How Gum Health Day 2026 begins a three-year campaign to empower lives

Gum Health Day now follows a new long-term format built around a three-year campaign centred on empowering people’s lives. The overarching slogan is “Gum health: empowering lives”, with each year focusing on a different aspect of empowerment. In 2026, the emphasis is on empowering lives through knowledge, followed by self-care in 2027 and wellbeing in 2028.

In the first year of the campaign, our goal is to provide patients with the knowledge they need to understand why gum health is important not only for oral health but also for overall health and quality of life. Scientific evidence must be translated into simple, accessible language that helps people understand why healthy gums matter throughout every stage of life.

Over the last 12 years of Gum Health Day, we have learnt that changing behaviour requires consistency. Each year previously had a different campaign approach, slogan, and target group. But if we really want to help patients adopt healthier habits and take better care of their oral health, we need to reinforce the same core messages over time. That is why we have adopted a three-year strategy designed to create a movement rather than a moment.

Putting the patient at the centre

This new campaign places the patient firmly at the centre of communication. Gum health still receives less attention than other aspects of oral health. Dental professionals clearly understand the importance of gum health, but many members of the public still underestimate gum disease because it is often painless in its early stages. Swollen or bleeding gums are frequently ignored, even though they may already indicate inflammation that can affect systemic health.

Many people are highly focused on the appearance of their smile and are constantly exposed to advertising about whitening products and aesthetic dentistry. However, we need to emphasize that healthy and attractive teeth depend on healthy surrounding tissues. Function, comfort, aesthetics, and wellbeing all begin with healthy gums.

The target audience of the campaign is therefore the patient, and the aim is to encourage people to take a more holistic view of their health. Gum Health Day initiatives are designed to communicate clear and practical messages in language that patients can easily understand and apply in daily life.

To support this effort, the EFP has developed educational materials for its 47 national societies and its industry partners. We are translating and adapting material from previous EFP campaigns developed together with our partners on the links between periodontitis and systemic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and pregnancy complications including pre-eclampsia. These materials help explain to patients that oral health cannot be separated from general health. The resources developed for Gum Health Day are intended to provide trustworthy, evidence-based information for both patients and oral-health professionals. This is especially important given the growing body of evidence linking periodontitis with numerous systemic conditions.

Campaign builder

We have also created a “campaign builder” on our website, while campaign slogans and educational resources have already been translated into around 30 languages. This allows national societies, dental practices, and partners to adapt posters and social-media content to their local audiences while maintaining a unified global message.

Social media is becoming increasingly important in patient communication. Dental professionals are now using platforms such as Instagram and TikTok to provide oral-health information and engage with patients more directly. At the same time, misinformation online represents a growing challenge. The Gum Health Day campaign therefore provides high-quality scientific material and professionally designed resources that dental professionals can use confidently in their own communication activities.

At the same time, we should also communicate that healthy gums contribute to fresher breath, better chewing ability, greater self-confidence, and overall wellbeing. These are benefits that patients can immediately relate to in everyday life.

It is clear that we must recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Effective communication requires time, empathy, and individualized guidance adapted to each patient’s needs and expectations. Moving in that direction, we also plan to upload videos that tell stories from real patients, how they experience periodontal disease, and how their life has changed through treatment and maintaining good oral health.

As we seek to empower lives through knowledge, it is essential that we communicate scientific information in ways that are meaningful, practical, and capable of creating long-term behavioural change. I believe that this new three-year campaign gives us the opportunity to achieve exactly that.