Final report 2014
Vaness Camillo de Almeida - Brazil
The International Summerschool for Periodontology and Implantology headed by Prof. Dr. med. Dr. med. dent. Ti-Sun Kim happens every two years since 2004. With a ten-year experience, the course is very well organized and provides not only didactic activities but also social events. This year’s Summerschool happened from July 28th to August 8th 2014 and attracted eleven participants from different countries: Albania, Brazil, Croatia, Equator, Romania, Norway and Turkey.
During two weeks of Summerschool we had many high level seminars, which followed a logical sequence, beginning with the prevalence and incidence of periodontitis, passing through diagnosis, prognosis, treatment and supportive therapy, finalizing with Implantology. However, the three hands-on were noteworthy, because they provided us a moment to put on practice what we had learned previously on seminar, also letting us elucidate any doubts. I want to thank all the companies that provided materials to be used on the named hands-on:
• Periodontal flap surgery
• Regenerative therapy with enamel matrix protein derivate (Emdogain) and Tunnel preparation
• Implantation / Augmentation
In Summerschool 2014, we had the opportunity to have lectures with visiting professors in addition to professors and residents from the University of Heidelberg:
• Dr. med. Dr. med. dent. Benno Syfrig
• Dr. med. dent. Christian Mertens
• Prof. Ki-Tae Koo DDS, MS, PhD
• Dr. med. dent. Maurice André Rütters
• Dr. med. dent. Moritz Merwart
• Dr. med. dent. Nihad El Sayed
• Prof. Dr. med. dent. Peter Eickholz
• Dr. med. dent. Sarah Kristin Sonnenschein
• Prof. Dr. med. dent. Thomas Kocher
Their knowledge is unquestionable, giving well elaborated seminars based on literature. However, Prof. Dr. med. Dr. med. dent. Ti-Sun Kim deserves to be mentioned, not only because she is the Program director and Project manager, but also because she gives the majority of lectures masterfully, lavishing clinical experience, theoretical and didactic knowledge. As I intend to become a professor in the future, I really appreciated the way she presented some seminars, mixing conventional presentations with other educational techniques, making learning much more pleasant and fun. Moreover, the final gymkhana was a nice way to sum up the whole experience.
Besides the already mentioned members of Prof. Kim’s team, I must also mention Dr. med. dent. Philipp-André Schleich and Dr. med. dent. Blanka Plewig, who were extraordinary in the organization of social events. Furthermore, Blanka Plewig was the first contact I had with Summerschool. She helped so much, especially with respect to the accommodation, that I must say she was essential for making this experience possible. I want to thank for the free accommodation I had at the awesome guest house during first week and also for the place in the student’s accommodation during second week.
Cultural activities were also amazing. Visiting Heidelberger Schloss and Schwetzinger Schloss will be forever in my mind and in beautiful photos. All social events, including welcome dinner, guided downtown night tour, hiking and final celebration were incredible! Additionally, those were moments of conversation between participants, so that we could know each other and learn about the culture of each country. Blerina, Cosmina, Cristina, Diana, Hassan, Jelena, Juraj, Oana, Roxana and Terje: it was wonderful to know each one of you! I wish you all very good luck in your professional and personal lives!
Therefore, I want to thank everybody who made Summerschool 2014 possible! Moreover, I want to thank the German Society of Periodontology which provided me a scholarship that covered part of the course attendance fee.
I feel very privileged to have had this professional and personal experience. It was marvellous and unforgettable!