World Cavity-Free Future Day (#WCFFday) takes place on 14th October 2026, inviting people across the world to speak up for better oral health. Launched in 2016 by the Alliance for a Cavity-Free Future (ACFF), the day has spent a decade raising awareness of dental caries, commonly known as tooth decay, and bringing people together around the actions needed to prevent it. ACFF itself was founded in 2010 and works with dental and public health professionals, researchers, educators, policymakers and communities to advance a cavity-free future across the lifecourse.
This year’s campaign recognises that cavity prevention matters at every age and every stage of life. From the earliest years through adulthood and later life, people need opportunities to prevent disease, identify it early and receive effective care. Yet the ability to stay healthy is shaped by more than individual choices. Access to services, the cost of care and the priority given to oral health in public policy all make a difference.
That is why the 2026 message reaches beyond the dental chair: oral health is health. The mouth is part of the body, and oral health affects how people eat, speak, feel and take part in everyday life. ACFF is calling for oral health to be made visible, funded adequately and embedded in health systems for the long-term. Prevention and essential care need a clear place in primary healthcare, universal health coverage and wider policies on noncommunicable diseases.
These priorities are relevant in every region, although the path to putting them into practice will differ between countries. One example is the Cyprus Declaration on Oral Health in Europe, which brings international oral health commitments into a shared European agenda. It reflects the same wider ambition at the heart of this year’s campaign: to make prevention and care more accessible, give oral health a lasting place in health policy, and turn shared commitments into action.
World Cavity-Free Future Day is an opportunity to build that momentum globally. On 14th October, we invite individuals, organisations and communities everywhere to help move oral health up the global health agenda. Share the campaign on social media, explain why oral health matters to you or your community, and encourage others to add their voices. Every post and share can help carry the message further: oral health deserves to be seen, supported and included in health systems at every age and every stage.
Join the conversation. Make the mouth heard.
Useful resources:
- ACFF’s story
- World Cavity-Free Future Day
- What is dental caries?
- Preventive interventions to maintain optimum oral health
- Fluoride facts versus fiction
