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Shifting the paradigm of dental education and organization

· Day-2, 1ST UHS-International Dental Conference

By Dr Afifa Ehsan

With the theme of 'Collaborate, Innovate and Cure', 1st UHS International Dental Conference is being conducted under the auspices of the University of Health Sciences at Expo Centre, in Lahore, from October 3rd-6th, 2019. Speakers from across the globe and delegates from all over the country are attending in large numbers. 

The scientific sessions on day 2 were extremely informative with high-quality presentations by invited speakers. The conference housed various scientific sessions wherein state of the art lectures were delivered by foreign and local experts. 

          First plenary session started with a lecture by Prof. Dr Nazia Yazdanie on her long-term clinical experience: “The journey of toothache…” It was followed by Dr Jayanie Weeratna’s lecture who elaborated dental evidence in disaster victim identification. In the next talk, Dr Hytham Abdel-Aziz talked about the era of minimally invasive endodontics and microscope enhanced treatment. Final lecture of the session was delivered by Dr Nader Hamdan who shared his thoughts about functional and aesthetic crown-lengthening. The session was chaired by Prof. Dr Ambreen Afzal with Dr Zahra Moeen and Dr Noor ul Huda as moderators.

         Second plenary session was chaired by Prof. Dr Asif Naqvi with Prof. Dr Nauman Rauf Khan as the moderator. In his lecture, Prof. Abid Ashar shared his experience with condylar positioning, a critical step in orthognathic surgery. It was followed by Dr Andrew Edwards who discussed his views on “Orbital trauma – The enopthalmic orbit”. Prof. Jagjit Singh Dhaliwal enlightened the audience about the role and scope of a dentist in maintaining oral health in palliative patients. It was followed by Dr Thantrira Prontaveetus’s speech who discussed rare diseases in precision medicine and dentistry. In his lecture, Dr M. Abdelmajeed Abualhaj talked about the magic of shade matching in the era of digital dentistry. The session ended with a lecture by Prof. Col. (R) Iffat Batool in which she talked about smile esthetics. 

          Third plenary session was chaired by Prof. Dr Abida Ijaz with Dr Sarah Rabbani as the moderator. Prof. Amjad Wyne shed light on oral Midazolam as a valued choice in pediatric dental sedation. It was followed by Dr Abdelrahman T. Ali who talked about the treatment of diastema closure and black triangle with direct composite using Bioclear™ method. In her lecture, Dr Hebah A Faden explained as to why special care dentistry mattered. Dr Ahmed Chaudhry shared his views regarding levels of serum inflammatory markers in pre-dialysis chronic kidney disease patients with chronic periodontitis following non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT). It was followed by Prof. Sibel Elif Gultekin who spoke about the molecular characterization of odontogenic tumors. Prof. Torun Ozer concluded the session with his talk on “CBCT data for complex clinical orthodontics”.

          On the second of the Conference, along with the main scientific programme UHS planned two exclusive sessions. First special session was allocated to “Oral-systemic connection” by Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine, which was chaired by Prof. Khawaja Sadiq Hussain with Prof. Tariq Waseem as moderator. Dr M. Zaman Khan talked about the importance of oral cavity examination in diagnosing systemic diseases. It was followed by Prof. M. Abbas Khokar, who explained gingival manifestations of systemic illness. In his talk, Prof. Nighat Mir shared his views about aphthous ulcers as markers of systemic illness. Prof. Nadeem Afzal shed light on the immunological aspects of oral health. It was followed by Prof. Aziz Ur Rehman who discussed dental health & heart. Prof. Mazhair Hassan was the final speaker of the session who discussed Oro-dental markers of brain health.

First Oral presentations session was jointly moderated by Dr Rabia Safdar and Dr Safi Ullah Khan. Dr Maliha Shahbaz talked about Photo-functionalized titanium implants and their correlation with bone density and marginal bone loss. It was followed by Dr Muhammad Azhar who explained histopathological features of temporomandibular joint ankylosis in growing male Wistar rats. Dr Safi Ullah Khan compared salivary irisin levels in patients with chronic periodontitis and healthy individuals. In his presentation, Dr Gul Muhammad explained changes required in the contemporary dental curriculum. Dr Kinza Aslam shared her views about the challenges of implementing an integrated curriculum in dentistry. In the final presentation, Dr Zartashia Arooj discussed temperature-dependent dimensional changes of composites with low filler content.

The second special session was allocated to “Regulatory Affairs Concerning Dentistry & Dental Suppliers” by Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), which was jointly moderated by Dr Hina Nasim and Dr Talaya Zahid. Dr Ghazanfar Ali Khan gave a snapshot of regulatory requirements for dental and medical devices. It was followed by Dr Asim Rauf who gave an overview of regulatory affairs in biomedical and dental devices and materials from DRAP.

Second Oral presentations session was jointly moderated by Dr Sadaf Wairs and Dr Asma Saeed. Dr Muhammad Hassan talked about the determination of age in 1st year MBBS students in KEMU by assessing Dental Age, osteological age. It was followed by Dr Rabia Safdar who explained Matrix metalloproteinase 9 as a prognostic marker for SCC. Dr Saira Khalid talked about the effect of grape seed extract on shear bond strength at resin-dentin interface. Dr Zahoor Ahmed Rana talked about the diversity of ossifying fibroma, sporadic, familial multiple syndromes. In his presentation, Col. Dr Abdul Razzaq Malik explained the rehabilitation of facial deformities with dental implants. Dr Muhammad Ehsan ul Haq shared his views about surgical outcomes regarding distinctive giant orofacial tumors. Dr Quratul Ain Zafar discussed the comparison of 980nm Diode laser and Q-Mix solution alone and in combination on the removal of smear layer from root canal surface: a scanning electron microscope study. In his presentation, Dr Naauman Zaheer discussed ultraviolet A and ultraviolet C light-induced reduction of surface hydrocarbons and change in surface topography on titanium implants temperature-dependent dimensional changes of composites with low filler content. Dr Noor-ul-huda explained effect of teratogenic doses of Retinoic acid on Shh and Myf-5 Signalling during developing murine tongue tissue. Dr Naureen Sarwar shared results of her study of antibacterial effects of chewing stick extracts on Streptococcus mutans. Dr Faisal Hameed explained the pattern of maxillofacial injuries due to motorcycle-related road traffic accidents at tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. It was followed by Dr Usman Rashid who explained the assessment of Salivary Matrix Metalloproteinase-8 and periodontal status in obese adults with chronic periodontitis. It was followed by Ch. Mujtaba Anwar who presented case series on orthodontic restorative interface. Dr Fareha Saleem presented on "Two-year follow-up of mandibular implants supported fixed complete dentures". The session ended with the final presentation by Dr Attique ur Rehman who shared results of cone-beam computed tomography study about middle mesial canals and isthmi in mandibular molars in Pakistani population.