Annual conference 2008

The 55th Annual BSSPD conference was held in the week before Easter at the Thistle Hotel in Exeter (15th March - 18th March 2008). The conference itself was preceded by a partial denture symposium attended by local practitioners and technicians. Participants enjoyed informal lectures from Finbar Allen (Cork), Nick Jepson (Newcastle), Ken Hemmings and Cameron Malton (both London) followed by a series of workshops considering different aspects of design and provision of partial dentures, including an opportunity for delegates to bring along and discuss more challenging cases. The workshops were led by John Hobkirk, Richard Welfare, Ken Hemmings, Cameron Malton and Colin Clark all from London. A valuable learning experience was achieved for both delegates and presenters.

Professor Liz Kay of the Peninsular Dental School opened the conference on Sunday with a brief update of progress of the new school. Further highlights of the day included a joint presentation by Craig Barclay and Chris Butterworth on the management of prosthodontic rehabilitation of oral cancer patients following ablative surgery. Craig also used the conference as an opportunity to launch his online implant recognition website which must surely provide an invaluable resource for any clinicians struggling to identify unknown implant systems. The day finished with a civic reception by the Mayor of Exeter.

Monday featured presentations for the Schottlander Oral and Poster Prizes and th Presidents Prize for the best case report. Rob Jagger & Andrew Juszczyk's interesting insight into the clinician-technician interface including the poor communication which still exists in many areas stimulated much thought, discussion and challenges especially for those involved in training.

The conference dinner was concluded by Kevin Lewis after dinner speech and awarding of the Society prizes and awards, including this year the award of the Society's Gold Medal to Fraser McCord.

On the final day of the conference the President elect, Mark Thomason, spoke on “Implants in use" when he answered the conference question "Do we make a difference" but then asked "do we do enough?". Finally Francis Nohl gave a presentation on “Hypodontia care" and highlighted the costs of treating these patients and the inadequate payments that Trusts receive for the treatment.

During the conference Mrs Rosina Welfare entertained the accompanying persons with a walking tour of the city and a trip to Killerton House and Gardens.

BSSPD Awards 2008

The BSSPD makes a number of awards to undergraduates and dentists on an annual basis. These are made to enable individuals to carry out clinical research projects, undergo further training or attend the conference. In 2008 the awards made to date are as follows:

BSSPD Gold medal

The gold medal is awarded every three years to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the BSSPD and prosthetic dentistry generally. The 2008 award was made to Professor Fraser McCord of Glasgow Dental School.

Above: Professor McCord (left) receiving his award from the President of the BSSPD, Mr Richard Welfare (right).

Schottlander Oral Communication

The award was made to James Field for the presentation "Perceived barriers of General Dental Practitioners in the North-East of England to the provision of implant supported overdentures"

Above: James Field (right receiving his award from Dr. Brian Schottlander (left).

Schottlander Poster Prize

The winner was Paul Hyde for the presentation "Pressure within impression; the effect of speed of approximation"

Above: Paul Hyde (right receiving his award from Dr. Brian Schottlander (left).

President's poster

The winner was Robert Crawford for the presentation "Maxillary dental implant reconstruction utilising porcelain fused to metal linked units cemented to a milled CADCAM Procera titanium framework"

Above: Robert Crawford (left) receiving his award from the President of the BSSPD, Mr Richard Welfare (right).

Heraeus Kulzer Undergraduate Essay Prize

This prize is awarded to an undergraduate student who had to write an essay entitled "Do implants really make a difference for the completely edentulous patient?". The winner was Kathryn Bebb from Liverpool Dental School.

Above: Kathryn Bebb (left) being presented with the prize by Anna Lees from Heraeus-Kulzer.

BSSPD Junior Staff Travel Fellowship

The winner of this year's award was Adrian Pace - Balzan who is an SpR at the Edinburgh Dental Institute. The award was used to fund an elective visit to the Mersyside Regional Head and Neck Cancer centre.

Above: Adrian Pace-Balzan (left) receiving his award from the President of the BSSPD, Mr Richard Welfare (right).

BSSPD New Graduate Award

The assessors agreed to make the award to two applicants this year - Kushal Gadhia and Monder Zbaeda. Both came to the annual conference where they made presentations.

Above: Kushal Gadhia (left) receiving his award from the President of the BSSPD, Mr Richard Welfare (right).

Above: Monder Zbaeda (left) receiving his award from the President of the BSSPD, Mr Richard Welfare (right).

Coltene Student Bursary

The winner of this year's Coltene Student Bursary was Eamon Howard-Bowles from Cork Dental School. He will use the Bursary to support a study on the clinical performance of resin bonded bridgework.

BSSPD Research Award

The panel of judges recommended that the award be given to Anto Jose who works at Glasgow Dental School. The award will support a study into the treatment and prevention of Candida biofilms in denture stomatitis.