ISLAMABAD - The 2nd Women Dental Conference held in collaboration with Riphah International University at the scenic Margalla Hotel Islamabad successfully concluded. The conference was organized by Dental News, the premier dental periodical. Prof Dr Anis Ahmed VC Riphah International was the chief guest on the occasion with guests of honor including Asadullah Khan, Prof Dr Ulfat Bashir and Prof Dr Alia Ahmed.
The conference theme “Women in Dentistry, the Torch Bearers” highlights the role of women in dentistry which hitherto was male dominated. The conference played its role in promoting the emerging role of female dentists in Pakistan and created awareness among them of the potential that awaits them.
This is a Dental News initiative which keeps a close eye on the progress women have made in the field of dentistry and to encourage more women to join this discipline.
Dental News was in collaboration with Riphah International University in this endeavour. Riphah is a high profile private University with W ranking, chartered by the Federal Government of Pakistan established with a view to produce trained professionals with Islamic moral and ethical values. It is sponsored by a not-for-profit trust; namely Islamic International Medical College Trust (IIMCT), currently the University has 7 faculties and various academic departments and an overseas project, namely, RAK College of Dental Sciences, UAE. The University is also working on establishment of its campus in Mauritius.
Riphah is the first University of the Country that has been certified under ISO 9001:2008 Standard announced by the UK based Lloyd’s Register, which is one of the top five global independent risk management and safety assurance organizations.
The auspicious event was begun in the name of Allah with the recitation of a few verses from the Holy Quran by Dr. Hamza Bin Saeed. The chief guest Prof Dr Anis Ahmed, VC Riphah International in his speech mentioned that decades ago there were hardly any women dentists at all, and today they are dominating through their sheer number in the universities.
However he pointed out that when it is time to get into clinical or teaching life, women are still behind as their prominence in the industry is hampered by them becoming a housewife instead of using their education more productively and create a balance between practical and family life. He encouraged young female dentists of Pakistan not to abandon the field after marriage, rather to keep on striving and continue their further education, establish clinics and keep working alongside having a family.
In this respect he addressed the men in the audience and generally the men of Pakistan, reminding them that they must empower and support their wives, daughters, sisters and mothers to continue their academic and professional lives and offer them support through it. He wished the women dentists of Pakistan all the best and said he expects great things from them in times to come, he concluded
Earlier, Prof Dr Alia gave the welcome address and thanked all the participants especially those coming from other parts of Pakistan. She also thanked the chief guest and the guests of honour for their support and gracing the occasion.
Prof Alia discussed the importance of highlighting women in dentistry and said that there is an overwhelming majority of women in the field of dentistry. She emphasized the significance of young female dentists being motivated to make great strides and thanked the distinguished, extraordinary senior dentists and professors from across Pakistan and beyond for their support and presence in making the conference a success.
Mr Asadullah Khan talked about the importance of inculcating an attitude of hard work and determination from student life onwards. He said dentistry is a noble field and women of Pakistan have become more career oriented and empowered to play more central roles and manage clinics, studies and family all at once. He discussed the importance of hosting such conferences as they serve to inspire and motivate women to continue their endeavour to succeed and achieve their most ambitious goals.
He reminded young dentists of Pakistan that nothing is impossible and to embrace the spirit of hard work and constantly strive to be the best.
Prof Dr Ulfat Bashir talked about how women have slowly begun to dominate the industry and said as the years went by he hoped to see more and more women playing the dominant roles of leadership in the dental industry. He said he has faith in the young female dentists of Pakistan who will accomplish great things
The conference as expected was very well attended with participants coming from across Pakistan. The distinguished speakers who had come from UAE and from all over Pakistan shared their expertise and knowledge with all the registered delegates.The theme of this year’s conference was Women in Dentistry – the Torch bearers. The significance of the topic is that women who are now an integral part of the dental fraternity through their sheer number are the torch bearers of the future.
With more than 400 participants from across Pakistan including KCD Peshawar, LCMD Karachi, Isra Uni Hyderabad, Altamash Institute Karachi, University of Lahore, LUMHS Jamshoro, Nishtar Multan, MMDC Multan, CMH Lahore, FMH Lahore, RHC Lawa, Sardar Begum KPK, Riphah Rawalpindi, Margala Rawalpindi, Rawal Rawalpindi, Abbotabad and Muzaffarabad.
The distinguished speakers included Dr Ninette Banday UAE, Dr Azmat Mumtaz, Dr Subuhi Ghani, Dr Urooj Mumtaz, Dr Saima Chaudhry, Dr Amber Kiyani, Dr Tehmina Asad, Dr Joharia Azhar, Dr Sara Altamash, Dr Rozina Nazir, Prof Dr Iffat Batool, Dr Irum Mushtaq, Dr Ayesha Maqsood and Dr Farzana Kalsoom.
The just concluded conference covered topics including
- Aesthetic & Cosmetic Dentistry
- Restorative Dentistry
- Implantology
- Orthodontics (Fixed & clear)
- Endodontics
- Pain Management
- Women Entrepreneurship
- Beyond Dentistry
- Career counselling & more.....
The conference was supported by the Higher Education Commission and Riphah International with very active support from Margalla , Rawal ……
The sponsors of the event were Pharmatec Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., and Kansai Paints.
The conference was accompanied by three pre- and post-conference workshops based on topics of Orthodontics and Operative Dentistry, and facilitated by esteemed lecturers from venerated universities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. CDE hours were awarded to the participants of each of these workshops.
The pre-conference workshop, “Orthodontics for Beginners” was conducted at the Margala College of Dentistry’s Orthodontic Department. The facilitators for the workshop were Dr Rozina Nazir, Dr Kausar Ilyas and Dr Kanwal Zulfiqar. The workshop was extremely successful, and was attended to full capacity. The participants were taught how to properly diagnose dental malocclusions and skeletal discrepancies from a professional orthodontic perspective, using cephalometrics, orthodontic records and other clinical tools. They were then taught how to develop a comprehensive treatment plan based on the clinical findings.
The second workshop was post-conference and was on the topic “Successful Use of Facebow in Orthodontics”. This workshop was also hosted in the Orthodontic Department of Margala College of Dentistry, and it was also facilitated by Dr Rozina Nazir, Dr Kausar Ilyas and Dr Kanwal Zulfiqar. In this workshop, participants were taught the basic features and types of facebows used by professional orthodontists in their clinical work. They were then imparted knowledge of the proper ways to trouble shoot facebow transfer during complicated faces and facial deformities. Once again, the workshop received full attendance and was greatly enjoyed by the participants, who reported that it was a highly knowledgeable experience.
The final post-conference workshop was based on the field of prosthodontics and it was titled, “Crown and bridge: aligning theory with practice” This was a full-day workshop, and it was held at the Islamabad Dental Hospital and its facilitators were Dr Saima Azam and Dr Tayyaba Saleem. The workshop attendance was fully attended as participants were highly intrigued to learn about and incorporate the concepts of fixed prosthodontics in their routine dental practice. By the end of the workshop, the participants were able to recognize and use the appropriate armamentarium to perform crown cutting in order to prepare porcelain fused to metal crowns on anterior as well as posterior teeth. The participants reported that the workshop was extremely informative and praised the facilitators.
