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Global Health

Dental disease is the most prevalent condition worldwide, and developing health systems are evolving to meet the oral health needs of their populations through infrastructural changes and workforce development.

HSDM faculty and students in the Office of Global and Community Health have collaborated with organizations and governments worldwide to reduce the global burden of dental disease. Recent projects have taken members of the HSDM community to Ecuador, Haiti, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Kuwait, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates, and other countries, and led to increased teaching resources for global health within Harvard.

Harvard Worldwide Week | October 2023 (recording coming soon)

Global and Community Health Seminar Series flyer

Harvard Worldwide Week | October 2022

Enjoy HSDM's 2022 Worldwide Week hybrid event focusing on sustainability at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine!

World Oral Health Day | March 20, 2021

A message from Jane Barrow, associate dean for Global and Community Health:

One year into the pandemic, we are all acutely aware of the shortcomings of our public health systems and the critical importance of robust, well-functioning systems. This past year also saw international health organizations recognize oral health as essential for overall health and wellness and the World Health Organization Executive Board call for inclusion of oral health in universal health coverage.

 

Our oral health professionals have served on the front lines of the battle with COVID and continue to work to protect their communities through ongoing COVID testing and vaccinations. They have embraced this new service to their communities along with their traditional engagement in providing oral health care, collaborating in the management of their patients’ chronic diseases, and identifying communicable diseases and cancers.

 

 A visit to your oral health professional is an important opportunity not only for caring for your oral health but also for insuring your personal health and that of your community. As we consider world oral health day, let us consider what it means to be healthy and how we can strengthen our health systems to insure that everyone has access to oral care, primary care and more. Our thoughts are with those who have been impacted by the pandemic and the health professionals caring for them. We wish everyone good health this World Oral Health Day.
 

Harvard Worldwide Week | October 2020

Enjoy HSDM's 2020 Worldwide Week recap of its ongoing global health projects!

 

Global Health Starter Kit


The Harvard School of Dental Medicine Office of Global and Community Health is proud to announce the launch the Global Health Starter Kit, a competency-based global health ‘starter’ curriculum designed for dental educators and students. This new curriculum includes comprehensive materials for educators and instructors, as well as materials for students and those who are interested in self-guided learning. The program was pioneered by Dr. Brittany Seymour and the Global Oral Health Interest Group of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), and received support from the Consortium of Universities for Global Health Dr. Thomas Hall Global Health Education Grant Program, The International College of Dentists USA Section Foundation, and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine Offices of Global and Community Health and Communications.

Co-edited by Brittany Seymour, Janice Cho, and Jane Barrow,  and authored by a team of global health experts, the Global Health Starter Kit features five modules: “Global Trends”, “Global Goals”, “Back to Basics- Primary Care”, “Social Determinants and Risks”, and “Ethics and Sustainability.” The kit aims to provide practical support specifically for dental educators who are working toward unified competency-based standards and equipping the future generation of dental professionals with “starting” tools to address the tremendous burden of oral diseases worldwide and their consequences. This curriculum is free and available for anyone to use. Click here to access the Starter Kit!