IADR President Address

Dear friends, colleagues, and supporters of IADR—dia dhaoibh agus fáilte. It is a great honor for me to speak to you as the incoming president of IADR and I hope that in the coming year we will have the opportunity to meet, discuss, and enjoy the research of our fellow members once again. I want to especially thank our President Eric Reynolds for his leadership, wisdom, and kindness over the past year, and his predecessors, Presidents Pam Den Besten and Paula Moynihan, who worked incredibly hard throughout the COVID pandemic to keep IADR’s activities going, maintain contact with members, and lay sound foundations for our future. I also need to express our special thanks for the extraordinary dedication of our CEO, Christopher Fox, and all the IADR HQ team in the way they embraced the challenges of the past few years, providing online and hybrid meetings and a host of improved member services, such as the IADR Community, Webinars, and CE on Demand.

I can assure you that the IADR Board and I are fully committed to keeping our members at the heart of everything we do, in order to promote and encourage research, while facilitating and enriching opportunities to network, establish collaborations, and foster long-term friendships.

Our Scientific Groups and Networks are the backbone of IADR, and I am especially pleased to tell you about the work of our SG&N taskforce, which is exploring ways to support their activities, increase engagement with members, and share innovations. We will have a new forum for SG&Ns to voice their ideas and develop their ability to stay in touch with members throughout the whole year. We will continue to find ways to promote interdisciplinary research, which is one of the enduring strengths of IADR.

IADR has listened to your feedback and added resources to more visibly and easily support the development of our regions across the world. We have adopted a new presentation format in response to the realities of COVID and further adjusted the format this year in response to your needs. As always, your input is essential, and we want to hear from you about anything that will make our organization better.

As IADR recently celebrated its 100th birthday, there has been deserved attention on the achievements of our organization but also renewed focus on the mission, vision, and opportunities for the coming years. I can think of no better way to articulate our challenge than the World Health Assembly resolution, adopted in 2021 that calls on member states to

frame oral health policies, plans and projects for the management of oral health care . . . in which oral health is considered as an integral part of general health, responding to the needs and demands of the public for good oral health.

Not only has the global burden of oral disease been highlighted again, but the social, personal, and economic cost. It was also noted that the prevalence of major oral diseases has not changed significantly in decades—clearly there is much for researchers and advocates to do.

Last month, a Global Strategy on Oral Health was adopted by the WHO World Health Assembly, which further calls for an Action Plan for public oral health in 2023. Thanks in part to the strong voice of IADR, the WHO global strategy has a strategic objective dedicated to oral health research. Since many countries across the world have signed up to the strategy, I am hopeful that there will be significant new initiatives in oral, dental, and craniofacial research, and IADR members will be uniquely placed to contribute to these challenges. I encourage IADR members to advocate for implementation of the research strategy and to engage with it wherever possible.

I am proud to have been a member of IADR for more than a third of its life, and it has been a cherished part of my professional life. But in truth I have received so much from the association in terms of friendship, mentorship, collaboration, and exchange of ideas. I urge all members, but especially younger ones, to participate and shape IADR. Nominate yourself or a colleague for an award or to serve on one of many committees. Volunteer to build your scientific group by contributing to communications, abstract review, leadership, or organization—I guarantee they will welcome the help and you will find it to be a rewarding experience.

Finally, I want to thank the Chinese division of IADR, and the Asia-Pacific Region, for hosting the 100th General Session. I look forward to seeing many of you at the virtual meeting and learning about all you have accomplished and your ideas for the future.

Thank you and best wishes.

Author Contributions

B. O’Connell, contributed to conception and design, drafted and critically revised the manuscript. The author gave final approval and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.