Dentsply Sirona Champions Women in Dentistry
On International Women’s Day (IWD) 2026, Dentsply Sirona reaffirms its commitment to advancing women in dentistry—throughout the practice, on the conference stage, and in leadership—through a growing portfolio of global partnerships, speaker development programs, and events that reflect this year’s IWD theme: Give To Gain.
The dental profession is undergoing a significant demographic shift. Women now account for over 60% of practicing dentists across Europe,1 more than 54% of dental school entrants in the United States,2 and 75% of all dentists in Finland.3 As women increasingly shape the future of oral healthcare, ensuring equal access to leadership opportunities, visibility, and professional development has never been more important.
In line with its global sustainability strategy “BEYOND: Taking Action for a Brighter World,” Dentsply Sirona is committed to supporting women at every stage of their careers – from students and clinicians to dental technicians and industry leaders. This International Women’s Day, the company highlights a series of initiatives that embody the spirit of giving back to create lasting, collective gain.
Women in Dentistry Rise: Building Community at Chicago Midwinter
As a founding organization of the Women in Dentistry (WID) Rise breakfast event, Dentsply Sirona once again proudly supported this annual networking event during the Chicago Midwinter Meeting. With 350 participants spanning dentists, dental hygienists, technicians, industry professionals, and journalists – the event featured two panel discussions: “The Art of Saying ‘No’ to Maximize Personal & Professional Growth” and “How to Thrive in Diverse Teams by Leveraging Individual & Team Strengths.” To extend the conversation year-round, a dedicated LinkedIn page has now launched, inviting the wider community to connect and engage.
“WID Rise’s purpose is to provide opportunities for women in the dental industry to engage, share, inspire, enrich, and elevate one another,” said Melanie Lecours, VP, Commercial Operations at Dentsply Sirona. “While the gender and ethnicity composition of dental school graduates is changing, much of the surrounding industry does not reflect this change. Our goal is to create a platform for authentic, positive connection that empowers greater leadership and influence of women professionals in the field.”
Amplifying Women’s Voices Through Speaker Development
As part of its commitment to advancing women in dentistry, Dentsply Sirona invests in speaker development programs that help elevate women’s voices, visibility, and leadership across the profession – driving impact that extends far beyond individual careers.
“The realization that sharing my expertise creates a ripple effect of better patient care worldwide was powerful,” said Dr. Sara Mahmood, owner of six dental practices in the US and a past participant in Dentsply Sirona’s FirstTo50 Women’s Speaker Development Program. “With their distinctive lived experiences as clinicians, caregivers, and patients, women’s voices are essential to shaping the future of oral healthcare.”
Women in DSO®: Empowering Future Leaders of the Dental Industry
As a founding member and long-standing partner of Women in DSO® – an organization dedicated to empowering women in dental service organizations and cultivating future industry leaders – Dentsply Sirona provides additional mentorship and speaking opportunities. This year, the company is participating in the Women in DSO® Empower and Grow Conference, March 5–7 in Las Vegas, and plans to engage women practitioners through future R&D focus groups to help shape ongoing product development and innovation.
About Dentsply Sirona
Dentsply Sirona is the world’s largest diversified manufacturer of professional dental products and technologies, with over a century of innovation and service to the dental industry and patients worldwide. Dentsply Sirona develops, manufactures, and markets a comprehensive solutions offering, including dental and oral health products as well as other consumable medical devices under a strong portfolio of world-class brands.
Dentsply Sirona’s innovative products provide high-quality, effective, and connected solutions to advance patient care and deliver better and safer dental care. Dentsply Sirona is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s shares are listed in the United States on Nasdaq under the symbol XRAY.
Visit www.dentsplysirona.com for more information about Dentsply Sirona and its products.
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This information and any attachment thereto contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are not guarantees of future performance. These forward-looking statements reflect views and assumptions regarding expectations and projections about future events and are based on currently available information or information available on the date of any document incorporated by reference. You can generally identify these forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “may,” “could,” “estimate,” “will,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “think,” “intend,” “expect,” “project,” “plan,” “target,” “forecast,” and similar words and expressions. However, these words are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.
In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements and may include statements relating to future revenues, expenses, margins, profitability, net income/(loss), earnings per share, and other measures of results of operations and the prospects of future growth of our business. These forward-looking statements are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. For a discussion of such risks, uncertainties, and other matters that could cause actual results to differ materially, including risks relating to, among other factors, the market for dental products and services, pricing, future sales volume of the Company’s products, the possibility of changing economic, market, and competitive conditions, dependence on products, dependence on key personnel, technological developments, intense competition, market uncertainties, dependence on distributors, ability to manage growth, dependence on key suppliers, dependence on key members of management, government regulation, and our ability to integrate the businesses of Dentsply Sirona, acquisitions, and affiliations, readers are urged to carefully review and consider various disclosures made by the Company and Dentsply Sirona in their public filings, including in their Annual Reports on Form 10-K and in their reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document or the attachments to reflect new information or future events or developments after the date any such statement is made.
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REFERENCES
1,2 Chairside to Leadership: Challenges Women Face in Dentistry | DEXIS; 07/29/2025
3 The women breaking barriers in dentistry | American Dental Association; 07/29/2025
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