· Sunstar partners up again with the International Federation of Dental Hygienists (IFDH) to re-launch the World Dental Hygienist Awards

· A new European Award of Distinction has been announced together with the European Dental Hygienist Federation (EDHF), in parallel with the North American Award of Distinction. Both act as a qualifying round for the World Dental Hygienist Awards

· The European and North American regional awards are now open for entries

Sunstar, the international oral healthcare company, has announced the return of the World Dental Hygienist Awards (WDHA), after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. First established in 2007, the WDHA recognises and honours the work and accomplishments of dental hygienists who have made significant contributions to the dental hygiene field.

“IFDH is proud to continue its involvement with Sunstar since the very beginning of this valuable program in 2007,” said Wanda Fedora, President of the International Federation of Dental Hygienists. “The only global meeting place for Dental Hygienists – the International Symposium of Dental Hygiene (ISDH) – has provided a unique and appropriate setting for the excitement when these distinguished awards are announced.”

Ahead of the WDHA, which will take place in 2024, a new regional Award of Distinction has been created in partnership with the European Dental Hygienist Federation (EDHF) and supported by the Sunstar Foundation to celebrate the achievements of European dental hygienists. The European Award of Distinction is now open for nominations with Sunstar and the EDHF calling for entries from qualified dental hygienists. Hygienists can either nominate themselves or a colleague, as long as they, or the person they are nominating, are officially registered dental hygienists. A similar award program has run in North America, in partnership with RDH Magazine since 2002.

“EDHF is proud to be a partner of SUNSTAR in setting up the European Award of Distinction as a qualifying award for the World Dental Hygienists Award in 2024,” said Dr Gitana Rederiene, President of the European Dental Hygienists Federation. “This award recognizes and honours the work and accomplishments of dental hygienists who have made significant contributions to the dental hygiene field and the impact on promoting oral health to society.”

Both the European and North America Award of Distinction programs act as a ‘qualification round’ to the WDHA program. Professionals outside of the European or the North American region are still eligible to compete for the WDHA and can apply directly on the Sunstar Foundation website, without a proceeding competition. Both the Regional Awards of Distinction and the WDHA are split into six categories in which the nominee can choose from either: Public Health, Full Time Clinician, Academia, Entrepreneur, New RDH and Research.

Mayumi Kaneda, Director of the Sunstar Foundation, said: “We are delighted to announce that the World Dental Hygienist Awards will be returning in 2024 as the sixth edition of the awards, along with the introduction of the new European region category. To acknowledge and recognise the significant efforts of worldwide registered dental hygienists is incredibly motivating and inspiring to not only the current industry, but to the past and future professionals too, and we look forward to welcoming all entries.”

The deadline for both the European and North American Award of Distinction programs is March 31, 2023. All nominations across the six categories will be judged by independent selection committees; details on the prizes can be found on the website. Each winner will automatically qualify for the International Symposium on Dental Hygiene (ISDH) in Seoul, South Korea, in 2024 where the World Dental Hygienist Award ceremony will be held.

Dental hygienists can find more information on the European Award of Distinction, the North American Award of Distinction, and the World Dental Hygienist Awards by visiting

https://www.sunstar-foundation.org/en/awards/world-hygienist