ICD Global is excited to announce a new and promising collaboration with the Taiwan Dental Association (TwDA), marking an important step in strengthening global engagement and expanding opportunities for oral health service, education and outreach.
The TwDA has agreed to financially support the ICD’s Global Capital Campaign with a generous gift of $30,000 USD, and in return the ICD will support the TwDA’s two critical programs focused on dental student scholarships and home-based dental care. This collaboration emerged from the shared goals of elevating oral health for at-risk populations, supporting dental student and dental education, and engagement in cross-sector, international cooperation in the pursuit of advancing oral health.
This joint effort will enable an ICD- TwDA scholarship to be awarded to the best dental student from the eight dental schools in Taiwan. In addition, the TwDA will be supported in its objective of purchasing portable dental machines for its home-based dental care program, which provides dentists with portable dental machines for treating elderly and other patients with no mobility. There is a growing number of such patients with poor dental health in Taiwan because they are unable to travel for treatment. The portable dental machine will be able to provide extraction, scaling and filling treatments for every home-based visit.
What makes this ICD-TwDA collaboration especially significant is its potential to serve as a blueprint for future collaborations between ICD and national dental associations around the world. Led by Fellow Dr. Hsin-Cheng Liu, Global Visionary Fund Board member and ICD Global Campaign Co-Chair, and Fellow Dr. Shih-Yueh Chen, President of the Taiwan Dental Association, this partnership models a pathway for how ICD Sections and national dental associations may work together with the College to advance and expand initiatives.
“The TwDA is the biggest dental association in Taiwan with 17,000 members. Each former and current TwDA president has been, or is, an ICD Fellow. Like in many countries, it’s very honorable for a Taiwanese dentist to be an ICD Fellow. I hope this kind of cooperation with ICD and TwDA can set an example for all dental associations in the world. It’s a win-win situation for both the dental association and ICD,” said Dr. Liu.
The TwDA is dedicated to improving clinical medical quality, promoting oral public health and promoting international professional cooperation. Through this new endeavor, ICD Global and the TwDA will work together to explore future joint objectives, including continuing education, humanitarian outreach, leadership development and opportunities for TwDA members and Section XII Fellows to engage more deeply with ICD’s global network.
By establishing a clear, mutually beneficial framework—one that respects local priorities while connecting them to ICD’s global mission—this model demonstrates how national associations can partner with the ICD to expand impact, strengthen professional communities, and create new avenues for recognition and service.
