Ziauddin College of Dentistry conducts a Symposium on “Diagnosis” Karachi: 29th January, 2014 – The Ziauddin College of Dentistry (ZCD) organized an insightful seminar on “Diagnosis – The key to successful treatment”. The Symposium featured numerous renowned dental experts and professional academicians as speakers, including; Professor Dr. Navid Rashid Qureshi – Principal of Liaquat College of Medicine & Dentistry, Prof. Dr. Zubair Ahmad Abbasi – Principal of Dental Section at KMDC, Prof. Dr. Kashif Ikram – Principal of Baqai Dental College, Dr. Noor ul Wahab Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Department at ZCD, Dr. Dinaz Gandhi – Head of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery at Altamash Institute of Dentistry and Dr. Atif Bashir – Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Department of ZCD. The key organizer of this programme was Dr. Afifa Razi along with other members of the Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnosis at ZCD. The main topic of Prof. Dr. Zubair Ahmed Abbasi's speech was a discussion on “Basic tools of Oral Diagnosis”. He advised the dentists to look beyond the teeth and bone, through the patient's clinical history and clinical examination. This will enable them to arrive at an accurate diagnosis of oral disease and also preempt the patient about numerous other diseases in other parts of his body. Non-healing ulcers or disease in the mouth can indicate serious ailments. An accurate diagnosis can help the dentists in saving the patients from unnecessary, aggressive or incorrect treatments. Prof. Dr. Kashif Ikram enlightened the participants about “The advantages of Miswaak – A forgotten tradition”. The highlight of his lecture was the better hygiene and natural healing properties of the Miswaak stick. His advice to the dentists was to “treat the patient – not just the teeth”. Dr. Kashif briefly discussed some issues of Removable Prosthetics (Dentures). Dr. Noor ul Wahab spoke on “Premalignant conditions and lesions”, while Dr. Atif Bashir discussed the topic of “Trigeminal Neuralgia” in detail, and Dr. Dinaz Gandhi made an informative presentation on “Bleeding disorders”. Dr. Navid Rashid stated that; Over the past several decades, the vital importance of history and clinical examination for accurate diagnosis has not changed at all. The range of investigation has expanded drastically, however the above-average, successful dentists still rely more on history and examination. Investigation helps you reach the right diagnosis in only 10% of the cases. In 90% of the cases, it is the history and clinical exam that lead you to accurate diagnosis. Dentists must listen to the patient, while asking open-ended questions about his dental problems. Clear communication and respect is the key to learning directly from the patient. Closely observe the patient as he walks through the clinic to reach the dental chair. Notice his condition and abnormalities. Dentists should assume more responsibility and professional accountability. Do everything to make sure that the patient does not feel the need to keep coming back to the dental clinics. Towards the end of the Symposium, the Principal of ZCD – Prof. Dr. Nuzhat Hasan, along with the Vice Chancellor of Ziauddin University – Prof. Dr. Peerzada Qasim distributed the Mementos among the speakers and thanked the participants for making this programme a resounding success.
