DN Report Karachi: Pakistan Prosthodontics Association hosted the 4th International conference on 11th– 12th December 2015 with the theme, “Think Globally Act Locally” which was a great success, where eminent keynote speakers from various reputed institutions and organizations with their resplendent presence graced the occasion. The PPA conference witnessed an amalgamation of peerless speakers who enlightened the crowd with their knowledge and confabulated on various newfangled topics related to the field of dentistry. The conference was organized by Dental News under the aegis of PPA with the support of Pakistan Dental Association and Hamdard University with Dental News and Dental Tribune Pakistan as its media partners dealt with the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases of the teeth, gums, and related structures of the mouth and including the repair or replacement of defective teeth. The conference began with the recitation from the Holy Quran which followed by National Anthem and formal inauguration by Prof Dr Saqib Rashid President Pakistan Dental Association. After inauguration welcome Speech was given by Chairperson Scientific Committee; Dr Najeeb Saad, Consultant and Section Head of Dentistry, Aga Khan University, AIDC who briefed about the conference. The inaugural ceremony was followed by scientific Session. Prof Dr Fazal Ghani began the session by delivering lecture titled, “Knowing, Assessing and Maintaining Clinical Occlusal Stability”. First lecture of the session was continued by series of invited lectures delivered by both Honorable Guests and members of the keynote forum. The list included two international speakers; Dr M.L. Theerathavaj Srithavaj, Dr Natdhanai Chotprasert and 13 national speakers; Prof Dr Azad Ali Azad, Prof Dr Fazal Ghani, Dr Hina Zafar, Prof Dr Mervyn Hosein, Prof Dr Nazia Yazdanie, Dr Ninette Banday, Dr Qayyum Akhtar, Prof Dr Sajid Naeem, Dr Syed Abrar Ali, Dr Syed Murtaza Raza Kazmi, Dr Tehmina Asad, Dr Waqas Tanveer. The closing ceremony was followed by speeches of Chief Guest; Mr Suwat Karwook, consul General, Royal Thai Consulate Karachi and Madam Sadia Rashid; The Chancellor Hamdard University. Madam Sadia Rashid acknowledged the participation of Hamdard University as one of the collaborators for the conference. In her speech she talked about The Founder of Hamdard University Pakistan, Shaheed Hakim Mohammed and his achievements. “We, as a University can do, is to provide the best possible means the environment, the courses, the teachers, the equipment. It is for the students to make best use of the knowledge to reach the end for which they are striving” she added. Dr. Tehmina Asad; President 4th International PPA Conference, Karachi, Pakistan delightfully welcomed all the delegates and quoted that the theme of the conference ‘Think Globally, Act Locally’ will help all Dentists develop more region and country specific approaches towards practicing Dentistry, rather than going into mindless globalization. She specified that the conference will give participants a platform to exchange ideas, discover novel opportunities, reacquaint with colleagues, make new friends, and broaden their knowledge about evidence-based Prosthodontics. Apart from the speaker sessions, Post Conference workshops were held at different colleges by renowned dentists. The list included Dr Fazal –ur-Rehman Qazi, Prof Dr Saqib Rashid, Dr Mehmood Hussain, Dr Bushra, Dr Faisal Qayyum, Dr kashif Aslam, Dr Zia Chaudry, Dr Sameer Qureshi, Dr S Murtaza Raza Kazmi, Dr Talha, Dr Nadeem Hafeez Khoker and Dr Syed Abrar Ali. Conference even facilitated Post Graduate Oral presentation Competition in one of its sessions. The first prize was awarded to Bolan Dental College, Second prize was awarded to DIKIOHS and third prize was awarded to FJDC and AIFD. The conference even included the Poster Competition with Theme: Emerging trends in Prosthodontics. First prize was given to FJDC; second prize was achieved by AIFD while third prize was given to LUMHS. The conference concluded by vote of thanks by Secretary PPA Dr Mehmood Hussain, who conveyed sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all the experts specially the international speakers, company representatives and other eminent personalities who supported the conference by facilitating the discussion forums. The conference was sponsored by Bio Horizon as the platinum sponsor with Colgate and 3M; gold and silver sponsors respectively.
