An interview with the FDIWDC26 medical programme leads

The 2026 FDI Global Dental Congress (FDIWDC26), happening in Prague in Czech Republic, from 4 to 7 September 2026, will convey in combination dental execs, researchers and policymakers from world wide. Evolved thru collaboration between FDI, the Czech Dental Chamber, and medical and scientific professionals from throughout dentistry, the medical programme will cope with each established scientific disciplines and spaces of present construction {and professional} significance, comparable to synthetic intelligence (AI), virtual applied sciences and workflows, complicated surgical applied sciences, prevention and sustainability. Dental Tribune Global spoke with FDI Training Committee Chair Dr Antonio Estrada Valenzuela and FDIWDC26 medical programme chairs Prof. Falk Schwendicke and Dr Roman Šmucler in regards to the priorities that knowledgeable the medical programme and what individuals can be expecting in Prague.

FDI Training Committee Chair Dr Antonio Estrada Valenzuela. (Symbol: Dr Antonio Estrada)

Dr Estrada, what rules guided the improvement of the medical programme for FDIWDC26, and what have been your major priorities from the outset?
Dr Estrada: Because the FDI Training Committee, we all the time search to hide all fields of dentistry, deciding on clinically related subjects for each common practitioners and experts attending the congress. In creating the FDIWDC26 programme, we additionally aimed to make sure large global illustration a few of the invited audio system, who’re extremely revered of their respective fields.

As for the priorities for this yr’s congress, we added extra slots for rising subjects of pastime. Those come with virtual dentistry and AI, which will probably be lined in two symposia and several other particular person lectures, in addition to oral surgical procedure, which will probably be lined in 13 particular person lectures and one symposium.

The congress will convey in combination an international dental target market. How have you ever balanced global relevance with subjects that topic strongly to Czech and regional individuals?
Dr Estrada: When arranging an FDI Global Dental Congress, the FDI Training Committee works very carefully with the host nation’s establishing committee to create the medical programme. This yr, we labored carefully with the Czech establishing committee to spot subjects essential to native and global audiences, comparable to common dentistry, prosthodontics and periodontics, and plenty of extra. Our purpose is to be sure that we provide a complete programme for each attendee.

Prof. Falk Schwendicke is among the 2026 FDI Global Dental Congress medical chairs. (Symbol: Prof. Falk Schwendicke)

What standards guided the number of audio system, and the way have you ever ensured a powerful mixture of scientific experience, medical credibility and sensible revel in?
Prof. Schwendicke: When shaping the programme for FDIWDC26, our purpose was once to create a actually global and interdisciplinary programme that displays each the medical development and the scientific realities of modern dentistry. Speaker variety was once due to this fact guided by way of a number of key standards: medical credibility, scientific excellence, innovation and the facility to translate wisdom into sensible software.

We deliberately mixed the world over recognised researchers with extremely skilled clinicians and opinion leaders from day-to-day follow. This stability was once essential as a result of dentistry advances maximum successfully when robust analysis proof and real-world applicability come in combination. We regarded now not most effective at newsletter information and educational have an effect on but in addition at whether or not audio system may just keep up a correspondence advanced subjects in some way that turns out to be useful for practitioners.

Every other essential facet was once speaker variety on the subject of self-discipline, area, occupation level and viewpoint. The programme brings in combination professionals in restorative dentistry, preventive care, oral surgical procedure, prosthodontics, periodontics, public well being, virtual workflows and rising applied sciences. This vary of audio system is meant to inspire discussion throughout conventional obstacles inside dentistry.

In any case, each consultation was once evaluated thru one central query: what sensible price will individuals take again to their clinics, universities or healthcare methods? This helped be sure that the congress programme could be scientifically rigorous whilst additionally extremely related to on a regular basis affected person care.

The programme highlights main spaces of construction, comparable to AI, virtual dentistry and complicated remedy applied sciences. How did you decide which rising subjects will have to be given prominence this yr?
Prof. Schwendicke: The programme has been designed across the main transformations that dentistry is present process globally. We enthusiastic about tendencies that aren’t merely technological tendencies, however which might be already starting to affect scientific decision-making, affected person expectancies, workflows and healthcare supply.

AI has been given explicit prominence as a result of it’s all of a sudden shifting from theoretical dialogue into sensible implementation, as an example in symbol research to improve analysis, possibility prediction and scientific resolution improve. On the identical time, the usage of AI raises essential questions relating to ethics, legislation, training {and professional} accountability, all of which require global dialogue.

Virtual dentistry is every other central center of attention as a result of virtual workflows are increasingly more changing into same old in lots of spaces of care. Those applied sciences come with intra-oral scanning, CAD/CAM workflows for personalized prostheses and virtual making plans equipment for guided implant remedy. Such equipment and workflows are bettering the potency and precision of care, in addition to communique between clinicians, technicians and sufferers.

In figuring out priorities, we thought to be a number of elements: present medical momentum, relevance to affected person results, adoption in scientific follow and long-term have an effect on at the occupation. We additionally paid shut consideration to subjects which might be prone to affect dental training and team of workers construction within the coming years.

Dr Roman Šmucler is among the 2026 FDI Global Dental Congress medical chairs. (Symbol: Dr Roman Šmucler)

Importantly, we didn’t need the programme to handle generation in isolation from scientific software. Innovation is significant most effective when it in the long run improves affected person care and public well being results. The congress will due to this fact additionally emphasise prevention, sustainability, minimally invasive dentistry, aging populations and equitable get right of entry to to oral healthcare.

How did collaboration between FDI, the native organisers and the broader dental group form the programme?
Dr Šmucler: Usual clinical congresses can from time to time be a bit of predictable. We didn’t need that; we needed a serious warning call. FDI gave us an implausible world canvas, however as native organisers, we introduced the fireworks. We inspired the professionals concerned within the programme to step outdoor acquainted congress codecs and give a contribution contemporary views. As an alternative of constructing one massive, predictable congress programme, we needed to incorporate extra targeted periods that might permit specialized subjects to be explored in better intensity. This was once now not merely an issue of inviting audio system; we regarded the world over for professionals who may just problem assumptions, give a contribution contemporary views and show approaches with transparent relevance to scientific follow. This method assisted in shaping a more potent, extra balanced and extra related programme.

What do you hope individuals will remove from the medical programme this yr?
Dr Šmucler: Dentistry is converting sooner at the moment than at any time up to now 100 years. Between AI, robotics, converting illness patterns and the expansion of huge dental organisations, our occupation is essentially reworking. We would like attendees to depart Prague with a clearer working out of the way to reply to those adjustments moderately than really feel beaten by way of them. Those that have interaction with those tendencies early will probably be higher located to evolve, whilst those that don’t might to find it increasingly more tough to stay tempo. FDIWDC26 will be offering a chance to discover the place dentistry is heading and the way dental execs can reply in an educated and proactive approach.

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Extra details about the 2026 FDI Global Dental Congress can also be discovered right here.