FDI Annual World Dental Congress (AWDC)

The FDI Annual World Dental Congress is unique in the opportunities it provides for learning and debate with dental col leagues from around the world.

The FDI Annual World Dental Congress is, in fact, two interconnected but distinct events: on the one hand, there is an international congress with a first-rate scientific programme deliv­ered by top international, regional and national speakers. FDI is proud to bring together in one place some of the recognized ‘heavyweights’ of the international dental community, all of them specialists in key areas of modern dentistry. We are also very proud of some of the new sessions, first introduced in 2012. They include ‘meet the expert’ sessions, a true innovation, where partic­ipants have the opportunity of interacting with major figures in international dentistry. A recent innovation has been the World Oral Health Fo­rum, usually in two separate sessions, which fo­cuses on areas on public policy and oral health. The aim is to widen the debate, with speakers from other health or policy sectors.

On the other hand, the FDI congress is the once-yearly get-together of the World Dental Parliament, a decades-long part of FDI. It is a mixture of formal and informal sessions: central is the General Assembly, our federation’s su­preme legislative and governing body, where the project leaders from among FDI membership report on progress over the past twelve months in key areas where FDI and its partners are in­crementally moving towards FDI’s ultimate goal of ‘Leading the World to Optimal Oral Health’. This is supplemented by the three Open Forums, where policy debate takes place in as less formal atmosphere.

Poland is an excellent choice because, with a resilient economy, demand for dental services is growing rapidly, with growth in the private dental sector estimated between 20 and 30% per year. So it makes sense to hold an international event there at this time.

Geographically, Poland is at a cross roads and we believe ideally placed to attract participants from throughout Europe. We also believe that it has the potential to attract participants from around the world. In addition, we know that we have a top quality local team so we really expect a large turn­out for the FDI Annual World Dental Congress in Poznan and count on it being the landmark inter­national event in dentistry in 2016.

Dr Patrick Hescot

FDI President