Chairman of the board

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The biggest regional event on the dental calendar is back. AEEDC 2008 promises a brighter conference line-up, more delegates, and the largest exhibition to date. MED caught up with Dr Nasser Malik, assistant director of Dubai Dental Centre and AEEDC conference chairman, to discuss the star attractions of this year's show.

As chairman of this year's conference, what can we expect from the 2008 line-up?

AEEDC has historically been seen as targeting general practitioners, so we have diversified the lectures far more this year. We've moved outside our usual remit and a number of the topics will be very interesting to specialists, alongside GDPs.

We have two big lecture halls, with around 700 seats each and we have covered really every aspect of dentistry. We've included some of the latest techniques for cosmetic surgery; advances in endodontics, orthodontics and implantology - and many renowned speakers will be there. As far as the exhibition goes, we've reached, I think, 360 exhibitors this year.

The congress isn't yet as big as the FDI, but that's my aim in the next two to three years.

Is it difficult to keep the lectures independent, with the growing number of exhibitors?

We've been careful to steer clear of any commercialisation - we have some speakers that are sponsored by companies, but we make it clear they aren't permitted to mention any products outside of their clinical application in a case. It's a fixed rule.

How many delegates are you expecting?

We get 3 to 4,000 regional dentists on average. The FDI show attracted about 6,000 I believe. We have less than 1,000 dentists in the UAE, and we see the majority of them at the show. All government dentists get one-week of study leave to attend. The next largest number of delegates is from Saudi, Kuwait and then Qatar.

You've mentioned you have plans to expand the conference in the next few years. How do you aim to achieve this continued annual growth?

Updating the congress is a slow process but I'm hoping to expand the lectures. Next year I'd like a bigger line-up with more specialised content. I'd like to introduce more pre-conference workshops and hands-on courses through the duration of the show.

These types of workshops are very appealing to dentists - they're small and delegates can really benefit from them. I also want to introduce more business-based seminars - both for dentists looking to move to the private sector and also young dentists who are set to graduate. It's a good opportunity to educate them in a field that we don't typically see on most university curriculums.

Outside of the conference, I want to see an added three or four specialised shows a year; hands-on courses that offer continuing education hours. AEEDC is a great event, but the industry needs more on the educational calendar than one show a year.

What impact would you like the show to have on the industry?

Primarily, I'd like to tackle the stereotype here between the public and private sectors; namely that dentists in the government sector have no ambition, and that those in the private sector are money-grabbing. I'm trying to close that gap. I'd like to see more collaboration. We do receive a lot of referrals here from the private sector, and we send a certain number out.

We have a heavy caseload, and we don't really offer the more cosmetic treatments such as bleaching. We recommend the private sector - so there isn't really any overt rivalry, but I'd like to see a more open channel between the two sectors. We would both benefit.

What other issues do you see facing the industry at the moment?

There are some problems around the supply of equipment. For example I might see a product in a dental magazine, but I know it's likely to take another six months to arrive if I order it. The after-sales support is another issue, but I think that is the case across all industries in Dubai. The concept of customer service has not really arrived yet.

I think soon the market will be saturated and agents will be forced to compete for business.

Dubai's upcoming insurance regulations are also certainly of interest. Frankly, it will be a disaster if the new insurance regulations don't cover dental. If the government doesn't mandate coverage, no low-cost plans will include treatment and our patient numbers will drop dramatically.

I also feel the government needs to loosen up on licensing. In the US, you can graduate and work immediately. Here, you need several years experience before you'll be granted a license. Where can local graduates go? For young Arab dentists, there's no incentive to stay and work.

How are tight regulations affecting the local dental industry?

There are a lot of restrictions on the market; we all know this. But the market has to loosen up if it is to continue to flourish. I do think the new Dubai Health Authority (DHA) realises this though. Recently, for example, they changed the guidelines for recruiting dental assistants. Under the new legislation, it's almost impossible to find one to meet the criteria. And the salary? A minimum of AED20,000.

Show me the dentist that can afford to pay that. A lot of dentists have complained. I have a private practice, and tried to have an assistant licensed.

The licensing department refused her on the basis of the new guidelines. The department admitted they had received a large number of complaints.

They used to conduct three to four interviews for dental assistants a week - now they're not offering these at all. They had revenue from licensing which has now dropped, because no candidates are meeting the mandatory guidelines to qualify for interview.

On the back of this, I met with the DHA's director general and outlined the problems, and the guidelines were amended. I think this shows the DHA is willing to address the problems the industry has.

Are there any measures that would help with progressing the current licensing structure?

We don't have a dental regulatory board at the moment, and I think it would make a huge difference to the regulatory issues, particularly if the board had a complaints division for patients. A body that could hold full reviews into complaints, monitor the quality of work and infection control - it's what we're currently missing. Is it likely? I hope so, but I don't know how long it will take.

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