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Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition

The Inauguration of the Fujairah International Dental Conference by Dr. Nabeel Humood Alsabeeha, Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Editorial Board T he Fujairah Medical District in col- laboration with the Fujairah Den- tal Center opened its first Fujairah International Dental Conference. The event was held at the Concorde Ho- tel, in the heart of the city of Fujairah, and spanned over 3 days from the 15th to the 17th of November 2012. Speakers from Sweden, United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates presented valu- able papers in the various fields of dentist- ry including Oral surgery, Endodontics, Prosthodontics, Implantology and Ortho- dontics. Aside from the oral presentations, there were three workshops, a poster com- petition, and a trade exhibition that were held which attracted a huge number of par- ticipants. The number of registered partic- ipants was a little over 500, surpassing the initial estimations of 300. The event was at- tended by Dr Aisha Sultan Alsuwaidi, Di- rector of Dental Services at the Ministry of Health and President of the Dental Society of the Emirates Medical Association who commended the members of the organizing committee for their impressive work. ic changes to a patient’s facial contours and function brought about by what is es- sentially an elective procedure. The virtu- ally instantaneous changes may challenge the patient’s ability to adapt to his or her new face. Since precise prediction of the outcome is not possible, both surgeon and orthodontist need to ascertain the patient’s expectations thoroughly, along with an as- sessment of the psychological status In her quality presentation titled “Auto- transplantation: an interdisciplinary ap- proach”, Dr. Tumadher Al Musfir took an in depth look at material on the subject gathered over many years at the Univer- sity of Leeds. Since all options for replac- ing a missing anterior tooth (or one with poor prognosis) have their drawbacks, au- totransplantation of a tooth which would otherwise be extracted can be a valid op- tion, when carefully carried out. This pre- condition includes selection of the trans- plant, optimal stage of root development, and minimizing trauma to the periodontal ligament during extraction and implanta- tion into the alveolus, followed by splint- ing and recalls. The last presenter of the day was Dr. Thomas Lietz speaking on the topic “Facts, fiction and unknown things about mini- implants”. He pointed out that even after thirty years of mini-screw busage; much of what is known about their behavior is still fiction rather than fact. There is no consen- sus yet on design features such as length, diameter, thread design, and neck and head dimensions, which explains the multi- tude of screws on the market. Neither does consensus exist on aspects such as optimal sites, mode of insertion, loading mode, and the reasons behind success or failure. Over- all, this lecture gave the audience material for thought, and made them question the claims made by manufacturers and pre- senters. The first post-conference course was held on January 7, 2013, and was given by Pro- fessor Donald Ferguson. He spoke on “Rapid orthodontics from A to Z”. Where- as his conference lecture gave an overview of this revolutionary technique, the course went into much greater detail. He includ- ed in its scope the very recent concepts of extraoral and intraoral photomodulation and shockwave therapy which have shown promising initial results. All of the meth- ods mentioned have one characteristic in common: they do not stimulate tissue turn- over in the periodontal ligament as much as they cause an osteopenia. The resultant increased bone remodeling has a positive impact upon treatment stability. The second post-conference course was run simultaneously, and was on “Success with the tomas system – more than just a mini- screw”, delivered by Dr. Thomas Lietz. He set out to explain how to optimize suc- cess with mini-screws and to illustrate the contribution that the tomas pin system can make in this regard. Success starts with de- fining treatment goals and carries through with selecting the optimal insertion site based upon anatomical as well as biome- chanical factors. The tomas mini-screw is part of a larger range of auxiliary compo- nents which assist in solving even the most complex cases. In the ‘hands-on’ part of this course participants had the opportuni- ty to work with tomas pins. Risks and com- plications of mini-screw use were also dis- cussed. Overall, the 1st Qatar International Orth- odontic Conference was a resounding suc- cess with nothing but positive feedback from the more than 350 participants. The same affirming comments were received By Dr. Khaled Abouseada, BDS, MS, Orthod. cert. - khaledseada@yahoo.com Contact Information from the exhibitors, with over fourteen companies represented. Spurned by a wave of support and encouragement, the orga- nizing committee intends to arrange simi- lar conferences in the future on a biannual basis. The interested public will be kept in- formed in due time. Acknowledgement: Sincere gratitude is paid to Prof. em. Dr. med. dent. Henno Rainer-Reginald Mi- ethke and Dr. Keith Alpine, BDS DDS MS FDS RCS(EDIN) for their most valuable as- sistance with preparation of this report. DENTAL TRIBUNE Middle East & Africa Edition | Jan-Feb 2013 35EVENTS

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