Association for Dental Education in Europe

Learning together to improve oral health and quality of life

EDHF Session: The Common Education Curriculum (CEC) for European Dental Hygienist´s – Update and development based on the results from SIG´s in 2023 and 2024

Thursday, 21st August 2025 - 14:00 to 15:30
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Timezone: 

Dublin (IST, UTC+1)

Venue: 

Dargan B TCDBS

Session type: 
Type 4: Organised, planned and delivered by an external group without input from ADEE
EDHF Session
Pre-register as part of your ADEE 2025 meeting registration
Session synopsis: 

To harmonize the education of dental hygienists in Europe the European Dental Hygienists Federation (EDHF) started, in 2016, to develop a Common Education Curriculum (CEC) for dental hygienists. The CEC for Dental Hygiene provides a standardised curriculum approach that reflects best academic practice for European dental hygiene education and was published in 2020 in the European Journal for Dental Education in Europe. The CEC has been disseminated widely as it defines a standard framework for dental hygienist education, giving universities and other providers of dental hygiene training a benchmark from which to tailor their programs in line with local demands, regulations and aspirations. The CEC is structured in an Introduction paper followed by four domain papers: Professionalism, Safe and effective Clinical Practice, Patient centred care and Oral Health in society. Experience from the two previous SIG´s in this updating process show a need to address several areas in the CEC such as: sustainability, interprofessional collaboration, AI and technology innovations, integrate research and translational research. Additionally, the need for the new CEC for dental hygienists to reflect the WHO Oral Health Action Plan, and other relevant statement papers. The EDHF appointed for this purpose a project group responsible for a revision and update of the CEC. The project group consists of Yvonne Nyblom, chair, Sandra Graça, chair of the education committee of EDHF and Ellen Bol, vice-president of EDHF. In January 2025 EDHF composed a Taskforce, divided in four Domain groups, led by Associate Professor Jurgita Andruskiene. The Domain Task force groups consist of educators from several European countries that started the revision and EDHF will be able to share a first draft to be discussed during the Dublin meeting.

The EDHF present a first draft of the updated CEC and invite the SIG participants to:

  1. Reflect and give input regarding the suggestions in this first draft of the updated CEC.
  2. Discuss and analyse if the proposal correctly reflects the Dental Hygienist´s role now and in the future
  3. Discuss and give input to the further process and the content of the CEC
Programme: 

TBC 

Chair: 

Gitana Rederiene

President
European Dental Hygienists Federation / Lithuanian Dental Hygienists Association

Dr. Gitana Rederiene is a President of the European Dental Hygienists Federation as well as a Founder and current President of the Lithuanian Dental Hygienists Association. She is also a board member of the Odontology faculty of Lithuanian Health Science University, as well as a consultant for a few dental hygiene programs in Lithuania.  She completed her Dental Hygiene and Public Health studies at Lithuanian Health Science University in Kaunas and defended her doctoral thesis at Vilnius University Medical Faculty in Public health. Her main research topic is the greater empowerment of the professional group of dental hygienists and a clearer role in shaping the oral health policy. She is a practising dental hygienist at the University clinic as well as holds courses for continuing education on various topics nationally and internationally.  Dr. Gitana Rederiene is also a member of European Association Dental Public Health.

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