The Ivory Cross looks back on a successful Annual Congress '10 years of Gewoon Gaaf'. On Saturday, April 20, more than 300 participants gathered at the Jaarbeurs Utrecht, where the 10-year celebration of the caries prevention method Gewoon Gaaf was central. The conference offered an extensive program with various speakers who shared important insights about oral health and prevention....

During the Annual Congress of the Ivory Cross, the long-awaited Prevention Prize 2024 was also awarded, an award for innovative and effective initiatives in the field of oral health. 1st place: "Pass on a smile" - A heart-warming initiative by Lisette van der Harst and Saskia den Hartog from Smiles World in Vianen. Their dedication to education and...

Prevention on Bonaire The Ivory Cross was asked by our overseas municipalities of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba to provide support in prevention. This in collaboration with the oral care practices there and the Public Entity. On April 8 and 9, some of our regular teachers from the Prevention Academy provided the...

In the new RTL4 program Choose Your Teeth, everything revolves around oral hygiene and oral care and specialized dentists help patients get rid of their dental problems. The first episode is on Saturday, March 30 at 4:30 PM on RTL4. The program is made possible by Ivoren Kruis, KNMT and Haleon.

Gewoon Gaaf has been around for 10 years. The Ivory Cross conference on April 20, 2024 will focus on this prevention method. We will be guests at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. 5 fascinating speakers (Prof. Dr. Jaap Seidell, Jette Christiansen, Pauline Dekker, Lina Jasulaityte and Arie Hoeksema), an excellent lunch,...

Nominees Prevention Prize 2024: Together with Dental Tribune, we challenged you to describe in 500 words which great prevention initiatives you have developed, in order to compete for the Prevention Prize 2024. We received 19 entries from 14 applicants for this call. One contributor suggested two initiatives and another even five. There were...

In-depth Gewoon Gaaf course for prevention assistants. Of the oral care providers, the (prevention) assistants are the most involved in the implementation of Gewoon Gaaf. That is why the Ivory Cross is starting a course especially for (prevention) assistants. The first course will take place in Naarden on Friday, May 31. Register for this! The course is based on the 3 pillars...

Call to the House of Representatives: set up an independent Oral Care Committee The motion on insured oral care, which was voted on at the end of January 2024, unfortunately did not pass. That is why Ivoren Kruis is once again calling on the House of Representatives to set up an independent Oral Care Committee. A committee that examines the entire problem of oral health in...

Jur van Latum was appointed as a new board member with the 'student committee' portfolio during the AGM of Ivoren Kruis on December 11, 2023. Jur briefly introduced himself to those present during the AGM of December 11. He answers seven questions below to get to know him in more detail: You have the 'student committee' portfolio...

The Rutte cabinet has fallen and there will be elections in November. The Ivory Cross has included the oral care thermometer in the draft election programmes. Most parties have published a draft election manifesto, only the NSC has not yet done so. The draft election programs still have to be approved by the party members. So they could still make small changes. Most parties...

Gewoon Gaaf will be celebrating its 10th anniversary next year. The Ivory Cross Congress on April 20, 2024 will focus on this prevention method. We will announce the content of the varied program and the names of the speakers of that day in stages. We are proud to announce that the founder of Gewoon Gaaf,...

Huib Kalsbeek, born in Katwijk in 1937, died in Katwijk on July 11 at the age of 85. He dedicated his working life to healthy teeth for everyone. On the one hand, by conducting very meticulous epidemiological research, and on the other hand, by fulfilling functions at the Ivory Cross for many years. Huib Kalsbeek was a member of...

The Ivory Cross is sounding the alarm because more and more children and adults with bad teeth, 'cavities', are arriving in the Netherlands. We don't want this, we need to change course! The fallen cabinet has wanted to do little to reduce or prevent the many problems facing oral care. Problems, most likely due to...

RVS in favor of oral care in the basic package: “It saves a lot of money in the long run” The Council for Public Health & Society (RVS) advocates a drastic overhaul of the healthcare system. The advice of RVS was presented on June 19, 2023. De RVS, one of the most important government advisers, concludes that the current healthcare system is causing healthcare to come to a standstill...

'Bring dental care back into the basic insurance, because avoidance of dental care causes more costs' On Wednesday, June 14, 2023, Doctors of the World and the FNV will hand over the 'Black Book of Oral Care' to the House of Representatives in The Hague. It contains testimonials from people who avoid dental care because of the high costs. “In this way we show that there is a large national…

On May 25, 2023, the World Health Assembly (WHA) adopted the WHO Global Oral Health Action Plan (GOHAP) 2023-2030. This translates the vision, purpose and strategic objectives of the Global Strategy on Oral Health into more than 100 actionable interventions for stronger and more coordinated oral health action…

Oral health care providers play an important role in promoting oral health. Ivoren Kruis has drawn up a list of social projects with which a dental care provider can make an extra contribution to prevention in oral care: giving brushing lessons at schools via Keep your mouth healthy! support for food banks, for example via Adopt a smile! become a contact person for Doctors Without...

Thanks to a successful collaboration between Center Youth and Family (CJG) The Hague, GGD Haaglanden and Stichting Jeugdtandzorg West, six times more children (0-4 years) go to the dentist in The Hague. With this collaboration between dental care and the CJG, The Hague is a forerunner of the rest of the Netherlands. In the summer of 2021,...

The WHO report 'Global Oral Health Status Report' paints a clear picture of the prevalence of oral diseases and contains data from 194 countries. At the end of 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) published the new edition. The last edition of this was almost twenty years ago. The data in the report is based on the most recent results of...

'Since December 2022, Prof. Dr. Albert Feilzer has been chairman of the Ivoren Cross. He succeeds Onno Hofman, who was chairman for the past seven years. Feilzer is professor of General Dentistry and was previously dean at ACTA. What does he want to achieve with the Ivory Cross and how does he look back on his time as dean?' Dental...

According to the Council for Public Health & Society (an independent advisory body for government and parliament), public health is under pressure. In the advisory report 'On our health - the need for stronger public health care' (dated 18-04-2023), the Council makes recommendations for creating a solid foundation for public health care. Read more on the website of the...

Looking back at the 2023 Ivory Cross Annual Congress: Is caries a disease? The Ivoren Kruis looks back on a successful Annual Congress. With inspiring speakers, involved partners and curious visitors, April 1, 2023 was a successful conference day. You can read a report of this day below. See also the photo impression The Ivoren Kruis has noticed that there are still many people...

As many as 1 in 10 people brush without fluoride, according to research by the Kassa program of BNNVARA. In March 2023 they made a broadcast about the risks of brushing without fluoride. Dagmar Else Slot, professor of Prevention at ACTA, among others, speaks in the broadcast: “It is precisely the addition of fluoride that is very...

Pilot 'Gewoon Gaaf' at ROC van Twente great success Scientific research in the Netherlands (Dr. Erik Vermaire 2013) shows that working according to the 'Gewoon Gaaf' method can lead to about 70% caries reduction. The Ivoren Cross has been providing Gewoon Gaaf courses since 2014. About 2000 Gewoon Gaaf-certified dental care professionals now work according to this method. Sanne Aarninkhof, lecturer at...

Caries is one of the most common chronic diseases. However, a chronic lifestyle disease that can be prevented with the right diet and behavior. The Annual Congress of the Ivoren Cross will take place this year on Saturday, April 1, 2023, we are guests at ACTA in Amsterdam. Prior to this, the annual General Meeting of Members of the Ivory...

Kuipers wants a dental hygienist at the consultation office Children should be able to be checked by a dental hygienist at the consultation office, says VWS minister Ernst Kuipers. That is why he wants to agree with health insurers, sector organizations and municipalities that such an inspection can be claimed from the health insurer. In doing so, he responds to a motion tabled by the PvdA and the four coalition parties on November 1.

Parliament wants better oral care for children in deprived areas The House of Representatives wants children from high-risk groups, such as families with a low income and/or from deprived areas, to receive better oral care. The cabinet must arrange for dental care coaches to be installed at all consultation centers in deprived neighbourhoods, the House of Representatives decided on Tuesday via a motion by the PvdA and the...

Is the school dentist coming back? As far as the Ivory Cross is concerned, the last word has not yet been said on the reintroduction of the school dentist. Doctors of the World have put our reasons for this very well in their newsletter, Read more. "Minister Schouten of Poverty Policy wants the school dentist to return, because one in five children never see a dentist...

Zorgverzekeraars Nederland (ZN) has asked the Ivoren Cross to participate in a study into the quality of youth oral care when it is provided with a subscription fee. The experiment involves research into the quality of insured oral care for young people (0 to 18 years) when the reimbursement system changes from 'service' to 'subscription'. It...

Research has shown that 10 to 15% of youth up to the age of 18 do not make it to the dentist. This often seems to be for a financial reason. The Ivoren Cross wants to draw the attention of (parents of) this group to the fact that dental care is free up to the age of 18 and has developed an information poster for this purpose. Do you want...

Roll up your sleeves for volunteer dentists Xander Meijs and Hans Prakken (also board member of Ivoren Kruis). Twelve customers of the Food Bank Emmen received free emergency treatment and information in the mobile dental practice of Doctors of the World on 23 June. Also view the item from the NOS news (from 3:32 pm). And the article and video...

On Saturday 21 May, Maud van Gageldonk (Colgate) presented the 50,000th cleaning package to Marleen van der Waal (het Vogelnest). Since 2007, hundreds of thousands of Keep your mouth healthy! lessons have been given throughout the country with the cleaning packages. During these lessons, children at primary school are taught knowledge about the mouth and the body in a light-hearted way.

Annual conference 'A closer look at prevention in oral care' On Saturday 21 May, the Ivoren Cross is organizing the annual conference 'A closer look at prevention in oral care'. We are guests at ACTA in Amsterdam for this. We cordially invite you to this! Prior to this, the annual General Meeting of the Ivoren Cross takes place (for members)....

Webinar 'A Generation Free from Lifestyle Diseases' – March 28, 7:00 PM Dr Marnix Hoppener is a physician who is fully engaged in the prevention of lifestyle diseases. He has developed the 'Johnny Joker' prevention program for oral care. The program focuses on teaching and promoting healthy behavior in children and helps oral care professionals in the...

Ivoren Kruis demands political action The Ivoren Kruis has sent a letter to the ministers. In this letter, the association for prevention in oral care calls for attention to be paid to oral care as an essential part of health care: 'Although oral care is not mentioned in the coalition agreement, it does have various, major bottlenecks that have existed for years...

  The research project Healthy Toddler Mouths of the research group Innovations in Preventive Care at Hogeschool Utrecht has won the RAAK public award. The prize was awarded at the SIA RAAK Congress 2021, as part of the selection of best projects in practice-oriented research. With Healthy Toddler Mouths, the researchers are using a new way to prevent cavities in...

In addition to cleaning lessons at schools, the Ivoren Cross also wants to focus on transferring knowledge to young people. The Ivoren Cross in Het Vogelnest Primary School in Bodegraven has found a great partner to do a try-out to achieve this. This primary school places healthy living high on the education program and in this experiment,...

On Wednesday 3 November, our honorary member, Cor van Loveren, was awarded the DENTZ medal by the Dutch Scientific Association of Dentists. It is a prestigious medal, which is only awarded sporadically. Only to people who have made an extraordinary contribution to the dental practice. That applies to Cor van Loveren. At the same time, Cor remains modesty itself....

The research project Healthy Toddler Mouths by Peggy van Spreuwel (Lectorate Innovations in Preventive Care, Hogeschool Utrecht and Section Society and Oral Health, ACTA) is one of the six contenders for the SIA RAAK award for best practice-oriented research. Read more on directorial organ-sia.nl With Healthy Toddler Mouths, the researchers are using a new way to...

Good news! Fluoride toothpaste is included in the new WHO list of essential medicines. Caries (tooth decay) is the most common non-communicable disease, both worldwide and in Europe. Fluoride toothpaste has been proven to significantly reduce the incidence of caries and this recognition by the WHO is essential for reducing the incidence of disease. The...

With the area of expertise 'Healthy Together', the HU uses education and research to reduce the health and welfare problems of people in the urban region of Utrecht, to increase their self-reliance and to improve their lifestyle, social and physical safety. This mission fits well with U on Board. This PhD research from...

The numbers don't lie, children still have too many caries. Research shows that preventive oral care leads to healthier patients. Teachers from the Ivoren Cross, Dorothée Quant and Marit Verschuuren-Kuijer will give a workshop during the StandbyDag on November 6. During the workshop, an introduction will be given to the scientifically proven prevention method 'Just...

Integrating dentistry into general health care is a hot topic these days. This is again evident from an essay published in the Journal of Dental Education. Dr. Keith Mays writes that oral care professionals have the opportunity to play a crucial role in improving the overall health of the population. DentalInfo wrote...

Welcome to the new website of the Ivory Cross! You can still find a lot of information on the website. At the same time, the website is more user-friendly and fresher. We are happy with it and hopefully you as a visitor too. We look forward to your responses. Even if things can be improved, we are happy to adjust them.

Almost one and a half million people in the Netherlands have no money for the dentist. While oral care is not a luxury, but a basic right. Aid workers from Doctors of the World see the distressing consequences of neglected oral care on a daily basis. They do what they can to help people get rid of their pain, but emergency problems alone can't solve the problems...

A hole-free generation - that's what the Ivory Cross is (also) for! Read the article 'CDA wants 'cavity-free generation': dentist is free for children, but they go too little' (source: Volkskrant)

Oral health is now high on the list of global health priorities. At a meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 27, 2021, health ministries around the world approved a resolution urging member states to address key risk factors for oral disease. Read the article from DentalInfo and the...

The Ivoren Kruis has sent a letter to the informateur Mariëtte Hamer. In it we express our concerns about the oral health of the Dutch population. We call for improvements in oral disease prevention. In addition, we are calling for a review of the oral care business model. The Ivory Cross proposes to set up a broad independent commission...

Politicians from left to right believe that oral care does not belong in the basic package. An outdated position, argues AJ Feilzer in the Volkskrant.

On January 21, 2021, Prof. Wim van Palenstein Helderman passed away at the age of 77. Wim was a great advocate of preventive dentistry both at home and abroad. He supported the Ivory Cross with the introduction of Just Cool. It was his firm belief: “Attention to your own dental care is essential....

During this time, extra attention is needed for good oral health. But how do you take care of that? This initiative shows oral care providers can now carry out their good prevention activities in other ways. In collaboration with the Ivory Cross and Colgate-elmex, NVM chairman Manon van Splunter provided an online Keep your mouth healthy! lesson on Tuesday, January 26, 2021. During the day...

The new KIMO guideline shows the current insights regarding the disease caries and answers frequently asked questions in practice. It shows how you can best approach prevention in children and which treatment methods you can use for caries. 'Is the Caries Prevention Advice (@Ivoren Kruis) being followed?' is the starting question. Then there are...

'Better dental care for youth through a subscription fee?' Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the autumn conference 2020 could not take place in physical form. Instead, the Ivoren Cross organized a webinar discussion that was followed by more than 450 interested people. In the webinar, opinions were gauged about a statement made by the Ivory Cross: “If the funding of…

Politicians from left to right believe that oral care does not belong in the basic package. An outdated position, argues AJ Feilzer in the Volkskrant.

The statement in the monthly Facebook poll of the Dental Tribune caused a lot of discussion: 'Dutch oral care is still far too focused on curation'. Dental Tribune asked the Ivory Cross to respond. Increasingly, there is a plea for preventive oral care, where the emphasis is not on treatment, but on...

For her work at Jeugdtandzorg West in The Hague, Lina Jasulaityte has drawn up scripts that can be helpful during telephone conversations. “We now have to focus on causal treatment and our relationship with the patient” Lina says: “Due to the corona pandemic, we have to call many patients to cancel the appointments in practice. I...

What will oral care look like in 2030? In a series of interviews, the NT allows various associations to speak about this. What will oral care look like in 2030? In a series of interviews, the NT allows various associations to speak about this. Chairman Onno Hofman of the Ivory Cross argues in NT 2, 2020 for even more...

Lina Jasulaityte and René Gruythuysen have the same ideas about treating children with restraint from a preventive basic idea. During the Ivoren Kruis Annual Congress 2019 on Gewoon Gaaf, they show in their presentation that oral care for children comes down to finding the right balance between causal therapy (NOCTP and NRCT/UCT) and symptomatic therapy (sealant, ART,...