today EuroPerio8 London 3 June, 2015

The EuroPerio Congress has established itself as the world’s leading conference in periodontology and implant dentistry. EuroPerio8 will take place from 3 to 6 June 2015 at the ExCeL London international exhibition and convention centre.

news6 EUROPERIO London 2015–3 June EuroPerio8 will be officially opened at the ExCeL London Exhi- bition and Convention Centre in London this afternoon. today inter- national had the opportunity to speak with the President of the European Federation of Periodon- tology (EFP), Prof. Søren Jepsen from Germany, in advance about the importance of the event and why he recommends attending it. today international: This week, the EuroPerio conference will be held in the UK for the first time. How was collaborating with the British periodontal so- cieties, and what is your assess- mentofthepreparationsingen- eral? Prof.SørenJepsen:Collaborat- ing with EuroPerio Chairman Prof. Francis Hughes, who lives and works in London, was absolutely fantastic. We all enjoyed his great ideas,enthusiasmandhumourand thank him for the tremendous amount of work. The British Society of Perio- dontology with its president, Prof. Iain Chapple, and chair of the EuroPerioAmbassadorProgramme Prof.NikosDonosinparticular,sig- nificantlycontributedtotheevent. Both the current and past presi- dents of the British Society of Den- tal Hygiene and Therapy, Julie Rosse and Michaela O’Neill, were also highly involved in the local or- ganising committee and thanks to them we will see many dental hy- gienists coming to EuroPerio8. I would also really like to thank the many students from the vari- ous dental schools in London who agreed to volunteer at the event. With over 100 internationally prominent experts, EuroPerio8 will again present an extensive and highly diverse scientific programme. What session can visitors particularly look for- ward to and what are your per- sonal highlights? The scientific programme is re- ally top notch and diverse. There is something for everyone. Scientific Chairman Prof. Mariano Sanz has been very creative and has done a really excellent job. There will be parallel sessions withdifferentthemesandfordiffer- ent target groups, Master Clinician Forums aimed at surgical experts, many sessions dealing with all as- pects of implant therapy, sessions onrealisingmodernperiodonticsin dailypractice,aswellasawholelec- tureseriesaboutthecurrentunder- standingofaetiopathogenesisofpe- riodontitis. All these are presented by the absolute best in their respec- tive fields. Personally,Iamlookingforward tothekeynotelecturesonSaturday, as well as the many short presenta- tions given by our younger genera- tion, who have found an appropri- ateplacewithinthemainscientific programme.Ialsorecommendthat visitors not miss our closing event on Saturday. While I am not sup- posedtorevealmoreinformationat this point, attendees can be sure it will be a cracker! The issue of peri-implantitis is morerelevantthaneverwithan increasing number of implants beingplacedworldwide.Howis this important area reflected in the programme? Several main sessions are de- dicated to this area and there will be a number of internationally renowned experts, including EFP GeneralSecretaryProf.StefanRen- vert and EFP-treasurer Jörg Meyle, who will speak about this issue. Moreover, some of the scientific short presentations will deal with peri-implant disease. The interaction between peri- odontal and general health will alsoplayaprominentrole,starting with a world première of a film on Thursday morning. Willtherebenewofferingscom- pared with the last congress in Vienna? For the first time, we will have the Patient Engagement Session on Wednesday afternoon. There, Prof. Ian Needleman and his team from LondonwillpresentafilmtitledThe Sound of Periodontitis: The Patient’s ViewofGumDisease,whichseeksto show what it means to suffer from periodontitis and to have periodon- tal treatment done from a patient’s perspective. This will be followed by a podium discussion involving patients and clinical experts. Despite a high prevalence, peri- odontal disease still does not at- tract the attention it deserves, even in developed countries. Where do you see the main ob- stacles and what can be done to raise awareness among profes- sionals and the general public? Indeed, we know that more than 50 per cent of the adult population have periodontal disease. Severe periodontitis affects 11 per cent of thepopulationandisthesixthmost prevalentconditionworldwide.Not many people actually know this, as well as the fact that non-treated pe- riodontaldiseasecanhavenegative consequences for one’s general health.Thehighprevalenceofperi- odontal disease is alarming and de- mands significantly higher aware- ness and thorough prevention. Weintendtocommunicatethese messages at a large press event to be held in London. Furthermore, events like EuroPerio significantly helptoincreaseawarenessofthese issues among dental professionals and the general public. The con- gress has already received high in- terest from the profession and we expectupto10,000visitorsfromall over the globe. This demonstrates thatEuroPerio8hasclearlybecome the worldwide largest congress in the fields of periodontics and im- plant dentistry. The afore-mentioned patient symposium is going to strengthen public awareness. Finally, we plan tolaunchaninformationcampaign for Europe that targets public and health officials. In addition to European Peri- odontal Day, your organisation has recently launched a mani- festowiththetitlePerioandGen- eral Health. What do you seek to achieve with this initiative? The goal of European Periodon- tal Day is to increase awareness of the prevalence of periodontal dis- easeanditssignificanceforgeneral health,especiallyamongothermed- ical professions and policymakers. The same message is carried by the manifestoandweinviteeveryoneto supportthismissionbysigningitat www.efp.org/efp-manifesto. Next year, the EFP will be cele- brating its 25th anniversary. How do you see the role of the organisation within dentistry, and what goals are on the agenda for the time being? We will certainly celebrate this anniversary properly at the gen- eral assembly of all national mem- bersocietiesoftheEFPnextyearin Berlin.However,thepartystartsal- ready here in London, where our colleagues and friends from all over the world are assembled. At this point, the EFP is already oneoftheworldwidedrivingforces in the field of periodontics and im- plant dentistry. Its influence on dentistry, particularly through its annual consensus conferences (Eu- ropean workshops) and EuroPerio, should not be underestimated. We also have to to acknowledge the EFP’s Journal of Clinical Periodon- tologywithitseditorProf.Maurizio Tonetti. For the next three years, we are planning to advance our vision of “Periodontal health for a better life”.Forthis,wewillcommunicate the most important findings from ourconsensusconferenceswithre- gard to the interrelationship be- tween oral and general health, as well as the prevention of periodon- tal and peri-implant disease, to the public. As mentioned, we are cur- rently in preparations to launch a European-wide campaign. Thank you very much for the interview. “Thehighprevalenceofperiodontaldiseaseisalarming anddemandssignificantlyhigherawareness” An interview with EFP President Prof.Søren Jepsen,Germany. Prof. Søren Jepsen © viewgame/Shutterstock.com

today EuroPerio8 London 3 June, 2015

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