The first time I went to a major international meeting outside of the United Kingdom as a dentist was in 1999. I was working basically as an NHS practitioner in Ilkeston in Derbyshire, and I was invited to the ITI World Symposium in Lucerne, Switzerland.
It blew my mind, simple as that. I saw a world that I never knew existed. One that it was possible that eventually and later I might even be part of in a very small way. I was inspired, energised, and motivated.
I never forget that and the experience that I had there, and I've been to many, many overseas meetings since then. Many of them are really, really good, some fantastic.
For me, though, the meeting that I just attended, the International Esthetic Days in Vilamoura, Portugal, is the best since '99. I had the opportunity to speak there, and that is not what made it good. What made it good for me was the experience and the understanding of how to do this. How to have a meeting, how to be at a meeting, and how to go. Not to drink too much, but maybe to drink a bit, to exercise and to engage with the extraordinary content. The thing that made this the best meeting was the feel of the meeting, the atmosphere, the people around it, their enthusiasm and their energy. Not just the guys that spoke, or the delegates that were there, but the team, the staff that put it on, particularly those guys. The guys from the Straumann education team were absolutely astonishing, and that's the 2nd of these congresses I've been at, and they get better and better.
I was at the World Symposium in Singapore, where the room hosted 6000 people, and it was amazing, but the feels different. The IED is not a scientific meeting, and that might put you off, but it is an extraordinary meeting. It's a meeting that inspires and motivates and educates, it's what the future could look like in a volatile world, it gives you handles to grab onto and enthusiasm for what's coming next.
And so, with absolutely no benefit to myself and not on any kickback whatsoever, next year's International Esthetic Day conference is from the 3rd to the 5th of September in Copenhagen. The links are here if you want to register and be interested.
I would definitely go to that; I will definitely go to that.
Blog Post Number - 4334
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