Dear Colleagues,

In this my last address to you as President I first of all want to express my gratitude for the two-year period you gave me.  It has been challenging, but mostly interesting and fun.  I believe that our Academy has gone through a positive development during this period, and that it has grown both in quantity and quality.  This is not primarily because of me, but rather due to the enthusiastic and skilled work of a number of our representatives of Board, Council and committees.  I am also extremely grateful for the three policy documents that have been worked and will be presented at the Dublin Congress.  The most important tasks achieved during my two-year period are mentioned in my report to the board, Council and General Assembly during the Congress in Dublin, and this is printed elsewhere in this Newsletter.  I hope to see many of you in Dublin, as our Congress activities are the most important for the professional and social development of the Academy.

Kind regards from
Magne Raadal

FUTURE OF THE NEWSLETTER

The EAPD Newsletter is on the EAPD Web site (www.eapd.gr) and I would encourage you to visit the site for information and news items regarding future meetings.  The vast mojority of members have access to the internet and the Academy could save a substantial amount of money if the Newsletter were to be only available on the web site.  It would be most useful if members could contact our Secretary, Nick Lygidakis (lygidakis@enternet.gr) to give their opinions as to whether we still need a Newsletter and whether it should only be on the web site. 

President’s report to EAPD Board, Council and General Assembly - June 2002

Mandate

As announced in my speech as the incoming President during the congress in Bergen two years ago, I have tried to be an initiator, co-ordinator and possibly also a source of inspiration for the Academy, its Board, Committee and Council members, as well as all individual members. 

This report is therefore not a review of my specific actions during my two-year-period, rather than the major EAPD activities, as seen from my point of view.

Communication

Communication between leaders and members is the primary tool for running an organisation as ours, which is spread over a large area. We have had the following:

• Board meetings: 
  ·     Bergen, June 2000 (after the Congress)
  ·     Leeds, October 2000 (in conjunction with the Martin Curzon Retirement Symposium)
  ·     Brussels, March 2001
  ·     Paris, September 2001 (in conjunction with the IAPD congress)
  ·     Dublin, June 2002 (in conjunction with the EAPD congress)

• Newsletter: 5 issues (Sept. 2000, Dec. 2000, May 2001, December 2001, May 2002)

• Web-page (http://www.eapd.gr): Updated in 2001

• E-mail: This has become the most important and extensively used tool for communication between me, the Board and other members.

Major tasks

The Journal

Thanks to a number of persons, first of all the editor Martin Curzon, we have successfully completed two volumes, and have started the third. During this time I have had enough contact with Martin to know that it has been a more or less continuous struggle, to achieve enough papers for each issue, and also the communication with the Italian publishers who are so far away from him. At the end of this year the agreement with the Italian Society for Paediatric Dentistry is coming to an end, and we will have to decide what to do. This will be an important issue for discussion during our meetings in Dublin. 

Web page

The renewal and upgrading of our web page by the Greek group of colleagues, lead by Constantine Oulis, has been extremely important since this media is becoming more and more useful for communication for the EAPD. The establishment of a membership directory available for members only, and also the “Find a Paediatric Dentist”- function, have hopefully been beneficial for many of our members. The web page will obviously be an important “meeting place” for the Academy in the future

Newsletter

As approved by the Council in June 2000, the number of issues per year should be adapted to the actual need, and particularly to the progressing update of the web page. During my two-year period as President, we have issued two Newsletters per year. I suggest that we now evaluate its further reason for existence, or if its purposes can now be fully substituted by the web page. 

Membership

Increasing memberships and membership societies has been a task of high priority for me. It is, however, of similar importance to get an overview of the present member status. It was therefore highly appreciated that our Secretary, Nick Lygidakis, contacted all members for verification of their membership status, and thereby created a sound basis for further statistics and recruitment work.

In the President’s addresses in the Newsletter I have repeatedly encouraged the members to take recruitment initiatives, and I am faithful that these and other efforts will be fruitful. Our plans for initiating intermediate local (national) Society meetings in-between the biannual Congresses, may possibly be one effective way to go, and the Danish society has plans for such a meeting next year.

Equally important as the total number of members is that we maintain a reasonable high competency for active membership, and that the criteria for this kind of membership are founded on justice. This is a difficult matter as long as the education systems in Europe presently are so diverse. I am therefore extremely satisfied that the Credentials Committee now has drafted new and more flexible criteria for active membership, which will be proposed at the General Assembly in Dublin.

Accreditation of education programs

One of the most important goals for the EAPD is to maintain and improve the quality of advanced education in Paediatric Dentistry in Europe. The implementation of The Accreditation Standards for Advanced Education Programs of Paediatric Dentistry in the European Union, outlined by the EAPD Education Committee, is therefore one of the most important milestones in our efforts to reach this goal. The Education Committee visited the Dental Institute in Jonkoping, Sweden, in February last year and the Dental Institute in Leeds in May this year.

I encourage EAPD members who have responsibility for teaching programs in specialised Paediatric Dentistry, to have their curriculum evaluated according to these standards. 

Policy documents

As published in the May 2001 issue of the Newsletter, three committees have been appointed for drafting policy documents in three important issues, namely the use of antibiotics, radiographs and sealants. All three committees have worked out their initial recommendations, and these documents will be presented at the Congress in Dublin. The final recommendations will be published as papers in the Journal and the web page. It seems to me that the nine persons (three for each documents) have done an excellent job for our Academy, and we owe them our deepest gratitude for all their efforts.

EAPD brochure for parents

In collaboration with the MAM Company in Austria, we have made a draft brochure aiming at informing the parents of small children about good oral health habits. The draft brochure is written in English and based on the one that was made by the Hellenic Society of Paediatric Dentistry and written by Specialists of this Academy. The brochure has now been distributed to all Councillors asking their interest for having it produced for their national members in their own language. If so, the MAM Company will sponsor the printing.

The 6^th EAPD Congress in Dublin

The Board has collaborated closely with Billy Fenlon and his committee members in Dublin in their preparation for the 6^th Congress. Based on the preliminary program and their invitation brochures, it is my impression that they have made excellent preparations for another successful Congress in our young history. The Scientific Committee, where Luc Martens, Sven Poulsen and Paddy Fleming are collaborating, also seem to have been able to put together a suitable and exciting program.

Future EAPD Congresses

The board and council have decided that the 7^th EAPD congress will be held in Barcelona in 2004 with Dr. Juan Boj as the Chairman, while the 8^th EAPD congress is planned to be hosted in Amsterdam in 2006 under the leadership of Dr. Jaap Veerkamp.

Finally, I take this opportunity to thank the members of the Board, the Committees, the editors of the Journal, Web page and Newsletter, and those of the Council members with whom I have communicated, for all their efforts for our Academy. I also wish to thank you for the inspiration and joy you have given me during my period of Presidency.

Magne Raadal
President of the EAPD

THE EAPD MEMBERSHIP

1.    Basic Criterion for immediate ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP

An applicant is eligible for active membership after completion of a three consecutive calendar year programme of at least 4800 hrs on academic and clinical training at an accredited education institute. If this accreditation has not (yet) taken place, the program has to be known with the board of the EAPD (see 3.). 

2.    Alternative Criteria for ACTIVE membership or  UPGRADING of associate membership to active membership

2.1       Proof of 6 yrs exclusive practice in Paediatric Dentistry and specific theoretical training  (postgraduate courses eq. to at least 150 hrs) within  the clinical subjects pointed out in the Guidelines for Education and Training in Paediatric Dentistry (Int J Paed Dent 1997:7:273-281) and clinical training  (eq; to at least 300 hrs ) in a specialized paediatric dental clinic or,

2.2       Proof of 3 yrs exclusively practice in Paediatric Dentistry and specific  theoretical training  (postgraduate courses eq. to at least 150 hrs) within  the clinical subjects pointed out in the Guidelines for Education and Training in Paediatric Dentistry (Int J Paed Dent 1997:7:273-281) and clinical training  (eq; to at least 300 hrs ) in a specialized paediatric dental clinic and at least 1 published paper as first author in a peer reviewed journal or,

2.3       Change of status to full-time academic with continuous clinical activity in a Department of Paediatric Dentistry. There should be a signed document by the dean of the faculty and a detailed  program of the courses given.

2.4       Holders of a certificate of a 2 yrs program should give the proof of an additional 3 yrs exclusively practice in PD as pointed out in 3.2

2.5       Holders of any certificate less than 2 yrs should fullfill the requirements pointed out in 3.1 or 3.2 

2.6       Every applicant already registered on the state specialist register list of his/her own country

3.    Program requirements that should be proven either by known program directors or by the applicant him-/herself

• Operate as an autonomous department or in conjunction with an undergraduate program in the Dental school

• Provide a complete 3 years postgraduate program written in a curriculum document (courses – hours)

• Provision of a list with the number of faculty members ( names – position – specialty…) assigned for teaching at the under and postgraduate program

• Provision of a confirmation letter by the Dean of the Dental School on the existence and  operation of the program under the above circumstances.

• Provision of an original copy of the certificate which they award to the graduates upon completion of the program.

THE 31^st ANNUAL MEETING OF THE HELLENIC SOCIETY OF PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY

The 31^st Annual Meeting of the Hellenic Society of Paediatric Dentistry took place in Katerini a town of Northern Greece during May 2001. As a tradition, the annual meetings of our society are held in a different part of the country every year. Katerini is a town situated near mount Olympus and the archeological sites of Vergina and Dion. Thus, we were able to enjoy the meeting and at the same time admire the location.

Before the meeting a team of Paediatric dentists, led by the President of our Society, Assoc. Professor Constantine Oulis, visited the Special Patients’ Institutions of the area, examined all the patients there, and gave oral hygiene instructions to their parents and health providers. The scientific program of the meeting consisted of two lectures given by prominent guest speakers, three round tables and sixty-one oral presentations.

The guest speakers, Professors A. Konstantinidis and D. Birkhed gave the key-note lectures. Prof. Konstantinidis, who is the Head of the Periodontology Dept. of Thessaloniki gave a lecture on the “periodontal findings of various health problems and the use of drugs”. Prof. Birkhed who is the Head of the Cariology  Department of the University of Gotenborg, Sweden  gave a lecture on “sugar substitutes as related to caries and the latest aspects on the use of chewing gums as related to dental health.”

The subjects of the round tables were the following:

a.  “Caries in the turn of the Century”, chaired by Prof. Kalfas.

b.  “Behavior management in the dental office”, chaired by Prof. Papagiannoulis.

c.  “Dental anomalies of number, shape, eruption and position”, chaired by Dr.Lygidakis.

Three hundred Paediatric dentists and General Practitioners from all over the country attended the Meeting.  Our annual meetings attract general dentists as well as practitioners from other fields of dentistry and are strongly supported by the local dental associations. In this way Pediatric Dentistry has become widely known all over Greece during the last 31 years! 

Dr. Anna-Maria Vierrou
Treasurer of the H.S.P.D.
Councilor for the Hellenic Group

THE JOINT MEETING OF THE HELLENIC AND ISRAELI PAEDODONTIC SOCIETIES

The first joint meeting of the Hellenic and the Israeli Paedodontic Societies was held between 13-15 of July 2001, on the beautiful Aegean island of Santorini.  The meeting as well as the gala dinner took place at the Petros M. Nomikos, Conference Center, a traditionally built but fully equipped congress center, situated at one of the most prominent spots of Fira, the capital of the island, on the steep cliff overlooking the “Caldera” and the  volcano of Santorini.

The Greek Pediatric dentists gave the lectures on the first day of the meeting. The subjects that were presented were related to the newest aspects of dental traumatology of the permanent dentition, such as intra-canal medicaments and the management of injuries and premature loss of permanent teeth. Other topics were related to tooth dysplasias and more specifically the treatment modalities of hypoplastic, hypomineralized and missing teeth and a case report on dentin dysplasia. Finally, an update on the alternative techniques in operative dentistry such as the carisolv technique, the Erbium Cr:YSGG Laser and alternatives in preparation of pit and fissures were presented. The day was concluded with the lecture of Professor G. Dahloff on the management of dental caries after Pediatric cancer therapy.

Our Israeli colleagues gave the lectures on the second day. Their lectures referred to local anesthesia: its complications, the computerized method, and how behaviour management can change its perception, the dental complications in individuals with Downs syndrome and epidermolysis bullosa, the current concepts on conservative pulp treatment and pulpotomy, the use of Lasers on drug induced gingival hyperplasia, a review on primary incisor replantation and a new classification of periodontal disease in children and adolescents.

The meeting was an excellent opportunity for both the Hellenic and the Israeli groups to discuss and interchange views on clinical and scientific issues of interest for the Pediatric Dentist as well as to get better acquainted in a relaxed and absolutely captivating environment. The meeting was very successful and on behalf of the groups both the Presidents Assoc. Prof. C. Oulis (Hellenic) and Dr. D. Ramm (Israeli) gave a promise to have a second joint meeting in the near future.

Dr. C. Terzoglou
Pediatric Dentist

EAPD Conference, Dublin 2002

Programme for Satellite Symposium Sponsored by Ultradent (To be held on the afternoon of Friday 14^th June 2002)

A satellite Symposium has been organised by Professor Monty Duggal and sponsored by Ultradent on the topic of  pulpotomies in the primary dentition and the use of ferric sulphate as an alternative to formocresol.

Registration for this satellite symposium is free.

Call for the EAPD General Assembly, June 16^th at 5 PM, in Conjunction with the 6^th EAPD Congress in  Dublin

All active members of the EAPD have the right to attend and vote at the General Assembly.

Agenda:

• Opening of the Assembly by the President

• Roll call of the Councillors and Countries attending

• Apologies for absence

• Approval of call and agenda previously announced

• Reports

o  President’s Report

o  Secretary’s Report

o  Treasurer’s Report

o  Editors’ Report (Journal, Web, Newsletter)

o  Committees’ Reports

• Matters arising:

o  New criteria for active membership status

o  The future of the European Journal of Paediatric Dentistry

o  Establishment of the grade of Fellow of the Academy

• Election of

o  President-elect

o  Secretary

o  Treasurer

o  Editors (Journal, Web, Newsletter)

o  Committees

• Proposals and voting for the 9^th EAPD Congress in 2008

• Any other business

• Closing of the Assembly

Dr Nick A. Lygidakis
Secretary