EFP prepares key events for scientists and clinicians, and promotes new classification

After the excitement of EuroPerio9, the EFP is settling down to work on a wide range of events and projects as it implements its strategic vision of “periodontal health for a better life.”

Top of the list is a campaign to disseminate the new classification of periodontal and peri-implant diseases and conditions, which was developed by the EFP and the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) and launched at a packed and enthusiastic session at EuroPerio9 in Amsterdam in June.

The EFP is drawing up a detailed plan to provide materials to explain the new classification and to train oral-healthcare teams on how to implement it in daily clinical practice.

Also in terms of outreach and promoting the results of EFP workshops is the Perio & Diabetes project. The third of the EFP’s projects with its partners, the Perio & Diabetes website is due to launch in November, providing a wide range of written and graphic materials on the links between periodontal diseases and diabetes. The project is being developed thanks to a grant from EFP partner Sunstar, with material based on the February 2017 Perio-Diabetes Workshop, a collaboration between the EFP and the International Diabetes Federation.

The project will provide key messages on the action that needs to be taken in preventing and treating both diseases, encouraging dentists and doctors to work more closely together in tackling them. It will offer a wealth of information adapted to the needs of different groups, including dental and medical professionals, researchers, policymakers, the media, and patients and the public.

Leading scientists in the field of periodontology will gather in La Granja de San Ildefonso (Spain) from November 11 to 14 for EFP Perio Workshop 2018, the 15th edition of the EFP Perio Workshop that develops scientific consensus on key topics in periodontology and implant dentistry.

This year the focus is on bone regeneration and the workshop, which will involve 85 participants, is being held in partnership with the Osteology Foundation and sponsored by Geistlich Biomaterials.

Another, smaller, workshop is scheduled for February 18 and 19, 2019 in Madrid, to examine the latest evidence on the links between periodontal and cardiovascular diseases. This workshop will be held in partnership with the World Heart Federation. It is expected that the outcomes will be used as the basis of an outreach project, this time with EFP partner Dentaid which is sponsoring the workshop.

Global vision

The EFP is increasingly becoming a global, as well as a European, organization. A key event that embodies this global vision is the EFP Perio Master Clinic that will take place in Hong Kong on March 1-2, 2019, for which registration is now open. This is the first EFP Perio Master Clinic to take place outside of Europe and will offer, in the words of event chairman Maurizio Tonetti, “EFP excellence, the Asian way!”

The master clinic – where leading clinicians and researchers will share their knowledge with an audience limited to a maximum number of 550 – will focus on the prevention and treatment of soft- and hard-tissue defects, an increasingly important aspect of modern periodontal practice.

Summing up the EFP’s plans for the coming months, Iain Chapple, EFP secretary general, said: “It is a very exciting time for the EFP and also a challenging one, as the EFPs success brings with it requests for new collaborations and new partnerships with industry, and also for associations with national societies outside of Europe.

“The future looks extremely bright, but we need to manage it carefully and ensure that our superb professional support team is not over-burdened and that we protect our key brands by planning carefully and taking one step at a time.”