Beyond endodontics: Roots Summit 2010

BARCELONA, Spain/LEIPZIG, Germany: What do Barcelona and endodontics have in common? For me, the answer was nothing, until last week’s Roots Summit. From now onwards, I will forever connect Gaudí, Paella and La Sagrada Família with root canals.

It is certainly not an exaggeration to say that Roots Summit 2010 had all of those lucky enough to attend falling in love with endo all over again. Organised by Drs Noemí Pascual and Nuria Campo and their team, the meeting was a grand success. Long hours in the dark, yet always crowded lecture hall, despite the perfect weather, were followed by a wonderful social programme with a distinct Spanish touch. Dr Fred Barnett, who lectured on Trauma injuries: Long-term treatment planning based on Dx and Pulpar regenerative technique, commented: “Congratulations to Nuria and Noemí for organising a fantastic Roots Summit. The venue was awesome and the lectures top notch. Roots should be proud of their efforts.”

The impressive list of international speakers included Dr Giusseppe Cantatore from Italy, Drs José María Malfaz and Enrique Martínez Merino from Spain, and Drs Hans-Willi Herrmann and Jörg Schröder from Germany, to name a few.

Dr Sashi Nallapati held two very interesting lectures on rare and challenging cases: Dens invaginatus: Treatment options and Three canal premolars: An endodontic challenge. Many in the audience had never encountered such cases and, thus, were absorbed in these presentations.

Dr Marga Ree from the Netherlands held two very entertaining lectures on the Disassembly of root-canal treated crowned teeth and Fibre posts and adhesive build-ups. She began her first lecture with limited visibility—she had forgotten to bring her glasses—and aching feet. However, without further ado, Dr Ree sent her husband to their hotel room to collect her glasses and more comfortable shoes. He promptly returned, carrying a big bag filled with an estimated ten pairs of shoes, which he then set out on stage, one by one. Needless to say, the audience was roaring with laughter at this point.

In fact, many of the lectures were very entertaining and of extremely high quality with regard to the content as well as presentation. “It was great to see presentations that staggered me with the quality of the material and the multimedia that were shown,” commented Dr Glen van As, who lectured on Microscope centred practice: Ergonomics and documentation. “Video through the operating microscope and still photos from some of the experts was incredible. It is impressive to see the quality of the work that these teachers and talented clinicians can provide in a humble yet confident manner.”

The meeting was sponsored by major industry players, like VDW, Zeiss, Dentsply Maillefer, SybronEndo Europe and Kodak. Dr John Schoeffel from the US, who introduced EndoVac—an endodontic irrigation technology system—in his lecture, also presented the product to interested attendees at the Discus booth. EndoVac enables safe irrigation to apical termination with an abundant supply of fresh irrigant. Unlike positive pressure systems that use cannulas to deliver irrigants into the canal, the EndoVac is a true apical negative pressure system that draws fluid apically by way of evacuation.

“It’s not often that meetings inspire and rejuvenate people and make them look forward to future meetings,” commented Dr Nallapati. “To me, certainly, this Roots Summit has done all that. And that is a testimony to the wonderful effort of Nuria, Noemí and their team.” Attendee Dr Mahalaxmi Sekar agreed, saying that he pitied all those who had missed this event in Barcelona.

A majority of the lectures, for which continuing education credits can be obtained, were recorded live and will be made available for review on www.dtstudyclub.com. For more information on how to register and how to obtain credits, please contact Ms Julia Wehkamp at julia.wehkamp@dtstudyclub.com.

The date and venue for next year’s meeting are yet to be decided. But one thing is for sure: this year’s attendees are counting down the days.