APO’s 7th Biennial Orthodontic Congress: A Resounding Success

by Sandra Syliangco Adriano, DMD, MS
and Marianne Perez Hernandez, DMD, MS

The 7th Biennial National Orthodontic Congress of the Association of the Philippine Orthodontists was held on August 2 &3, 2010 at the Hotel Intercontinental Manila, Makati City, Philippines. Aptly titled “Orthodontics in a Challenging World: Making All Things Possible", the congress featured three world renowned speakers, each of them experts in their field, who generously gave of their time to share their expertise.

The opening ceremony  began with Dr. Robert Eustaquio, the master of ceremony introducing Dr. Marivic Reyes to lead the  invocation. Dr. Roberto B. Tan, the Organizing Committee Chair for the Congress and APO President 2010-2011 welcomed everyone and officially opened the Congress. The Trade Exhibits participated in by 21 sponsors were also officially opened by Dr .Joselet Rivera, APO President 2008-2010 together with Asian Pacific Orthodontic Society’s  Past President and World Federation of Orthodontists’ Executive Committee Member, Dr. Somchai Satravaha.

The Congress was also an opportune time to celebrate the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Association of the Philippines and the Philippine Board of Orthodontics. A short video presentation showcased the history of APO and the PBO. Video clips of well-wishers such as Dr. Roberto Justus, President of the World Federation of Orthodontists and Dr. Lee Graber, President of the American Association of Orthodontists, among others,  were also shown throughout the Congress.

The first day of the Congress featured West Virginia University Chairman and Professor, Dr. Peter Ngan who spoke on Early Orthodontic Treatment. He gave the rationale behind the need to see patients at a young age. He also gave us a review of the six elements of diagnosing malocclusions. He also had some insights on the management of crowding in mixed dentition cases.

Later in the day, Dr. Ngan proceeded to enlighten the attendees on treatment choices for Class III Malocclusions . He gave options on how to utilize the facemask and why early treatment with this appliance was much easier and much more effective. For those who opt to do the facemask therapy at 10 to 12, he recommended a novel technique of expanding and contracting the palate twice over to obtain maximum results.

Dr. Stephen Wei, Professor Emeritus of the Faculty of Dentistry of the Prince Philip Dental Hospital of the University of Hongkong, complemented Dr. Ngan’s earlier lecture by expounding on the Management of Crowding by Serial Extraction. By allowing the teeth to erupt into a less crowded arch,orthodontic treatment time was greatly reduced.

The second day was just as thought provoking as the first. Dr, Ngan held the audience captive with his lecture on early Orthodontic Management of both Class II and III malocclusions. For Class II treatment, he advocated the use of an Herbst appliance, and suggested the use of the “Forsus” in banded cases to correct difficult Class II bites. He also spoke about the possibilities of using skeletal anchorage in orthodontic treatment.  After a sumptuous lunch, the attendees enjoyed Dr. Chris Chang’s discourse on impacted canine management and proper finishing of cases. Noteworthy was his constant reminder not to bond adjacent laterals in impacted cuspid cases. This leads to less complications, i.e, root resorption as it allows the lateral incisor to move away from the cuspid when it descends. Various orthodontic cases involving other impacted teeth, such as molars were also presented. Treatment of these impacted teeth were made much less difficult, and certainly more efficient with the use of the TAD.

Aside from the interesting lectures, several posterboard presentations were also displayed over the 2 days. These covered a wide range of topics from  the Management of an impacted molar, MEAW technique correction of a crossbite,  nasoalveolar molding of cleft patients to cephalometric studies establishing norms among Filipino patients. Of particular interest were board case presentations by American Board of Orthodontics’ Diplomate Dr. William Ka-Lun Choi of Taiwan, and  Philippine Board of Orthodontics’ Diplomates, Drs. Dennis Lim, Maria Victoria Reyes and Angela Castro Centeno. These, hopefully, encouraged a number of APO members to seek diplomate status in the near future.

The trade exhibits, participated in by various orthodontic companies, showcased the latest in orthodontic products. As an add-on to the attendees, a photo booth was also set up on the first day allowing participants to “dress up” and have their group photos taken with the APO Congress tarpaulin as a backdrop.

Truly, the 7th Biennial Congress was a resounding success. It was, by far, the most well attended convention APO has ever had. Credit belongs to the organizing committee spearheaded by incoming president, Dr. Roberto Tan. It is, indeed, an indication of greater and more exciting things to come.