Date Added: 26/08/2008
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Dr John McLean OBE (standing on the right) talks to delegates.
800 DELEGATES attended the congress from Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Europe, Israel, Lebanon, Ukraine and Egypt. Held in the five star Hawaii Beach
Hotel on the outskirts of Limassol, the congress opened at a ceremony on the evening of 26 June followed by a Welcome cocktail Reception, writes John Stanfield EDH.
On Thursday morning the serious business got under way with lectures from Ernst Hegenbarth MDT (Germany), 'Quality first, modem metal-ceram­ics versus high strength aluminum-oxide restora­tions' and Dr Domenico Massironi (Italy), 'The pre­cision in prosthetic restora­tion'. These were followed by John Hubbard (UK)

Ceramics 'Capturing the natural look'. In the adja­cent hall was Prof Pavlos Garefis (Greece), speaking on 'Occlusal equilibration of fixed prosthesis' .
The main lecture of the day was by Dr John McLean OBE (UK) on 'Dentine bonding agents versus glass ionomer cements'. He discussed techniques and materials used in relation to the cementation of crowns and inlays. He voiced doubts about the "one step solu­tion" and was concerned with light-cured ionomers due to the HEMA uptake of water. He also pointed out the anti-cariogenic effect of glass ionomers thanks to the uptake and release of fluoride.

Afternoon lectures came from Vassilis Mavromatis (Greece), Dr Camille Nader (Lebanon), Dr Nicos Antonopoulos (Cyprus) and Prof Jean-Marie Megarban (Lebanon). The remainder of the afternoon and evening was free to enjoy the sights of Cyprus

First to take the platform on Friday morning was Naoki Aiba (Japan/USA). He spoke on 'Infinite possi­bilities/Go beyond your pre­sent boundaries' and Brian Conroy MBE (UK) who looked at 'The role of model planning systems in cranio­-facial surgery'. Brian is chief maxillofacial technol­ogist at Queen Mary's Hospital, London. He described the application of three-dimensional planning model systems whose sole function is to provide a "source of information". Using a 3-D model the oper­ation could be tested and retested until templates could be constructed to allow the surgeon to complete the operation without complication.
Dr Alexandros Grous (Greece) spoke about 'Factors influencing the failure of prosthodontic reconstructions' and Nicola Pietrobon (Switzerland), lectured on 'Co-operative goals in dental technology and dentistry'.


Osseointegration caused a buzz
For the next and main lecture of that day there was a real buzz of excite­ment as Prof Per-Ingvar Branemark took the stand. He took us through osseointegration and its developments, and how it is his belief that the loss of a single tooth has an effect on the quality of life. This loss he says can be repaired with osseointegration.
In dental implants his multi centre studies have shown stability in 95 per cent maxilla and 99 per cent mandibular cases. He showed radiographs of fix­tures placed in the zygoma and pterygoid which will support dental prosthesis. Next he showed how in patients with osteoarthritis they had replaced the fin­ger joints with implants and precision joints, returning "Quality of Life". Then on to amputees who had problems with their nonnal prosthesis, so by placing implants into the end of the bone and using a precision attach­ment onto the prosthesis the "Quality of Life" is returned. These patients now also report that they have osseo-perception.
The unenviable task of following Prof Branemark fell to Prof Peter Schrer (Switzerland) who spoke on 'Esthetics in implantology'.
At the start of day three our first lecture was given by the furthest travelled, Fred Latham (Australia) who looked at 'Poor plan­ning and its consequences'. This was followed by Dr Nikos Kafandaris (Greece) talking about 'Functionally generated Path Technique for implant supported fixed ceramometal partial den­tures' and Michael Kedge (UK) All Ceramic Restoration 'Inceram'. Next came a panel discus­sion by Pantelas, Martis and Conroy on 'Esthetics and function rehabilitation, oral and facial defects'.
Final lectures came from Dr Sebastian Schmidinger (Gennany) and Dr Graham White KC OM (UK). The congress closed with presentations for free papers and abstracts. A Farewell Gala Dinner was held at the poolside of the Hawaii Beach Hotel.

John Stanfield is a well­ travelled dental hygienist now working in private practice in Cheshire.