The Planetary Health Report Card for Dentistry is a new branch of the PHRC for 2024, enabling dental universities and colleges to analyse and reflect on their engagement in sustainable dental care delivery – from educational content to wider commitment such as in research and sustainable infrastructure. The aim is to encourage continuing progress towards developing environmentally conscious dental graduates worldwide.

Taking inspiration from the other healthcare disciplines, the first conversations about creating a dental iteration of the PHRC were when Dr. Jenny Girdler (Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, UK) and Dr. Sushi Kadanakuppe (V. S Dental College & Hospital, Bengaluru, India) reached out to the PHRC leadership team nearly simultaneously in Autumn 2022. Since, there have been many contributors throughout the metric adaptation process with mention to Dr. Monisha Chinthala (V. S Dental College & Hospital, Bengaluru, India), Bree Zhang (Columbia University, USA), Dr. Donna Hackley (Harvard School of Dental Medicine) and Dr. Elizabeth Shick (School of Dental Medicine, University of Colorado). However, principal acknowledgement for the final rendition of the Dental PHRC metrics used for its pilot year is attributed to Dr. Jonathan Dixon (University of Sheffield), Dr. Nicolas Martin (University of Sheffield) and Dr. Sushi Kadanakuppe. 

Implementation of the inaugural year of the Dentistry PHRC has been co-led by Dr. Monisha Chinthala and Dr. Ramyashree Rao (Alumni of V. S Dental College & Hospital, Bengaluru, India). We are delighted that we have had 3 schools participating across two continents, with the pilot reports to be published on Earth Day along with the other disciplines.

This pilot year is just the beginning. The next step will be to refine and modify the report metrics following feedback from the pilot teams and other interested experts to improve worldwide applicability and utility as an advocacy tool for dental school students and faculty worldwide. If you are interested in participating in the Dentistry PHRC initiative in any capacity, such as a faculty advisor, a school student lead, or a student regional lead overseeing expansion of the dentistry PHRC in your country please do get in touch via the contact page of the website.