Participants listening to a talk at the 11th Southern Dental Conference in Johor Baru.
AFTER a long hiatus, the 11th Southern Dental Conference welcomed some 400 dental professionals from all over Johor.
Organising committee chairman Dr Alex Hong said the conference did not take place for about five years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Last year, we were able to organise the conference on a smaller scale.
“This is the first time we have been able to go full force,” he said in an interview.
He added that the three-day conference organised by the Malaysian Dental Association Southern Zone featured a series of lectures by experts at Berjaya Waterfront Hotel in Johor Baru.
Dr Hong, who is the association secretary, said one of the lecture topics was the growing prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea, a condition where a person’s airway temporarily collapses during sleep.
“Sleep-related breathing difficulties are often due to the tongue and throat muscles relaxing too much, leading to interrupted breathing during sleep.
“This could significantly affect a person’s quality of life as he would wake up many times, unable to have restful sleep.”
Dr Hong said the event featured 40 booths offering dental-related products.
“The majority of participants are dentists, but we also had nurses and other medical staff in dentistry taking part.
“The main aim of the conference was to provide an avenue for knowledge sharing among those in the field.
“We may consider opening it up to the public to raise awareness on dental health,” he said.
He said while the association mainly looked into the development of dental professionals, it had also organised community events to raise dental health awareness.
