Geneva, 9 April: FDI 2013 Istanbul has pulverized all records for abstract submission in more than 100 years of Annual World Dental Congresses:  this year’s total of 1,586 abstracts is three times higher than the previous record (511), established in 2012 in Hong Kong. Of the total, 1,087 are posters, 472 oral and 30 poster discussion abstracts.

Just under half (743) come from the congress host country, Turkey, with countries in the region such as Iran (87), Egypt (57) and FYR Macedonia (49) respectively in 2nd, 4th and 5th places. Furthermore, this years’ congress has proved to have exceptional outreach, with a high number of abstracts from countries as far afield as India (62 abstracts), Malaysia (34), Japan (32) and Brazil (31).

“These are truly exceptional results,” said FDI President Dr Orlando Monteiro da Silva. “Congratulations are in order for everyone involved: I think we can look forward to a best-ever FDI congress in 2013!”

Hands-on sessions

For 2013, FDI has extended its list of innovations to include hands-on sessions demonstrating specific dental techniques. In all, 29 hands-on-courses from a number of dental disciplines have been programmed, among them aesthetics, implantology and restorative dentistry.

The aim is to provide hands-on-training in fields covered in specific theoretical courses within the scientific programme. The hands-on courses add to the ‘Early Morning’ and ‘Meet the Expert’ sessions first introduced for the 2012 Annual Dental Congress in Hong Kong.

Says congress scientific committee Chair and FDI counsellor Prof Nermin Yamalik: “‘Early Morning’ session focus on a specific aspect of dental practice: they remind us that dentistry is both a medical and business sector and practitioners require both areas of expertise. ‘Meet the Expert’ sessions provide a unique opportunity for congress-goers to question and interact with international experts.”