This annual report not only concludes the year 2021, but also my six years of CED presidency. A few historical events marked these years: terrorist attacks in Brussels, Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, European Parliament elections and a new era in health, with the adoption of the first steps towards a European Health Union. During this time, we delivered 6 Annual Reports, 344 mailings, 22 surveys on COVID-19 and 40 approved policy documents, all important for CED lobbying on a national and European level. They reflect the breadth of our work and include dental tourism, corporate dentistry, advertising in dentistry; undergraduate education of dentists and continuing professional development (CPD); patient safety, vaccination and prevention; implementation of the Medical Devices Regulation and use of dental amalgam; eHealth including artificial intelligence in dentistry, access to patient records and online evaluations of dentists and others.
The last two difficult years of the COVID-19 pandemic left two important messages for the dental profession: firstly, we were probably at the highest level among all health professionals in tackling the pandemic, being able to deliver oral care at the same high-quality level of pre-COVID times. The lowest infection rate among dentists is proving that we weren’t caught by surprise and unprepared.
Secondly, we realized that international collaboration and activity is important. The common European effort in the vaccination campaign, even if not equally successful everywhere, and above all the exchange of information on the pandemic evolution in different countries and on sharing protocols between us, has been of utmost importance. It proves that we must stay together and support each other: this is not an individual fight.
Throughout the last six years we engaged with various stakeholders. Apart from the regular contact with the European Commission and the European Parliament, the CED was invited in 2021 to become an official stakeholder of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). We were granted eligibility status and are now officially recognised as representative of the dental profession in the European Union. This is the first time that the European dentists’ needs and concerns are represented via direct and formal contact with the EMA and it is a clear sign of the CED’s growing influence in the contact with EU stakeholders. Moreover, we established a close collaboration with the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC), working together on the topic of antimicrobial resistance and more recently on infection control protocols in dental practices.
The CED’s relationship with dental organisations was maintained on a regular basis, with the European Dental Students Association (EDSA), the European Regional Organisation of the Fédération Dentaire Internationale (FDI ERO), the Association for Dental Education in Europe (ADEE) and the Federation of European Dental Competent Authorities and Regulators (FEDCAR). We have been working closely with other healthcare organisations representing doctors (CPME), pharmacists (PGEU), veterinarians (FVE), on interprofessional education and the “One Health” concept and other common topics, such as vaccination.
Behind the tremendous CED activity are a strong Board, Chairs and Liaisons, valuable members of the Working Groups and Task Forces and an efficient office in Brussels. As the former CED President I look back at the last years with pride for our achievements, but I also look forward to new horizons awaiting our profession. I am confident that the challenges the CED will encounter will be overcome successfully. I wish good luck to the new President and Board and all the best to my colleagues and friends.
Dr. Marco Landi
(CED President until November 2021)
I am happy, proud, but also humble about the trust the CED members have given me by appointing me President for the coming three years. This gives me the opportunity to continue promoting dentistry and oral health as integrated parts of general health and address the challenges, both old and new, that our profession will face.
The issues the CED will be working on in the next months are closely interlinked with the movement of the European Union towards assigning more power to central political and administrative institutions in and around Brussels, including in health. For now, we have an open window in our communication with the European Commission, particularly when it comes to dental education. In the future revision of the Professional Qualification Directive, we must ensure proper clinical training of the young dentists as key to patient safety. Dental materials and devices have to be safe, easy to handle and in the future also environmentally sustainable. We have to find a way to an amalgam-free future that is payable for the patient without being a challenge to dentistry.
In terms of CED engagement in the European arena, we are excited about working even more closely with the EMA and the ECDC. The relationship with the two EU bodies was strengthened during the last few years and during the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed us to share our knowledge about infection control in dentistry and demonstrate that dental offices are safe. We will also continue to have a strong relationship with other stakeholders active in EU policy, among other topics on antimicrobial resistance, the “silent pandemic”. As part of the Coalition for vaccination we will promote, in cooperation with medical professions, patients and stakeholders, a science-based approach to vaccination, both against COVID-19 and other communicable diseases.
Despite our past successes, we are of course always looking to the future. Apart from continuing to work on the already mentioned issues, we need to follow the development of partial access to the profession of dentist, the impact of corporate dentistry, and the implementation of eHealth initiatives and related treatment of sensitive patient data. Moreover, we will be dealing with societal trends that affect health and oral health, such as the European ageing population and vulnerable categories of patients. Additionally, the emergence of new technologies requires the development of new skills, digital skills especially, and new ways of treatment delivery. We are also experiencing a decrease in the attractiveness of dentistry as a liberal profession to the younger generation, where we see expectations for a different work-life balance and a preference to work in bigger practices over individual ones. All this will force us to find new ways to organize dentistry, to use the dental workforce and to collaborate with other health care workers. These challenges present themselves as opportunities to improve our profession and keep safeguarding our patients’ health and wellbeing.
Dr. Freddie Sloth-Lisbjerg
(CED President from November 2021)