The first National Symposium in Japan was held in July 2014 in Tokyo. It was a great start in this new country for the Osteology Foundation: 450 participants, excellent lectures, as well as perfect organisation and a great venue contributed to making the first symposium in Japan a complete success.

The Osteology Foundation is continuously expanding its educational network worldwide. The National Osteology Symposia play an important role in this context. Therefore, it is always an occasion to celebrate when a National Osteology Symposium is organized in a country for the first time – especially when it is as successful as the one in Japan, which took place in July 2014.

The first-class program with well-known national and international speakers attracted around 450 practitioners and scientists from all over Japan. On the morning of the first day, when a Pre-Congress Forum and a Guided Tissue Regeneration Session were held, around 350 participants were already present.

Dr. Yoshinori Nameta from Japan was excited to speak in front of such a big audience at the Pre-Congress Forum in the morning. He explained that it was a big honour for him to be invited as a speaker by the Osteology Foundation. Many of the participants and speakers at the National Symposium in Tokyo already knew the Osteology Foundation from the International Osteology Symposia, which enjoy an excellent reputation in Japan.

The theoretical workshops with the Master Clinicians Professor Daniel Buser and Professor Frank Schwarz that took place in the afternoon of the first day were also considered very valuable and interesting by the participants. During these workshops they presented indication-based flap and suturing techniques for hard- and soft tissue augmentation, and compared simultaneous and staged Guided Bone Regeneration procedures in daily practice.

The chairman, Professor Daniel Buser from Switzerland, and the two co-chairmen, Professor Fumihiko Watanabe and Professor Hideaki Katsuyama, both from Japan, had put together a program that covered all the different aspects of oral regeneration, ranging from various ridge preservation techniques to regenerative approaches for the treatment of peri-implantitis, as well as risk-factors and complications during sinus grafting procedures.

The fact that the chosen topics were interesting and relevant to the practitioners was reflected not only in the high number of questions that came from the audience, but also in stimulating discussions between the speakers and experts on the podium. They took the opportunity to discuss concepts and to share their knowledge and different perspectives. National and international speakers had the chance to learn from each other and to combine their expertise with the aim of providing the best possible level of knowledge and education for the participating practitioners, and to increase international and intercultural understanding in the field of oral regeneration.

The event was accompanied by a trade exhibition with industrial partners and sponsored from about 18 different companies. However, despite the presence of the industrial partners, the participants emphasized that they particularly liked the fact that it was an educational event that was not influenced and biased by industry. Topics such as autologous bone grafts were covered, as well as the application of different commercially available augmentation materials.

The perfectly organized National Symposium with a high-value program was definitely a great start for the Osteology Foundation in Japan, reflecting the continuously growing scientific and educational reputation of the Foundation worldwide. A story that will certainly be continued – not only in Japan!

The Osteology Foundation was established in 2003 by Dr Peter Geistlich and the company Geistlich Pharma AG in Switzerland. The Osteology Foundation aims to promote research, training and cooperation between research and industry in the field of bone and soft tissue regeneration. The Foundation has grown consistently over the last few years, and strives for constant progress in the field of oral and craniofacial regenerative medicine for the benefit of patients.

Osteology Foundation
Dr. Heike Fania
Landenbergstrasse 35
6002 Lucerne
+41413684441
heike.fania@osteology.org
http://www.osteology.org