For the 2011 Australian Dental Congress in Brisbane Australia, we have lined up a superb array of international keynote speakers. Individually they would be an asset to any national congress, but together they provide a powerhouse of solid science with direct clinical implications that will be the foundation for a further extensive array of nationally based speakers.

The theme in 2010 is centred on the concept that to benefit from the latest treatment options and to plan for the future we need a sound footing of where we have come from. Not all old ideas are bad ideas, in fact many basic facts are still being reinterpreted and utilised in today’s and tomorrow’s technologies. Our keynote speakers Lussi, Hargreaves and Cooper all have extensive research backgrounds and yet also have wide clinical experience in taking the science to the chair side.

Prof Lyndon Cooper is the Stallings Distinguished Professor of Dentistry at the Department of Prosthodontics at the University of North Carolina. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Prosthodontics and acting Director of Graduate Prosthodontics and the director of the Bone Biology and Implant Therapy Laboratory. His laboratory primarily conducts research relating to the growth of bone tissue in conjunction with dental implants and he focuses on integrating basic and clinical research to improve patient care.  In 2009 Prof Copper was awarded the IADR’s 2009 Distinguished Scientist Award (the Nobel awards of dentistry) for Prosthodontics and Implantology.  As a practicing prosthodontist with a biology background there are few better qualified to discuss implant therapies.

Prof  Ken M. Hargreaves is Professor and Chair of Endodontics, and Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of Texas Health Science Centre  San Antonio. In addition to his university work he maintains a private practice limited to Endodontics and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Endodontists. His area of research focuses on the pharmacology of pain and inflammation.  Prof Hargraves has been awarded not one but two IADR Distinguished Scientist Awards- for pulp biology in 1999, and pharmacology, toxicology and therapeutics in 2000.  In addition to being widely published, he is also editor of the Journal of Endodontics  and co-editor of Seltzer and Bender’s Dental Pulp, and with Steve Cohen, co-editor of the classic  Pathways of the Pulp.

Prof Adrian Lussi from the University of Bern has authored and edited Dental Erosion from Diagnosis to Therapy a modern day classic in this area.  His major expertise is in the area of the multifactorial aetiology of dental erosion. Starting from the clinical appearance/manifestations of this seemingly increasing problem, Prof Lussi then moves into investigating the biological, chemical and behavioural  risk factors  including a new simple method for assessing the tooth structure (BEWE) before he covers treatment strategies. Along the way expect to cover topics such as optical/laser caries detection, ozone and fluorides as well as classic cariology.

With such a broad range of keynotes with not only research but also wet-fingered approaches there is sure to plenty to keep you informed  not to mention  the almost 50 other local speakers!

The programme has been specifically arranged to allow easy access to all the keynote addresses with no overlap.  Plan now, to join us on a journey from loss of tooth structure to peri-implant tissues and pain control via aesthetics, minimally invasive preparations, nanotechnologies and everything else in between.

Dr Rod Marshall – Scientific Committee Chairperson, 34^th Australian Dental Congress