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44 Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition | March-April 2015interview “There were 3 Olympic Villages separated from each other by dozens kilometers. Each village had its own clinic and each clinic had a dental department including 3 operatories in the coastal village, 2 - in the mountain village and 1 – in the endurance village.” dental diseases. For me it is very encouraging that more than 100 athlete visits were exclusively related to professional hygiene and checkups. What were the challenges and achievements during your ex- perience in Sochi? As I mentioned, we took care not only of athletes, but also the workforce. In fact, we had to take responsibility for more than 10,000 people – more or less the population of a small town. The number of visits were a record for the Winter Olympics - more than 900 of which the athletes had 40% and others 15% - for teams. I would like to show my appreciation to Dr. Paul Pic- cinini, IOC Dental Director for his support and to Dr. Antony Clough, London 2012 Dental Chief for his active assistance, knowledge and experience. I was proud of the ‘Mouthguard Programme’ - about 100 items were made. Perhaps that is why the hockey venue dentists had nothing to do and could just en- joy watching the game. Thanks to the enthusiasm of the team there was an easy and friendly atmosphere in the clinics, our patients happened to just come by to say “hello”. Perhaps the most challenging for me was not to share a tear with Olympic Bear Mascot when the fire of the Games died away. What other partners did you work with who helped you achieve your goals in Sochi? During the clinics equipping, we primarily took care of the quality and reliability of proven solutions the partners can offer. Therefore, a cooperation with Procter & Gamble was not only subject to partnership agree- ments but a personal choice. Going beyond the Olympic Games, has Sochi had an im- pact on you? Sure! Olympic Games are unique events and also it was the first Winter Olympics in my country. I was very happy to be part of it. Despite the hard work we managed to organize a suc- cessful event. I was fortunate to be an eyewitness of some major sporting events as the European Football Championship Final, the Biathlon World Cup finals, major hockey tournaments but the Olympic emotions I cannot convey even in my native lan- guage. Contact details available from the publisher Dr. Nikita Romashko - Chief Dental Advisor for the Department of Health Care and Doping Control of Sochi 2014 By Dental Tribune MEA Dental Tribune MEA: Dr. Niki- ta, a pleasure to interview you. Could you introduce yourself to the readers of Dental Trib- une and your experience as an Oral Surgeon? Dr. Nikita Romashko: In the past century I graduated from the Moscow Medical Stomatol- ogy Institute - a leading dental school of the former USSR. Since then I have gone from intern to the head of a large dental clinic Rudenta in Moscow. Besides treating patients I did a lot of organizing work, collaborated with insurance and assistance companies and acted as a busi- ness development advisor. You were the Chief Dental Ad- visor for the Department of Healthcare and Doping Con- trol during the Sochi Olym- pics in Russia 2014. What re- sponsibilities did this include and how did you manage the overview of the eight dental operatories across the three Olympic Villages? Russia began to prepare for the Winter Olympics years before the event. Four years before the Games we started to develop a detailed plan for dental care. Personally my role was to plan dental services during the prep- aration and coordination of its work during the games, includ- ing the interaction with the na- tional federations and the IOC. Thinking of service we were set- ting the task not to provide ur- gent & necessary treatment only but to improve the dental health of athletes, to solve their present problems and to prevent their future problems as well. Our services applied not only to the athletes and the Olympic family, but also to numerous Organiz- ing Committee workforce and volunteers. There were 3 Olym- pic Villages separated from each other by dozens kilometers. Each village had its own clinic and each clinic had a dental de- partment including 3 operato- ries in the coastal village, 2 - in the mountain village and 1 – in the endurance village. Do not forget about the 2 separate fully equipped dental offices at both hockey arenas, where dentists were present every day during the games and training sessions. Of course, it was a difficult job but thanks to the coordinated work, enthusiasm and devotion of the entire dental team we complied the mission whilst re- ceiving excellent feedback from athletes, team physicians and of- ficials. How did you manage preven- tion and what were the pre- ventive measures you took during the Olympic Games? Prevention - is a long process that cannot be implemented for 2 weeks. Our task was to show the importance of prevention to athletes. In London 2012 and Sochi 2014 Games an Athletes Survey was carried out sup- ported by Procter & Gamble, which showed the athletes’ un- derstanding of the importance of dental health and the link between oral health and train- ing and performance results. Secondly, it was important to show in practice that prevention - is not just an abstract concept, it is a set of certain deeds, both individually and dental profes- sionals assisted, which does im- prove and maintain oral health. Athletes received welcome packs containing dental care ap- pliances by Procter & Gamble, clinics had brushes and pastes, which were distributed among athletes. Besides the hygiene products, Procter & Gamble took care of the patient’s education by providing demonstration mod- els for oral hygiene instructions and brochures about the main Dr. Nikita Romashko - Chief Dental Advisor for the Department of Health Care and Doping Control of Sochi 2014