Tobacco Cessation

After the success of the first FDI Tobacco Cessation workshop hosted online in December 2021, a hybrid version was held in May 2022 in Al Jadida, Morocco. FDI President Prof. Ihsane Ben Yahya, opened the event in her home country, which was attended by 20 participants representing National Dental Associations (NDAs) from nine countries in the African region.

The workshop aimed to educate oral health professionals on how to implement tobacco cessation guidelines and provide related counseling to patients in their practices. Participants learnt through hands-on role play activities, structured around the 5As (Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, Arrange) and 5Rs (Relevance, Risks, Rewards, Roadblocks, and Repetition) tobacco cessation interventions. These are the most widely used delivery models in primary care that have proven to be effective in helping patients quit tobacco use.

A second workshop covered the topic of teledentistry as a means of providing oral healthcare for the millions of people in the African region that currently have no access to such services. It highlighted how tobacco cessation advice could potentially be delivered through teledentistry to improve overall health, well-being and quality of life.