Dear Colleagues,
By now you are used to the New Millennium, indeed time runs fast!
Preparing this address I realise that my Presidency will only last for another few months! It's too early to make up my mind and I have to finish what I tried to achieve.... so let's talk about the daily EAPD matters. Regarding the EJPD everything looks great. On Jan. 20th. Martin Curzon attended a meeting in Milan with the Italians and the printer. The first issue is completely edited and galley proofs forwarded to the printer. You should have recently received the very first issue of the jounal with some full articles, 2 case reports, the fluoride guidelines and the proceedings of the ''International Symposium on Restorative Paediatric Dentistry'' (Brussels 1999). The most promising fact is that the number of manuscripts that reached the editor in chief is enough to ensure the whole first volume being 4 issues in the year 2000! Nevertheless, I would like to encourage everybody to support further this new journal in order to give the editorial board the opportunity to select articles of the highest quality. This journal must become one of the leading scientific journals in the field, with an impact factor and science citation index as soon as possible.
The 5th Congress is coming up soon now.... and again I'm very glad to inform you that compared to the former Congresses the amount of scientific papers has increased. As a member of the scientific committee I received 160 abstracts to review which is about 30 more than for the congress held in Sardinia in 1998. Together with the core programme this Congress will be a great success.
Further I would like to inform you that The IAPD approached our Board to have a joint meeting. This will take place in Bergen as a `working-lunch'. It's clear that this meeting can only be informative, exchanging ideas about future Congresses and meetings, recognition of the specialty .... without losing the identity of either of the two organisations! Following the IAPD meeting in London last September I was invited to become the Chairman of a new IAPD educational committee. With the agreement of the Past-President, President-Elect and the Secretary I accepted this position.
Dear friends, don't forget:
To register for the next EAPD Congress
To submit an application for the next EAPD prize To read the first issue of the European Journal
To pay your dues for the year 2000!
Kind Regards
Luc C. MARTENS
EAPD NEWSLETTERS
The very late production of this issue of the EAPD Newsletter has been due to a number of reasons. The most important of these has been the lack of material received. The future of the EAPD Newsletter is in the balance. We now have our own Journal and in view of the difficulty in getting sufficient material we must decide whether we wish to keep the Newsletter. However, this will be debated and decided upon at the General Assembly in Bergen. In the meantime I would be most grateful if any newsworthy material could be sent to me as soon as possible. I will then pass this on to whoever becomes the new EAPD Newsletter Editor (should we decide to carry on with the Newsletter).
Mitchell sat and waited for a considerable time in the waiting room. Though he had never been at the special dental care centre, he did not seem to worry very much. He walked around, looked interested at everybody else, made gestures and mumbled continuously whilst moving around like a 1-2 year old kid. Biologically he was thirteen now. All this made his mental handicap clear for all, so nobody felt agitated and did not pay very much attention. Mitchell walked up and down using short one-syllable words that no-one understood, except one out of, say, twenty words that was understandable and remarkably complex.
In the treatment room the same situation arose. Mitchell walked inside roughly, grabbing everything, mumbling and behaving uncontrollably and without any restraints. Suddenly he stopped, looked at the video recorder and said, articulating loud and clear: "Television." The dentist looked surprised. Suddenly five syllables in one word! What was happening...? Before he could ask his question, Mitchell's mother started talking. She started talking about Rett's disorder, the childhoods disintegrative disorder.
Up until his fifth birthday Mitchell was a fine boy. He developed normally, did well at school, played and did all the good and bad things that pre-school children are known to do. Then suddenly things did not proceed as expected. He did not pick up the reading lessons, lost social interest and his speech deteriorated gradually. His mother was told Mitchell had a recessive genetic disorder and she saw him return into infancy again. He had to get used to diapers again, returned to the mental capacities of a one-year old and most likely would die before his twentieth birthday. Sometimes a word or a fragment of a sentence from earlier days came to his mind. Both his parents carried the recessive gene. The risk of a conceiving a mentally handicapped child was one in four.
"Any older siblings?" the dentist asked, not knowing how to react adequately. Mother shook her head. "Younger. He has a younger brother, ten years old now." The dentist took a deep breath. "That must have been a difficult decision, I mean after such a" at the same instant he felt cringed with shame. What had he said! What a terrible remark he thought. But the mother kept her composure and was in control. She acted as if she did not notice. "Oh no, we did not know. Mitchell was only three years old and everything was fine. And now it is over, of course. You can't do that to a child."
There was a silence. Mitchell went to the corner of the room and sat down, seemingly to take a nap. "What did you do when you were told" the dentist asked? The mother reacted instantly, again without losing control. "I kicked a hole in a door! But are you going to treat his teeth?"
Jaap Veerkamp
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| Professor Koch wearing the gown and the insignia of the Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Athens |
Professor Koch among the Authorities
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On the 11th November, 1999 the University of Athens (Greece), adopting the unanimous proposal of its Dental School, nominated Professor Goran Koch of Jonkoping (Sweden) Institute of Postgraduate Education, Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Athens. This is the highest title of the University and is given to individuals with distinguished and worldwide recognized contribution in their field. During the ceremony, which was attended by His Excellency the Ambassador of Sweden, the dignitaries of the University, the Dental Faculty and many guests, the Rector of the University welcomed Professor Koch and made a brief reference to his personality and work. Then Professor Liza Papagiannoulis presented, in more detail, Professor Koch's scientific achievements, his academic career and his personality. The President of the Dental School, Professor V. Tsatsas read the related decrees and the Rector installed Professor Koch to his new title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the University. The official part of the Ceremony finished with Professor Koch thanking the University for the honour bestowed upon him. Professor Koch then spoke on "The Need for Specialized Dental Care In Children". The whole Ceremony ended with a social reception arranged by the University
Summary of the Scientific Work and Personality
of Professor Goran Koch
Presented by Professor L. Papagiannoulis
on the occasion of his announcement as Doctor Honoris Causa
of the University of Athens
It is an honour and privilege to present to the audience the highlights of Professor Goran Koch's pioneering work in the area of Paediatric Dentistry and his remarkable career. With both his scientific and professional work he has greatly contributed to the recognition of the paramount importance of specialized dental care for children in Sweden and worldwide. Professor Goran Koch is being honoured by the University of Athens with the highest title: Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Athens. The Educational career of Professor Koch began in 1960 when he graduated from the Dental School of Malmo, University of Sweden. In 1967 he got his PhD from the same University and in 1968 he became an Associate Professor of the University of Lund and Research Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Great Britain.
From 1960 to 1972 he was a Senior Lecturer in Malmo University while at the same period he had his private practice there. In 1972 he was elected Professor and Chairman of Paediatric Dentistry in Jonkoping Institute for Postgraduate Education where he stayed until 1981 when he was elected to the same position at the Karolinska Institute. In 1985 he returned to Jonkoping where his current position is Professor and Chairman of Paediatric Dentistry. Further he holds the positions of Chief Dental Officer for all specialist dental activities and Co-ordination Officer for Specialized Dental Care. Parallel to his academic career he developed a remarkable activity in scientific societies, dental associations, journals etc. He has been editor to several journals. He has been President to the Swedish Dental Society and President of the Swedish Paediatric Dental Society, and President of the Federation Dentaire Intemational Council for Research and Oral Health Epidemiology. He is one of the founders of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry and has served as its President from 1994 to 1996. Professor Goran Koch was the key person for the development of Paediatric Dentistry as a specialty in Sweden. Since the recognition of specialty in 1958, he worked continuously for the development of the educational programs and still has great influence on the organization and operation of all services conceming childrens' dental care in Sweden.
His scientific work began 35 years ago in 1965, and includes 159 scientific publlications in Intenational and Swedish Dental Journals as well as coauthor in 10 textbooks and author of 22 chapters in textbooks. His text book “Pedodontics. A Clinical Approach” by Koch, Modeer, Poulsen and Ramsmussen has been translated and is being used by several dental schools internationally. A new text book of Paediatric Dentistry with Sven Poulsen will be edited in 2000.
He is a pioneer in Paediatric Dentistry and has studied subjects covering all aspects of children's and adolescent dentistry, such as etiology and prevention of oral diseases, dental materials, dental development and occlusion and use of implants in children and adolescents. By his early innovative studies in 1965 with Lindhe, he contributed to the establishement of the importance of oral hygiene for the prevention of decay and gingivitis in children.
The subject that he has thoroughly investigated was topical fluoride-uptake and release of fluoride from enamel and its anticaries effect and potential toxicity in humans. Since 1967, he has conducted several clinical studies on the anticaries effect of fluoride gels, varnishes, mouthrinses and tablets. He has thoroughly investigated fluoride varnishes and has established their anticaries effect by several in vivo and in vitro studies. Results of his fluoride toothpaste studies contributed to the recommendation for children to use a low fluoride toothpaste since it is as effective for caries prevention and much less toxic than regular toothpaste. His work extends also in the area of epidemiology. Since 1979, he has studied, by several controlled cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, the epidemiology of decay, periodontal disease and dental habits of populations of Jonkoping, Sweden aged 3-80 years. Results of these studies lead to important recommendations used by the Swedish government for preventive planning, nationally. These preventive programs were considered internationally as innovative and still serve as guidelines for prevention planning worldwide. He is one of the few that studied decay and periodontal disease in very small children up to 3 years old and found that both start very early in a child's life.
Another subject that he has investigated is the durability and effectiveness of several contemporary dental materials in the restoration of permanent and deciduous teeth. Furthermore, he is one of the first scientists to have studied prosthetic rehabilitation of adolescents with missing teeth by a longterm follow up. He is a pioneer in the use of implants in children and adolescents with oligodontia or anodontia. In 1996, he developed and published, together with Bergendal Kvint and Johansson, general concepts for the use of implants in young individuals. Regarding the personality and contribution of Goran Koch to the speciality of Paediatric Dentistry in Sweden and worldwide, a very close colleague of his, Professor Anna Lena Hallonsten says:
Goran Koch has an ability to get people around him "to grow". Grow as a scientist, grow as a paediatric dentist, as a postgraduate student, as a dental assistant, as a dental hygienist and as a secretary. A great number of people, who have come in contact with Goran have performed much more in their professional lives than they ever could think of being able to. Goran is very supportive. People who work with Goran can always rely on his back up and feedback. Goran is a good observer and sees what people have done and gives praise. Goran is a born leader and a great diplomat. He often turns something negative into something positive. He works according to the saying "in every trouble there is a gift for you". To work with Goran on, for example, research projects or development of educational programmes is exciting, because of his dynamic thinking, sharp intellect and hard work.
Goran Koch has been the key person in the development of the speciality in Paediatric Dentistry in Sweden. Since the speciality was recognised in 1958, he continued to develop the curriculum and has had and still has a great influence on how the service in paediatric dentistry is organised and functioning throughout the country. In recent years, Goran has also shown an interest in supporting the development of the speciality in paediatric dentistry in Europe. Goran got the possibility to build the Department of Paediatric Dentistry at the Institute for Postgraduate Dental Education in Jonkoping, Sweden from its start in 1972, and he was the team leader who managed to place the department on the dental world map. Besides being an excellent researcher, leader and teacher, Goran is also an excellent clinician both concerning the technical work and the handling of the patient. Patients just love him. On top of this, you will find Goran deeply involved in FDI, President of the Swedish Dental Association for several years and, in between, editor of the Swedish Dental Journal since 1968, or organizing a World Congress for the International Association of Paediatric Dentistry or FDI.
He is a good story-teller and gives excellent speeches. It is always a good choice to place Goran besides the hostess of the evening, because he will always give a good dinner speech, as he enjoys parties and dancing and having fun. Often, Goran and his wife Britt invite to their home for dinner guest lecturers and visitors of the Postgraduate Institute together with staff members. These evenings are always very thrilling. If the day after is a work day, you will find Goran at 11l o'clock saying "now my clock is eleven p.m. and the party is over".
Finally, in his spare time you will find Goran an excellent sailor, being Captain on their yacht whilst sailing with his wife Britt and sometimes with their children and grandchildren, in the archipelago of Western Sweden. In wintertime you can find him skiing down-hill somewhere in Scandinavia or Central Europe.
Goran Koch is very fond of Greece, classical and contemporary, and of Greeks. For the Greek students in Sweden, he only has good comments.
Dear Professor Koch,
my colleagues and I welcome you and your wife Britt to Greece and congratulate you for your new title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Athens.
Agenda for general assembly of EAPD
To be held on June 10th, 2000 in Bergen (Norgay)
At 13:00 hours
| 1. Welcome | President Martens |
| 2. Apologies | |
| 3. Minutes of the previus General Assembly | |
| Held in Sardinia, previously circulated | |
| 4. Matters Arising | |
| A. Internet | Dr. Oulis |
| B. ID Cards | Dr. Lygidakis |
| C. Brochure | Prof Raadal |
| D. Directory | Prof. Curzon |
| 5. President's Report | Prof. Martens |
| 6. Secretary's Report | Prof. Curzon |
| 7. Treasurer's Report | Dr. roberts |
| 8. Election of officers | |
| President - Elect | |
| Secretary | |
| Treasurer | |
| Commitere members | |
| 9. Report of task force on specialist Recognition | Dr. Oulis |
| 10. Editors Reports | |
| A. EJPD | Prof. Curzon |
| B. Newsletter | Dr. Toumba |
| 12. Future Congresses | |
| A. Dublibn, 2002 | Dr. Fenlon |
| B. 2004 to be confirmed | |
| C. Future Congresses - 2006, 2008, 2010 | |
| 13. EAPD Prize | |
| 14. Any of Busibness | |
| 15. Installation of new Officers |
EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF DENTAL PUBLIC HEALTH
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM on AESTHETICS in PAEDODONTICS
OCTOBER 20-21 2000.
VENICE at Scuola Grande San Giovanni Evangelista, ITALY.
PROGRAMME TO INCLUDE:
Beauty in the art - V Sgarbi
Caries vaccine? - T. Lehner
New dentists for new children - S. Moss
Spots on the teeth - T. Holland
Bleaching -G. Aiello
Chewing gum and oral health - R. Ferro
New white restorative materials vs amalgams -P. Mason
Orthodontic treatment of patients with missing teeth due to agenesis or trauma - L. Lagerstrom
Occlusal management in early treatment and facial aesthetics - D. Caprioglio, A. Caprioglio
Aesthetic orthodontic lingual treatment during adolescence -L. Favero
When and how to prevent traumas - N. Zermann/S. Pizzi
Reconstructive dentistry in traumatology -A. Manna
Sport and traumatology -R Andreason
Facial deformity and surgery in children -M. Giudice
The role of the paedodontist in the restoration of traumatised teeth - V Campanella/G. Marzo
DETAILS FROM:
LAURA LINZI
LINZI ORGANIZZAZIONE CONGRESSI
TEL:+39 049 680672
Fax:+39 049 8829406
e-mall:licongre@tin.lt
