Embedding planetary health and sustainability in dental education: a community-engaged training model from Kenya

Vollständiger Abstract

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Climate change and environmental degradation are reshaping health systems in ways that the dental profession can no longer afford to ignore. Oral health is increasingly positioned as both a victim of environmental disruption and a contributor to it. However, despite growing momentum in medicine and public health, dental education has remained largely disconnected from climate–health thinking and sustainability frameworks. This manuscript examines how planetary health principles can be meaningfully integrated into dental education through community-engaged learning. Drawing on the Community-Based Education and Service programme at Moi University College of Health Sciences in Kenya, we present a conceptual framework built on four interrelated components: curriculum reform, community-based training, sustainable clinical practice, and interdisciplinary collaboration. This approach supports prevention-focused care, develops systems thinking, and produces graduates who are equipped to engage with environmental determinants of health. This approach is designed to be scalable and adaptable, with particular relevance to low- and middle-income countries. It connects directly to global priorities, including the Sustainable Development Goals, Universal Health Coverage, and the WHO Global Oral Health Action Plan 2023–2030.