Back

Strengths

Overview

IDA unveiled its Strategic Plan, Shaping the Future to face the challenges. The driving forces behind our initial plan –to understand the present nature of dental diseases, identify and prioritize new opportunities, adopt needed change and respond to the needs of the people we serve. In the same way that we initiated Shaping the Future to face the challenges, we embarked on updating the Strategic plan mindful of the remarkable pace of continuing professional development and aware that we must do all we can to keep up the momentum, encourage young people in the pursuit of science, transform health professional education and ensure that people have best oral health which can benefit the nation.

This Strategic Plan addresses the myriad diseases and conditions that affect the oral cavity and continuous professional development of members, the goals and objectives of this plan are centered on:

• Innovations that is leading to novel ways to prevent, diagnoses, and manage oral, dental diseases.
• Advances in treatment and technique.
• New knowledge from health communications that is being used to promote oral health awareness.

The plan is to set forth an aggressive agenda to enhance multidisciplinary career training and development of members, IDA recognizes the need to translate advances and progress that will improve clinical excellence and to communicate information to health professionals, professional organizations and the public.

Improving the nation’s oral health is an ambitious goal and IDA recognizes the importance of partnerships in achieving that goal. We also recognize the need to bring new partners to the oral health promotion from the health professional, health voluntary organizations, industry and government.

We’ve come a long way, in terms of both scientific advances and improvements in the nation’s oral health. To achieve our ultimate goal, we must take advantage of new scientific knowledge and tools, strengthen and expand partnerships, ensure that advances are translated into useful technologies and above all make sure that our scientific efforts benefit public.

Our commitment to respond to meet the changing needs of the public to eliminate oral diseases that keep people from being fully healthy. Today the pressing needs include understanding the complex nature of oral diseases and conditions; addressing the persistent disparities in health status; and carrying out the health promotion and outreach efforts needed to improve oral health.