DT News - MEA - "... GCC is among one of the best regions in the world when it comes to dental education..."

Dental Tribune Middle East

Tue. 30 January 2018

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Interview with Dr. Meshari Al-Otaibi, President, Makkah International Dental Conference, Past General Director of Security Forces Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

Dental Tribune MEA had the pleasure to interview Dr. Meshari Al-Otaibi, President, Makkah International Dental Conference, Past General Director of Security Forces Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Dr. Meshari is further one of the driving pillars behind the newly established Saudi Society for Restorative Dentistry (SSRD).

The Saudi Society for Restorative Dentistry recently established, epitomizes the first restorative society in the Middle East. The society advocates the promotion and diffusion of interest in restorative dentistry, promotion of scientific research and publishing in the field of restorative dentistry and establishing an association among Restorative Dentists locally to benefit the population of the Saudi Arabia by striving to improving the quality of Restorative dentistry and the over-all oral health of the country. We interviewed Dr. Al-Otaibi to find out more details on his experience as a Restorative Dentistry advocate as well as a long serving member of the Saudi Dental Society.

What are the plans for the SSRD for the region and who are the stakeholders involved?
Dr. Meshari: First of all, I would like to thank Dental Tribune MEA/CAPPmea for the continued presence and coverage of all scientific activities and conferences in KSA. Back to your question, when we would like to talk about the Saudi Society of Restorative Dentistry, here I must acknowledge the role of Prof. Abduallah Al-Shammery as one of the key people that was responsible for the creation of the SSRD. I was his vision that gave us direction. Being the current President, Riyadh Elm University, he was also elected as the President of the first board of SSRD.

The plans for the SSRD for the region is to promote and advance the practice of Restorative Dentistry for the benefit of our patients. We also want to promote education and study in all aspects of Restorative Dentistry and to promote research, publications and dissemination of knowledge in this specialty.

In addition, we want to organize seminars and conferences for the purpose of learning an exchanging the newest information and hopefully upgrading the clinical knowledge of those working in the field of Restorative Dentistry. We would also be responsible for providing consultation to members and other concerned agencies, in KSA on all matters relating to the specialty of Restorative Dentistry.

Lastly, it is to provide the Restorative specialists in KSA to have an avenue to network amongst their peers. The society would also be responsible to organize social events for it’s members within the Kingdom.

You have been involved in the set-up of the Saudi Society for Restorative Dentistry (SSRD), what led you and your team to this initiative?
Our team was led by many objectives but the most important thing is to upgrade the quality of restorative dentistry inside the kingdom and in promoting research, upgrading clinical and technical knowledge of the restorative dentist. We will also seek to collaborate between specialists in the domestic, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the international sphere. Spreading the message and awareness of maintaining good oral health in our communities.

How will the SSRD impact the improvement of the dental community in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, in particular the end client – “The Patient”?
The SSRD will impact the improvement of the dental community in the GCC region for the end client which is the patient by means of its specialty in diagnosis and integrated management of diseases of the teeth, their supporting structures and rehabilitation of the dentition to the functional and aesthetic requirements of the individual as well as promoting disease control through caries prevention, risk assessment, diagnosis and treatment to tackle the challenges of the patient.

Working amongst one of the top dental hospitals in the Middle East region, how do you rate the level of dentistry in the GCC and what do you think requires improvement?
I strongly believe that the GCC is among one of the best regions in the world when it comes to dentistry and dental education. The area attracts the leading players in the dental industry every year to present their latest innovations, the hospitals and the health authorities have partnered with key players, to deliver the best quality of service to the patients. Furthermore, the GCC has excellent dental education institutions which now graduate thousands of qualified dentists annually. In my opinion, the region is fast becoming a global center for dental tourism, I personally know a very long list of some exceptional GCC qualified dentists who very proudly can put their name some of the best dental practitioners in the world.

I believe what we need to develop now is a strong strategic plan to highlight the need of prevention within dentistry, covering the whole GCC.

Dentistry is moving faster than ever, as a restorative dentist, what is the most important factor for dental professionals to keep in mind when embracing new technologies and treatment options?
As a restorative dentist, the most important factor for dental professionals to keep in mind when embracing new technologies and treatment options is that it will ultimately improve and broaden access to dental care because the more high-quality digital information becomes available to researchers, the potential for more precise diagnosis and treatment will continue to grow.

Col. Dr. Meshari Al-Otaiba, you have been active in the Middle East dental community for over 30 years. Our readers are interested to read more about you and your vast experience in the Middle Eastern dental scene, please if you could share some insights of where the profession is headed, in your opinion?
I have worked with my dental colleagues in societies, dental schools and various health authorities as a volunteer in many teams across our profession. This I believe is the secret behind my professional growth in the region. We are very proud of our oral health maintenance campaigns by which we have been successful in reaching more than 2 million individuals in 4 years. In KSA we achieved this by our campaign “How to Keep your Beautiful Smile”, this campaign is now in its 5th year. We worked with different stakeholders e.g. Security Forces Hospital-Makkah, Saudi Dental Society, Makkah International Dental Conference, and lately with The Saudi Society of Restorative Dentistry. Theses campaigns are executed in partnership with Oral-B.

Another campaign we execute during the annual pilgrimage of Hajj and is called “Pilgrims Smile”. We were successful in running this campaign such that it moves with the pilgrims during the days off Hajj. It travels with them from Arafat, to Muzdalifah and finally stopping in Mina. As you can imagine is logistically an extremely difficult campaign to execute.

Will you be attending the upcoming 13th CAD/CAM & Digital Dentistry Int’l Conference coming May in Dubai? As a long-term VIP guest to the event, has this platform played a role in the restorative society in the Middle East?
I look forward to attending this conference, and I encourage dentists in all fields to come and follow the new technologies about CAD/CAM as I personally believe that digital dentistry is to be the new generation of dental science. Today there is a trend towards digital technology all over the world, and this reflect positively throughout dentistry in all specialties, particularly in Restorative Dentistry.

We appreciate your valuable insights and wish yourself and the Saudi Society for Restorative Dentistry (SSRD) lots of success moving forward in the quest to improve Restorative Dentistry in the region.

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