New Zealand dentist gains top spot

The New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA) Executive Director, Dr David Crum, was elected to a top job within the FDI World Dental Federation, at the annual Congress held last week in Dubai. He will lead the FDI Education Committee, which will see him organizing the scientific programme for the next three annual World Dental Congresses to be held in Stockholm, Singapore and Brazil. The FDI has 130 member nations and over 1 million dentist members world-wide. This year’s four-day Congress in Dubai attracted over 20,000 delegates from all parts of the world.

“This is a real honour for me and for the NZDA,” said Dr Crum, back home in Auckland this week. “I think it recognises that NZDA is right up there in our organisational skills,” he said.

Dr Crum’s team also works actively in Asia/ Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Africa and Middle East countries, to provide continuing dental education for dentists in many developing countries.

“This year we are providing education opportunities for example in Myanmar, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Fiji, Indonesia, Cambodia, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and in a number of African countries, and we are starting new initiatives in Iraq,” he said.

“The FDI can attract leading experts from around the world to share and transfer their knowledge, skills and experience of dentistry with colleagues - particularly those working in under-resourced countries,” said Dr Crum.

“We hope that these programmes will continue to expand and strengthen dentists’ ability to contribute to the health and quality of life of patients at a practice, community and societal level, particularly in such countries where the oral health needs are so huge,” he said.

ENDS

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