On Wednesday, November 12, 2025, Monique van der Veen, professor of Collaboration on Oral Health (SAM), will deliver her speech at the Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA) in Amsterdam, starting at 1:00 p.m. The speech will be preceded by a symposium.
You can register for the symposium and/or the lecture speech via this link. Pre-registration is required.
Monique is appointed at Inholland University of Applied Sciences. The professorship is part of Inholland’s Health, Sport, and Welfare domain and is affiliated with the Centre of Expertise Prevention in Care & Welfare. Monique also works as a professor at the Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam.
Working together on oral health
“Oral diseases such as caries and periodontitis are among the most common lifestyle diseases and the most costly diseases in the Netherlands. There is a clear interaction between oral health and overall health. Yet the mouth remains completely out of the picture in the prevention agreement on lifestyle-related diseases. Meanwhile, there are significant health disparities: 1.5 million Dutch adults cannot afford to go to the dentist.”
Oral health is a reflection of a person’s overall health, both physical and mental. Oral health is often closely related to a person’s socioeconomic status. Unfortunately, people in vulnerable circumstances have less access to care and fewer opportunities to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
The SAM research group is committed to reducing health inequalities in oral care by integrating it as a fully-fledged part of the care and welfare disciplines. By working together with citizens, care clients, and professional stakeholders: public care, healthcare, social care, welfare, education, government, and science. Good cooperation starts with a good conversation.
In her speech, Monique shares her vision on collaborating on the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases. The desired behavior for achieving or maintaining a healthy mouth overlaps significantly with the behavior desired for the prevention of other lifestyle-related diseases. By working together and making use of each other’s knowledge and insights, we can effectively reduce health and welfare risks. In this way, we can jointly develop solutions that encourage healthy choices – at the individual level, within organizations, and at the national level – for example, among healthcare providers, health insurers, and municipalities.
Program: (more details in Dutch)
1:00 p.m. – Reception
1:30 p.m. – Symposium
3:00 p.m. – Break
3:30 p.m. – Lectureship speech and inauguration
4:30 p.m. – Festive snacks and drinks
