MUNICH, Germany, June 20, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The International Team for Implantology (ITI) held its biennial World Symposium for the seventh time, attracting more than 2,600 dental implant specialists from 63 countries. The International Congress Centre Munich was home to a broad range of first-class presentations between June 18 and 20, 2005. One hundred and six speakers from every field of implant dentistry provided an exciting and varied program directed at both scientists and clinicians in private practice.
This year's ITI World Symposium is an important milestone for the International Team for Implantology as it united experts from all areas of implant dentistry to celebrate the organization's 25th anniversary. In his opening speech, the newly inaugurated President of the ITI, Professor Dr. Dr. Dieter Weingart (Stuttgart, Germany) emphasized: "The ITI has grown from a small informal group into a worldwide network. Today the ITI is proud to be represented by 15 ITI Sections and more than 1,000 members worldwide."
The ITI's philosophy is "to promote and disseminate knowledge on all aspects of implant tissue regeneration through research, development and education to the benefit of the patient." In this spirit, the Clinical Forum on Sunday provided 26 presentations for clinicians based on clinical experience. For the first time, participants were also able to take an interactive part in the treatment planning sessions using the TED system to answer the question "When to keep, when to extract?" The event came to a close with the session on Esthetics in implant dentistry presented by a team of internationally respected top-class speakers including Dennis Tarnow, Daniel Buser and Urs Belser.
The ITI take its responsibilities in regard to the further education of postgraduate dentists very seriously and actively supports the promotion of young scientists with its Scholarship program. Of the 85 young scientists who have to date received a scholarship for one of the 17 ITI Scholarship Centers in the USA, Europe and Japan, 16 applied for the Case Reports by ITI Scholars competition. The Scientific Program Committee selected the eight best case studies and of these one was awarded a prize of Euro 1,000. This is a particular honor for these young scientists and an important step along their career path to have had the opportunity to present their results from such a respected platform as the ITI World Symposium.
The ITI has set itself the goal of further expanding its circle of Fellows and Members and continuing to spread its knowledge on treatment methods to an even broader range of specialists. The ITI Consensus Paper (see note) published in December 2004 represents a significant contribution towards this goal. It will be supplemented by a series of ITI Treatment Guides that offer a step-by-step recipe approach to treatment as recommended by the ITI for use by practitioners.
With the ITI World Symposium, ITI Treatment Guides and the ITI's activities in promoting young scientists worldwide, the organization is making an important contribution to ensuring the continuing quality of further and continuing education in implant dentistry.
About the ITI
The International Team for Implantology (ITI) unites professionals around the world from all fields of implant dentistry and dental tissue regeneration. As an independent academic association, it actively promotes networking and exchange among its members. ITI Fellows and Members regularly share their knowledge and expertise from research and clinical practice at meetings, courses and congresses with the objective of constantly improving treatment methods and outcome to the benefit of their patients.
The ITI is active in three principal areas: research, development and education. Over the past 25 years, the ITI has built a reputation for scientific rigor coupled with a concern for patients. The organization strongly supports the premise of well-documented treatment guidelines backed by extensive clinical testing and the compilation of long-term results. The ITI's more than 370 Fellows, who form the core of the ITI, contribute their time, energy and skills They come from more than 30 countries and represent most of the world's leading universities in dentistry.
The ITI is the academic partner of Straumann, a global leader in implant dentistry and dental tissue regeneration.
NOTE: Buser D., Taylor T. et al. Proceedings of the third ITI Consensus Conference. International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Implants Vol. 19, Supplement 2004.