop a Single Vision for Oral Health Services in Ireland. The Policy will replace the Dental Health Action Plan, published in 1994, and on which the provision of dental services in Ireland is currently based.