ADEE Celebrates 50 Years

Special issue of the EJDE

A special online virtual issue of the European Journal of Dental Education (ADEE 2025 - celebrating its 50^th anniversary) was published on 13^th August 2025.

This edition brings together a selection of commemorative, reflective and commentary pieces that explore the recent history of ADEE, its evolving governance and discussion on the FEHHD Competency Framework for Aspiring Deans and Heads of European Dental Schools, as well as a multistakeholder perspective of the Graduating European Dentist Framework along with recent peer reviewed collaborative publications. Access the publication through the ADEE website using your log in.

Online ADEE Archive

A new online interactive timeline outline key ADEE milestones since 1975 has been enabled on our website. The aim of the ADEE 50 years in retrospective is to outline the evolution of ADEE and how we have become the organisation we have today. As time progresses additional content will be added and the page will be treated as live ADEE achieve.

Reflections of ADEE Past Presidents

ADEE 2025 Dublin incorporated the voices and memories of our ADEE past presidents throughout the plenary sessions. You can now listen to these online. The current board of ADEE extends a sincere thank you to our past presidents who joined us in person in Dublin for ADEE 2025 and also to those who could not join us but still gave of their time to reflect on what ADEE means to them.

Commemorative ADEE 2025 Programme

To mark ADEE’s 50^th anniversary a special printed programme was issued to all delegates who attended in person. You can now also download this should you wish.

ADEE 2025 Annual meeting

ADEE 2025, hosted at Trinity College Dublin Ireland, attracted almost 550 delegates from 49 countries along with 23 industry exhibitions. The event provided ample opportunities for our members to ‘Reflect, Recognise and Reimagine’, ADEE, its role and the direction of Oral Health Professional Education. With three plenary sessions and over 70 parallel sessions covering an array of topics and areas of interest as well as business and specific working group meetings, the week was both productive and celebratory.

In his opening address ADEE President Prof Brian O'Connell set the tone for not only the meeting but the next 50 years of ADEE by reminding delegates of ADEE's role and purpose:

'It is about fostering meaningful lifelong connections, improving the quality and delivery of education, enabling the space for consensus but respecting a diversity of opinion. It’s about meeting challenges, such as AI, COVID, and migration, engaging our students to see what a bright future they have as oral health professionals, it’s about embracing new technologies and new techniques and also looking after the wellbeing of educators, and most importantly it’s about not compromising on academic and scientific standards for our profession—because the public deserves nothing less!'

A key highlight of the week was the attendance of the Minister for Health (Ireland) and her address at the social event in Trinity College Dublin Dining Hall on Thursday 21^st August. Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill in her brief address espoused the importance of the work of ADEE and associations like ADEE in enabling change and collaboration.

She commended the delegates for their attendance and for their commitment to oral health professionals education and expressed pride that ADEE was hosted in Ireland and particularly delighted to see the event being attended by 140 EDSA delegates and the very high value ADEE members place on the student body.