LAHORE: Medical experts have said the dental research is really the scientific underpinning of the entire profession, and it is really what makes dentistry a profession and not just a trade.

Addressing an international conference which started at the University of Health Sciences (UHS) here on Saturday, experts said with past achievements serving as a solid foundation on which to build new knowledge, the legacy of dental research promised a future brimming with opportunities and exciting possibilities.

The first annual conference of Pakistan Association for Dental Research (PADR) is being organized by UHS Oral Biology Department in collaboration with Pakistan Association of Orthodontists, Pakistan Dental Association and COMSATS. The theme of the conference is “Translating Research Evidence into Dental Practice”.

Over 500 scholars, researchers and dentists from the UK, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are participating in the conference.

Punjab University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran said that investing on research and creation of new knowledge was the need of the hour.

“We, the Pakistanis, have become an excellent ‘resource wasting machine’. Actually, there is no dearth of money. The only issue is that we haven’t been able to set our priorities so far,” he said adding that the country needed ‘visionary and wise’ leadership.

He said the United States, with a GDP around 16 trillion dollars, allocated 5-7 per cent of her budget for education whereas that spending in Pakistan was only 2pc of the GDP.

He said that Pakistan was allocating only 0.1pc of its budget on research and development and was amongst the last four countries of the world as far as spending on health was concerned.

UHS Vice-Chancellor retired Maj-Gen Prof Muhammad Aslam said the globalization of knowledge was no longer a trend but a priority for institutions and research centers, allowing knowledge to be shared by all and making technology available to all professionals.

He said the oral health was an integral part of general health and wellbeing and a basic human right, adding that oral diseases were preventable and considerable improvements could be made if appropriate public health programmes were established.

“Since the oral environment is part of the human biologic system that changes every day, clinicians must understand the biology of the individual as they apply any kind of diagnostic for treatments or preventatives. The common denominator is research”, the UHS VC said.

The other guest speakers included Dr Syed Ali Khurrum, a clinician based at University of Sheffield, UK; Dr Kashif Hafeez from Royal Society of Edinburgh; Dr Sobia Bilal from International Medical University, Malaysia; Dr Rabia Tassaduq of New York University, USA; Dr Amjad Wyne from King Saud University, Saudi Arabia; patron Prof Dr Abdul Mueed Zaigham; secretary Dr Abdul Samad Khan and Dr Sara Ghafoor, the focal person of the conference.

Besides 11 sessions, the conference featured pre-conference and post-conference workshops, 70 oral presentations, 45 poster presentations and exhibition of various technical, clinical and research based-items.

PADR was Pakistan section of International Association of Dental Research which was a leading organization providing platform to dental researchers all over the world since 1920.

The basic objective of the conference is to promote, understand and translate ideas from researcher’s bench to clinical bedside and to public awareness.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2014