The Korean Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Implants (KAOMI) held the 29th KAOMI International Symposium IAO2022 as a virtual event from 11 – 17 March.

Themed ‘Reboot, Rebuild’, this KAOMI-organized conference attracted 3,700 registered users with an approximate visitor turnout of 8,700.

Upon signing in through the online platform, visitors were able to access the conference lectures and exhibition via the virtual KAOMI Mall.

The academic program was divided into various category tabs: Conference Lectures, Overseas Speakers; Members-only Lectures; and Dental Hygienist Lectures.

The lecture tabs were further divided into: Reboot, Rebuild session lecture and Master session lecture. The Reboot and Rebuild session lectures were the main sessions. The Master session lectures were special sessions designated by each KAOMI branch, which are geographically located across the country.

Conference speakers and topics

The main lectures of the conference featured Prof Su-jeong Shin (Gangnam Severance Dental Hospital Conservation Department) who delivered the topic “Can teeth be recycled?”.

Centering on dental replanting surgery, the talk touched on a series of considerations for predictive dental replantation. It also reviewed various cases and literature on the subject.

Speaking on the topic “Re-root canal treatment, did we fail?”, Director Gi-Young Gi (Namsang Dental Clinic) gave a lecture on the indications and methods of non-surgical re-root canal treatment

Prof Jong-Ho Lee (Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Seoul National University Dental Hospital) reviewed the drugs used to treat lower alveolar nerve damage and the treatment results using the ‘treatment of lower alveolar nerve damage after implant procedure’, followed by surgery using the developed nerve sliding technique.

On the topic “Antithrombotic Treatment Methods Before and After Implant Surgery” Prof Jeong-geun Lee (Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ajou University Hospital) discussed the mechanism and considerations of antithrombotic agents.

Prof Lee Ki-joon (Department of Orthodontic Science, Yonsei University) delivered a series of lectures on the topic “Reviving teeth using orthodontics – How far is it possible?”. The series covered various edentulous cases, in which techniques for alleviating the difficulties of implants through orthodontic movement were considered.

Prof Bae A-Ran (Kyunghee University of Dentistry Department of Prosthetics) spoke on “Making Reality with Narrow Diameter Implants” as part of a lecture series on the indications and prosthetic considerations when using small-diameter implants in implant treatment.

In the Master sessions, Director Yoo Jeong-taek (Gowunjaw Dental Clinic) lectured on “treatment of failed anterior implants that depended on the contents of the request” as a series, examining the various implant cases requested, and lecturing on which factors to focus on.

Director Yang Hong-seok (Dongsuwon OK Dental Clinic) discussed how to identify and treat implant-related sequelae, which are occurring in various ways, from the perspective of a clinician who opened a clinic in a series of “implant failures and solutions for each situation”.

Among the foreign speakers were Director Pil Seong Kim, who looked back on the basics of osteoinductive regeneration with a soft material. In his talk titled “3D bone growth by tent screw”, he presented ideas on the clinical use of a tent screw to continuously achieve three-dimensional regeneration of bone for dental implantation.

Prof Jurgen Hoffmann from Germany delivered on the topic “Innovative procedures to manage extended bone defects – The key to dentofacial rehabilitation”. The lecture went in depth about a regenerative procedure that can be usefully used for a wide range of bone defects with soft material.

Professor Guhan Dergin from Turkey lectured on “Biomimetic bone augmentation” as a series of lectures on a simple, yet useful, bone regeneration procedure.

VR circumvents COVID-19 restrictions

Using Virtual Reality (VR) technology, the booths and exhibition hall were rendered as 3D objects in a 360-degree virtual environment generated by computer graphics (CG).

“Despite the offline academic conference being disrupted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the organizing committee members worked together and mobilized all their capabilities to put together a commendable online experience for visitors,” said Organizing Committee Chairman Huh Jong-ki.

“I also congratulate the organizers for their hard work, who silently helped me day and night on weekdays and weekends despite the circumstances.”

Chairman Myung -Jin Chang added, “We will continue to devote ourselves to proposing new standards for the original role of the society.”

“I am glad to see the IAO2022 through to its successful completion even as I complete my own academic activities with the IAO2022. I hope that the next president, Seong-gyun Kim, will continue to build on the success of the largest academic society in Korea, encompassing the Asian region, and lead the world as an implant-oriented society.”