Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to another exciting season of high quality continuing education under the aegis of the Faculty of Dentistry.

During 2007 Continuing Professional Development has continued to be a priority activity for the Faculty of Dentistry. As part of its strategic directions 2006-2010 the Faculty has formulated its ambition to be Australia’s leading contributor towards professional life long learning through organised continuing dental education. I believe the program in front of you testifies to the seriousness with which we consider the ongoing needs of the dental profession in NSW and beyond.

Although Continuing Professional Development is still each individual dentist’s own responsibility, there is no doubt that the trend in many jurisdictions in Australia and abroad is to define standards for continuing professional development as a precursor for continued registration as a dentist. This further emphasises the significance that society places on these pursuits, and it puts more pressure on us to provide a broad, clinically relevant and professionally stimulating program. The interest that the community takes in this area is further demonstrated by the current discussions about a national agency for health professionals’ accreditation, which followed the Productivity Commission workforce report in 2006. We are certain that our organisation will be able to accommodate any decision made with regard to changes in the continuing education landscape.

As I am sure you will agree, this program book reflects a solid response to today’s challenges in dental practice focusing on evidence based solutions by local and overseas presenters. I am grateful to our excellent staff for their diligent planning of this. However, the professional guidance that comes from the Continuing Education Committee with broadly-based representation from general and specialist practitioners is also indispensable. The Committee’s members are to be acknowledged for their untiring efforts in creating a multifaceted program to cater for the broad needs of dental practice. I am also grateful to the many educators from inside and outside the Faculty, who continuously develop new programs and use their own time to share them with you.

We hope that you will be as enthusiastic as we are about your choices presented here. Many of the programs are created in response to popular demand. Please don’t hesitate to share with us your experiences and special wishes in this area.


Eli Schwarz KOD Dean