Dental News - EAO congress makes comeback in novel hybrid format

Franziska Beier, Dental Tribune International

Thu. 29. September 2022

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GENEVA, Switzerland: Having been held in a virtual format for the last two years, owing to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the annual scientific meeting of the European Association for Osseointegration (EAO) is taking place as an in-person event again. Over the next three days, the 29^th meeting is being held in a hybrid format, presenting an online evening offering too. Attendees of the congress, which is being held at Palexpo in Geneva, can expect a rich programme with plentiful educational and networking opportunities.

Under the theme “Uniting nations through innovations”, the 2022 EAO congress is seeking to shine a spotlight on the role of new technology in disrupting the way the dental profession communicates, works and learns. The colourful EAO scientific programme includes virtual human technology outside of dentistry and medicine, innovations for treatment planning and communication, what clinicians have learned in 30 years of implant dentistry, and patient-oriented topics, such as a session on how to treat and handle unhappy patients. “[This session] will focus on how communication between clinicians and patients can be improved and how expectations can be better managed to avoid disappointment,” said Prof. Irena Sailer, chair of this year’s EAO congress, in an interview. There will also be a live surgical session on hard-tissue regeneration with the support of digital tools, and wide industry participation in the form of an exhibition, industry forums and industry hands-on courses.

A highlight of the congress is the clinical video competition, featuring seven participants who will be presenting their clinical cases in 7-minute videos on Friday morning. The winner will receive the European Prize for Clinical Video on Implant Dentistry and €1,000.

A main focus of this year’s congress is the critical examination of investments in novel technologies and their actual benefits for clinicians and patients. Prof. Sailer commented: “It is, indeed, our aim to critically evaluate all the new developments that are offered to clinicians today. All these new tools that promise to improve quality of care while reducing treatment costs for patients do sound tempting, but we will ask whether all of this can be achieved just by investing in technology and changing the practice structure from a conventional one to a digital one. Many dental professionals are asking what evidence there is behind these rapidly appearing developments and whether the evidence is sufficient to abandon well-established paths.”

This is the first time in the history of the meeting that it is being held as a hybrid congress with a virtual programme in the evenings, similar to the EAO Digital Days of the past two years. “This digital part will mostly be for those who do not want to or cannot travel to Geneva. It will feature congress teasers and summaries of the respective day, such as short summaries of the plenary sessions or live recorded parts of the discussions. Although it will not replace the congress, the evening programme will be informative and entertaining,” explained Prof. Sailer.

According to Prof. Sailer, EAO congresses have always felt like a family reunion. “We hope to rekindle this feeling again this year, as we have missed it in the past years,” she said. A fun social programme, such as the get-together and subsequent congress party on Thursday evening, will give attendees the opportunity to meet like-minded peers and exchange experiences from their clinical work.

The digital congress programme will be available on the EAO online platform until 3 October. More information on the congress can be found at congress.eao.org.