Association for Dental Education in Europe

Learning together to improve oral health and quality of life

Sustainable Dental Education in a Changing Food Environment: Integrating Environmental Awareness with Clinical Dietary Guidance

Thursday, 21st August 2025 - 14:15 to 15:45
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Timezone: 

Dublin (IST, UTC+1)

Venue: 

Tangent TCDBS

Session type: 
Type 2: Organised, planned and delivered by a subgroup, special interest group, community of practice of ADEE
Pre-register as part of your ADEE 2025 meeting registration
Session synopsis: 
The global food system faces unprecedented challenges from climate change and growing food insecurity, requiring healthcare professionals to understand and respond to these interconnected pressures. These challenges demand new approaches in healthcare education and practice to address individual, community, and environmental health outcomes.

This focused workshop brings together experts from nutrition science, dietetics, food security, and dentistry to explore innovative approaches to preparing dental professionals for their crucial role in promoting both individual and planetary health. Through shared interprofessional experiences, we will examine teaching strategies that prepare dental students to provide evidence-based dietary guidance while considering broader socioeconomic and environmental impacts on food choices and oral health outcomes.

Our goal is to develop practical frameworks and strategies for integrating sustainability and food security concepts into dental education, enabling future oral health practitioners to address the interconnected challenges of oral health, nutrition accessibility, and environmental sustainability in their clinical practice and patient education.

Programme: 

14:00

"Global Food Systems in Crisis: Why Healthcare Education Must Respond”

Dr Aifric O’ Sullivan/Nutrition and Sustainability

14:20

“Transforming Dietetic Education: Lessons from Implementation”

Dr Sarah Browne/Dietitian-Educator

14:35

“Bridging the Gap: Nutrition Education in Global Dental Practice”

Dr MCrowe/Dental-Nutrition

14:50

“Understanding Food Insecurity’s Impact on Oral Health Outcomes”

Prof Teresa Marshall/University of Iowa

15:05

Discussion and debate

15:25

Closing remarks
Chair: 

Michael Crowe

Assoc Prof
Dublin Dental University Hospital Dublin, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland

Dr Crowe teaches Food Science, Nutrition and Oral Health at undergraduate and postgraduate level and supervises PhD and DChDent research projects. Dr Crowe's research aims to understand interactions between diet and oral health with a view to developing personalised, sustainable, healthy nutrition strategies. A key focus is the application of data science techniques for both the collection and analysis of cohort data at the patient and population group level. Ongoing research includes collecting dietary information and carrying out oral health assessments of specific at-risk subgroups such as elite athletes, chronically ill patients and the elderly. The main aim is to identify the contribution of specific risk factors to poor dental health and poor nutrient status within different subgroups. A secondary aim includes informing recommendations, tools and interventions for optimal oral health that will support dietary behaviour change to sustainable healthy diets. His recent publication on the ‘Implementation of a food science and nutrition module in a dental undergraduate curriculum’ could act as a framework for the development of this proposal.

https://onlinelibrary-wiley-com.elib.tcd.ie/doi/10.1111/eje.12822

Speakers: 

Teresa A. Marshall

Professor, Department of Preventive and Community Dentistry
College of Dentistry Iowa

Dr Marshall designed, implemented, and regularly updates the dental student nutrition curriculum at the University of Iowa. The curriculum is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of nutrition and dietary behaviours, the relationships among diet, oral disease and systemic disease, and diet counselling strategies. She also provides oral health education to her dietitian peers to support interdisciplinary health care. She directs the Student Research Program in the College of Dentistry, including mentoring dental students in nutrition-related research. Her primary research objectives are focused on the relationships between diet, oral health, and systemic health including growth and obesity.

Learning Outcomes: 

Participants will gain:

  • Understanding of how sustainable food systems and nutrition principles connect with oral health education
  • Strategies for incorporating sustainability concepts into dental curriculum without compromising clinical training
  • Practical approaches to teaching sustainable dietary counseling in dental settings

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