Dentistry's Inconvenient Truths: The Paradoxes of Global Oral Health - Professor Habid Benzian

Please note: this seminar is in-person and via Teams link 

Speaker biography

Professor Habib Benzian is a global oral health researcher, educator and policy adviser with academic appointments at the University of Sydney, the University of the Western Cape and Chulalongkorn University. He has contributed to major WHO oral health policies, strategies and technical guidance and is a working group lead for the Lancet Commission on Oral Health. A recipient of the IADR John Greenspan Global Oral Health Research Award (2023), his work focuses on oral health inequalities, prevention, health systems and the political economy of health. He has worked with international organisations, governments and academic institutions across multiple regions for more than two decades.

He also writes about global health, politics and institutions on his independent Substack The Global Health Paradox, exploring questions that often fall outside conventional academic debate.

Seminar title

Dentistry's Inconvenient Truths: The Paradoxes of Global Oral Health

Abstract

Dentistry has never been more technologically advanced, yet oral diseases remain among the most prevalent health conditions worldwide. We know how to prevent much of this burden, but continue to invest predominantly in treatment. Dental markets prosper while billions struggle to access essential care. And despite growing political recognition of oral health, progress towards universal access remains slow.

This lecture explores the paradoxes shaping contemporary dentistry and global oral health, questioning some of the assumptions underlying how we understand disease, organise care, conduct research and define professional success. Drawing on international evidence and experiences from different health systems and using a political economy lens, it considers what these contradictions reveal about the future of oral health and what it might take to resolve them.

We hope you can enjoy us for this exciting talk with our guest speaker.

Please get in contact with Prof. Loc Do with any questions at l.do@uq.edu.au