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Volume 42 , Issue 5
September/October 2022
Page 574

Editorial: Like a Kid in a Candy Store: Personal Reflections on ISPRD 2022

Vinay M. Bhide, DDS, MSc(Perio)

DOI: 10.11607/prd.2022.5.e

The first time I attended the International Symposium on Periodontics & Restorative Dentistry (ISPRD) was in 2004, when I was a Periodontology resident at the University of Toronto, on the cusp of entering my final year of residency. What I’d heard about ISPRD before then was the stuff of legend, so I was excited to attend. Upon arriving with my fellow residents, we proceeded to the conference hotel lobby and were starstruck by the “perio celebrities” who were walking amongst us. All of a sudden, names appearing on publications we’d painstakingly analyzed during literature review seminars were now right in front of us, in the flesh, and at that moment I remember feeling like a kid in a candy store!

Fifteen years later, I attended ISPRD 2019, this time as a seasoned periodontist. Again, I attended with my residency classmates and felt like a kid in a candy store! This time, however, it wasn’t only about the speakers, but about the program itself—There was such a big selection that I just wanted to consume it all, even though it wasn’t possible to be at two lectures at the same time. After seeing so many wonderful presentations at the symposium, I was inspired to submit a manuscript detailing my work with amnion-chorion barrier membranes to The International Journal of Periodontics & Restorative Dentistry . The manuscript was subsequently accepted and published. This motivated me to do more, and there have been a few more publications since then, all as a result of feeling inspired and empowered after attending ISPRD.

Fast forward to the most recent ISPRD in June 2022, where I attended as a podium speaker. Lecturing at ISPRD had always been a dream of mine, but I never imagined that it would come true. It was quite possibly the greatest highlight of my speaking career thus far, and one that I hope to experience again in the future. As a speaker, I was able to interact more closely with some of the very same “perio celebrities” who inspired me in 2004 and continue to do so to this very day. I was amazed by their perpetual enthusiasm, dedication to their craft, and humility 18 years later! Reflecting back, I’ve come to realize that what makes ISPRD one of the best meetings in dentistry is that it features the best and most progressive speakers and educators in the field who keep pushing our field forward— And thus I have no doubt that I will always feel like a kid in a candy store!

Vinay M. Bhide, DDS, MSc(Perio)

Aurora, Ontario, Canada

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