“My firmly grounded teaching is not meant to gather dust in libraries but has a mission: to be beneficial in practical life,” said Rector Dr. Béla Merkely, quoting the university’s namesake, Ignác Semmelweis, at the opening of the Semmelweis Winter University – Implantology Scientific Day. In his welcome speech, he emphasized that he was proud that Semmelweis University was the first in the country to organize a conference specifically for students in this dynamically developing discipline, who could thus learn from world-class experts. “This gives them the opportunity to put the latest theoretical knowledge into practice,” he noted.
“This event is a good example of how the university’s excellence is shaped not only by institutional decisions but also by student initiatives,” the rector stressed. In his view, such initiatives also contribute to enhancing the university’s pre-eminence. This is supported by the latest Times Higher Education ranking, which lists the institution among the world’s top 200 universities in the field of medical and health sciences. The rector praised the fact that at the scientific event dedicated to dental implantology, students from all years of the Faculty of Dentistry (FOK) and in all three languages of instruction could learn about the latest developments in implantology from the perspectives of oral surgery, prosthodontics, and periodontology.
“When I started university, we mainly talked about restoring toothless jawbones with removable dentures, but today almost every patient asks for fixed dentures, even if their jawbone is gone – and we can do that,” pointed out Dr. Gábor Gerber, Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, in his opening remarks, demonstrating the advances in science. He added that the knowledge of implantology, periodontology, and prosthodontics included in the curriculum had to be combined into a functional unit after training, which would enable dentists to decide what treatment to recommend to a given patient, taking into account the risks as well. He also noted that it took many years of practice to be able to perform on their patients the surgical procedures that would be discussed at the conference.
“The aim of the Winter University is to provide a comprehensive overview of the latest procedures and approaches in implantology, presented by speakers who are capable of performing confidently at any prestigious international forum,” pointed out Máté Szürös, Vice President for Education at HÖK and organizer of the event, in his welcome speech. He also thanked Dr. Péter Hermann, Vice-Rector for Educational Affairs, for supporting from the very beginning the idea of holding such an event.
The conference was opened by Dr. Anton Sculean, Chairman of the Department of Periodontology at the University of Bern and Secretary General of the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP), with an online presentation on periodontal surgical regenerative therapies and procedures. In addition, dentistry students were able to gain an insight from the presentations into topics such as new possibilities for establishing peri-implant tissue stability and the latest clinical approaches to enhancing soft tissue regeneration around dental implants. Also discussed were the complications of augmentation techniques and their treatment options, the role of autologous bone grafting in preprosthetic surgery, the use of digital impressions in modern implantology, and how digital techniques can help shape the peri-implant emergence profile. At the end of the day, participating students were awarded an elective credit.
Melinda Katalin Kiss
Translation: Dr. Balázs Csizmadia
Photos by Bálint Barta – Semmelweis University
