Malaysia: Malaysian International Orthodontic Conference and Exhibition (MIOCE) was organised by Malaysian Orthodontic Practitioner’s Association (MOPA), which was held from 15th–17th October 2022 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Dr Irfan Qamruddin was invited as a keynote speaker in the event. Three general dentists from Karachi, Pakistan and one from Kabul, Afghanistan, who are all certified Orthodontic practitioners and alumni of Irfan’s Institute of clinical Orthodontics (IIOCO), participated in a case presentation competition to attain fellowship of MOPA.
It is a proud moment for the country to announce that four students Dr Najia Ilyas and Dr Maryam Kazman (from Afghanistan), Dr Gul Owais, and Dr Danial Ashraf represented IIOCO in MIOCE conference and got their fellowship from MOPA.
Dr Najia Ilyas’s case also got the best-case award and won 1000 Malaysian ringgits. Dr Maryam Kazman is originally from Afghanistan and her journey wasn’t easy. She is brave and committed towards her passion and regardless of all the hurdles in the form of interrogations and traveling via bus, she managed to achieve her fellowship from Malaysia. As a token of appreciation, she received a symbol of friendship in the form of royal ring from Dato’ Prof Dr Hashim Yaacob. Dr Gul Owais is a private dental practitioner and director of F&G Cosmodental and is devoted towards providing excellent services to her patients. Dr Daniyal Ashraf is also a private dental practitioner, he is also associated with Baqai Dental College and educating facilitator at IIOCO.
IIOCO is a recognized institute for teaching and learning orthodontics in Pakistan which is run by Prof Dr Irfan Qamruddin. So far IIOCO has trained more than 125 dentists. The certification course of orthodontics from IIOCO is not just popular in Pakistan but also gaining recognition internationally. The crash course has been introduced for international students or for such students who want to learn orthodontics from Prof Dr Irfan Qamruddin and cannot visit frequently. IIOCO has also designed advanced orthodontic courses for those general practitioners who are treating their cases confidently and want to take one step beyond their capacity.
The institute had collaborated with Malaysian Orthodontic Practitioner Association (MOPA) before Covid and their training program got accepted. IIOCO created a route for their students to attain fellowship from MOPA. After finishing a certificate course from IIOCO, students are required to submit one orthodontic case and present that case in Malaysian International Orthodontic Conference (MIOCE) and get fellowship from MOPA.
The institution has been playing its part for the development of dental community in Pakistan and hopefully will be collaborating with other parts of the world as well.
