On August 3, 2011, 41 dental schools and organizations signed a Charter to create the Alliance for Oral Health Across Borders. The Alliance is committed to promoting peace and well-being through oral health by building bridges among dental and health professionals around the world, especially in areas of conflict.

The new Alliance will work to achieve the following goals:

• Promote peace through oral health as part of total health and reduction of disparities,
• Improve oral health by nurturing engagements among health professionals in order to develop an understanding of the myriad of social, political, and other causes of conflicts,
• Develop leadership and advocacy programs to promote peace and well-being through oral health,
• Provide dental students and educators with opportunities for exchange, ultimately familiarizing them with state-of-the-art technology and science in all disciplines of dentistry throughout different parts of the world,
• Promote and facilitate international collaborative research among participants of the Alliance.

The founders of the Alliance believe that all professionals in the field of dental medicine speak a common language, and that dental medicine can indeed serve as a tool in bringing people together to collaborate and overcome political conflicts. This concept has been seeded in the Bridge to Peace program between Al-Quds University and Hadassah Hebrew University Schools of Dental Medicine. The Bridge to Peace has created collaborations, exchanges, and improved understanding among Palestinian and Israeli dental professionals.

Click here for a Video Overview of the Alliance for Oral Health Across Borders