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I recently had the great pleasure of visiting Helsinki, Finland, to attend the European Society of Endodontology\u2019s Biennial Congress 2023.<\/p>\nI recently had the great pleasure of visiting Helsinki, Finland, to attend the European Society of Endodontology\u2019s Biennial Congress 2023.<\/p>\n
Helsinki, the capital of Finland, proved to be a wonderful host city. Known as one of the happiest countries in the world, Finland did not disappoint. The city’s vibrant atmosphere and friendly locals made for a welcoming and enjoyable stay.<\/p>\n
Although similarities abound, the European Society of Endodontology (ESE) and their Biennial Congress has a somewhat different focus than the AAE and our annual meetings. The Congress was aimed at the entire dental team, including ESE specialist members, certified members, guest, postgraduate student, and dental nurse members, as well as representatives of the national societies affiliated with the ESE. Endodontists, general dental practitioners, postgraduate students, clinical academics, scientists, hospital-based dentists, and colleagues from the dental industry were all encouraged to attend.<\/p>\n
The Scientific Program was extensive and diverse. It featured pre-congress courses, multiple lecture halls with specific focuses, symposia, sponsored lectures, prize competitions, oral presentations, and more. The range of topics covered allowed attendees to delve deep into the knowledge-base and clinical techniques in Endodontics.<\/p>\n
In addition to the scientific program, there were various social events that provided opportunities for networking and catching up with colleagues. The Opening Ceremony and Welcome Reception set the tone for the congress, while the ESE Reception and Congress Dinner offered further chances to connect with fellow attendees.<\/p>\n
I was honored to be participate as a panelist with two British colleagues, Drs. Obyda Essam and Shannon Patel, in Symposium 5: \u201cCase Assessment and Artificial Intelligence\u201d, Part 1: \u201cCase Assessment Apps and Tools\u201d. I delivered a well-received presentation on AAE\u2019s Endo Case app. I was very impressed by my co-panelists\u2019 assessment tools; one an advanced endodontic case assessment tool and the other, a dental practicality index to determine restorability and by my colleagues\u2019 commitment to demonstrating the validity of these instruments as assessment tools.<\/p>\n
President-Elect Dr. Natasha Flake, Executive Director Ken Widelka, and I had a productive meeting with ESE leadership, where we discussed our current collaboration, the updating of endodontic diagnostic terminology.\u00a0 The senior representative from AAE in this initiative is past president, Dr. Alan Law, and the senior representative from ESE is their president-elect Dr. Hal Duncan.\u00a0 Opportunities for future collaborations were also considered.<\/p>\n
While at the ESE Congress we attended both the Board of Directors meeting and the General Assembly of the International Federation of Endodontic Associations (IFEA).\u00a0 AAE will be hosting IFEA\u2019s World Endodontic Congress (WEC) in NYC in 2028 and I presented an update on the planning of this meeting.\u00a0 IFEA will hold WECs in Glasgow, Scotland in 2024 and in Sydney, Australia in 2026. These experiences remind me that we are part of a great world of endodontics, and I value our collaborations with international groups.<\/p>\n
IFEA is spearheading the upcoming World Endodontic Day on October 16, which the AAE plans to celebrate. It will include a Global Endodontic Symposium<\/a> with presentations by Dr. James Guttman and Dr. Lars Anderson. Learn more at https:\/\/www.ifeaendo.org\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n Celebrating World Endodontic Day aligns nicely with the AAE\u2019s Worth Saving campaign which for a number of years now has broadcast the value of endodontics and endodontists to the world. This comes directly from our Strategic Goal 1: The public will value saving their natural teeth and seek endodontists \u2013 the specialists in saving teeth \u2013 for their care<\/em>.\u00a0 An essential part of this is understanding what an endodontist does and how endodontists are different than general dentists.<\/p>\n In pursuit of this goal, I will be taking to the airwaves on a Satellite Media Tour. From a studio in New York City, I will take part in 20 or so interviews, with news stations throughout the country, all in the course of a single day (October 13).<\/p>\n This won\u2019t be the first time the AAE\u2019s has had a media presence in Manhattan \u2013 in the past, we\u2019ve had three Times Square billboards, and we\u2019re planning another one next May for Save Your Tooth Month!<\/p>\n While it\u2019s important to make a big splash in an obvious way, it\u2019s also critical to understand that everything we do relates back to our strategic plan. Every activation is the result of meticulous planning by our Marketing and Communications team.<\/p>\n One day of the upcoming AAE Interim Board of Directors Meeting will be devoted to a strategic planning exercise to update our current 2022-2025 plan.\u00a0 This meeting will take place October 6th<\/sup> and 7th<\/sup> in conjunction with ADA Smile Con.<\/p>\n Goal 1 has remained the same through the duration of both past iterations of the AAE\u2019s Strategic Plan (2017\u20132020 and the latest 2022\u20132025 plan) and therefore it\u2019s been around for the entirety of our Worth Saving campaign, informing everything we do. The latest Strategic Plan, however, has a slew of new outcomes, KPIs and tactics tailored for our new media age. For 2023-2024, they include:<\/p>\n