Abstract Submission Guidelines
Abstract Submission
The International Federation of Dental Hygienists (IFDH), in collaboration with the Italian Dental Hygienists Association (AIDI) invites colleagues from the international community to submit their abstracts for consideration in the oral and poster sessions at the International Symposium on Dental Hygiene in Milan, Italy.
The oral and poster sessions are scheduled for July 9 (Thur), 10 (Fri), 11 (Sat), 2026.
The sessions for oral and poster presentations offer a chance to disseminate research findings, acquire novel insights, establish connections, engage in idea interchange, and remain up-to-date with pertinent information. The presentations should align with the symposium’s focal point, “Oral and General Health – Prevention & Progress” and play a pivotal role in advancing our understanding of professional and patient care.
Abstracts that have been previously presented and published will be considered; however, they must be properly acknowledged by providing the citation to that abstract. Individuals are allowed to present a maximum of two abstracts (one oral and one poster) but can be a co-author on additional abstracts. Presenters are not required to be the principal investigator of a study but should be a member of the research team. Presenters may be graduate students, clinicians, educators, researchers in oral healthcare and dental therapists.
The theme for the symposium is broad-based and abstracts should be specifically related to the dental hygiene and/or dental therapy professions. The four sub-topic for the symposium are as follows:
Symposium Sub-topic: Prevention & Progress. Oral and General Health.
| Childhood (Pregnancy to 11 years) | Topics related to: educational, nutritional and preventive care during pregnancy and childhood. Examples include topics:
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| Adolescence (12-18 years) | Topics related to strengthening autonomy in self-care, health promotion and disease prevention. Examples include topics:
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| Adulthood (19-65 years) | Topics related to an integrated approach between oral healthcare and medical care for the maintenance of oral and general health. Examples include topics:
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| Old Age (65+ years) | Topics related to special treatments, public health policies for the promotion of oral health and the prevention of oral diseases in the presence of old age or frailty. Examples include topics:
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All abstracts must follow the abstract guidelines and be submitted online by Jan 7 (Wed), 2026.
Submissions can be made only via the Abstract Submission Portal, that will open on Friday, September 19th. Should your oral abstract not be accepted, you may be offered the opportunity to present it as a Poster. It will automatically be considered as a poster submission.
Download the abstract guidelines for submitting your abstract. You must access the Online Submission Portal using the button called SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT. Before submitting your abstract, you will need to set up a new user account and create a login and password. You will be able to use that login and password to re-enter the submission portal to make edits to your draft abstract up until the submission deadline (Jan 7, 2026).
Upon submitting your abstract, you will receive a confirmation email of abstract submission from the ISDH 2026 Symposium Secretariat. Please ensure that all required information is completed as requested. If you experience any problems during the online submission process, please contact the ISDH 2026 Symposium Secretariat at AbstractISDH2026@oic.it.
Important Information
- Please carefully review all instructions before submitting your abstract.
- Abstracts are submitted ONLY via an online submission system.
- If you are submitting more than one abstract, you must use the same login for each abstract.
- The maximum length of an abstract is 350 words. Please ensure that your description is sufficient for reviewers to make an informed decision on quality. Abstracts that fail to meet these criteria will be rejected.
- Do not include author names in the title or body of your abstract – these are entered online during the submission process.
- Once an abstract is submitted successfully, you can track its status on the ‘Abstract Submission” section. Submitted abstracts can be revised as often as needed until Jan 7 (Wed), 2026.
- Abstracts will be reviewed under each of the elements indicated in the guidelines for the submission type as well as for the level of innovation/contribution to the field and the general standard of academic writing of the abstract.
- Authors can be listed on as many abstracts as they wish – however each author may be the presenting author on a maximum of 2 abstract presentations only – one oral and one poster.
- Please note that at least one author must register in full to attend and present the abstract at the Symposium. Please note that we expect this to be a fully in-person conference, so presenters should expect to be onsite at the symposium in Milan.
- All abstracts must be written in English.
- To ensure a fair and scientific review of abstracts, we will use a blind review process. Abstracts will be reviewed under each of the elements indicated in the guidelines for the submission type as well as for the level of innovation/contribution to the field and the general standard of academic writing of the abstract.
- The submitter will receive a confirmation email while the presenting author will receive all the further messages, acceotance included.
- Authors are responsible for proofreading and submitting error-free abstracts, as they will be reproduced in the format in which they were submitted. The corresponding author holds responsibility for the abstract’s content. This author serves as the contact person for submission or communication,and is also responsible for disseminating information related to the co-authors.
Abstract Selection Criteria
- Topic fits clear to the (sub) theme.
- Background including the statement of the problem and significance are clearly and complete defined.
- Research question / Purpose / Goals / Objective are clearly defined
- For research; design, data collection and analysis is complete described and appropriate for the study question
- For innovation in practice / projects; complete description of the key features, structure, or systems what is done in the project to fulfill the purpose /goals / objective
- Results are clearly presented
- Conclusions and implications/recommendations for the future are provided
- Abstracts will be selected based on rubics scores provided by abstract reviewers.
Instructions
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Title | Only the first letter of the title starts with a capital letter, except the proper nouns * A short title (up to 20 words) |
| Length | No more than 350 words |
| Submission Types | You must choose one of the following two types of submissions, and each type must include the relevant elements: 1. Research 2. Innovation in Practice/Project |
Submission Types
Research
| Background | Statement of the problem and study significance. |
|---|---|
| Research question | A clearly formulated question. |
| Methods | Research design, data collection and analysis are outlines and appropriate for the study question. |
| Results | Presentation data analysis, or a plan for analysis, and highlight of findings. |
| Conclusions | Answers to the research question supported by the results clearly stated and reccomandations or preliminary findings. |
| If applicable IRB approval |
IRB approval is required for all studies involving human subjects or animal.Please provide the name of the approving entity and the approval number for research.For systematic reviews it is recommended that the protocol is registered
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| Studies in Progress | Studies in-progress at the time of submission must include a detailed plan for statistical analysis and preliminary findings. Results must be available by the International Symposium. |
Innovation in Practice/Project
| Background | Statement of the activity and its significance. |
|---|---|
| Purpose / Goals / Objectives | The purpose/goals/objectives are clearly defined. |
| Methods | Description of the key features, structure or systems. |
| Results | The impact of the activity is clearly reported. |
| Conclusions | Conclusions and implications/reccomandations for the future. |
Steps for Abstract Submission
Important Dates
* Time zone is Italian Standard Time (GMT+2)
Sep 19, 2025
Abstract Submissions Open
Sep 19 (Fri), 2025
Jan 7, 2026
Abstract Submissions Closed
Jan 7 (Wed), 2026
Mar 6, 2026
Notification of Acceptance
Mar 6 (Fri), 2026
May 29, 2026
Presenter Registration Deadline
May 29 (Fri), 2026
Please note that the deadline will be based on Italian Standard Time (IST), which is UTC +2. Kindly ensure that all submissions and other steps are completed by the specified time in accordance with IST.
The IFDH Scientific Committee and Host AIDI do their utmost to ensure that all work is of the highest quality with respect to content. Neither the IFDH Scientific Committee, the IFDH, or AIDI can guarantee the accuracy of the data and information presented by the author and/or speaker. The authors are solely responsible for the content of their presentations and their opinions should not be considered to be that of the Scientific Committee, the IFDH, or AIDI, or interpreted as support or endorsement.