Forum Minutes

Report from “The Forum of National Orthodontic Societies”; Friday, June 3rd, 2005, 09.00 – 11.00 hours at the RAI-Congress Centre, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Attendance list:

  • Francesca Miotti, EFOSA
  • Anne-Marie  Kuijpers-Jagtman, EOS
  • Geoff  Webb, British Orthodontic Society
  • Chris  Kettler, -"-
  • Susanne  Siersbaeck-Nielsen, Danish Orthodontic Society
  • Zaur Zeynalov, Azerbaijan Orthodontic Society
  • Izabelle  Dunin-Wilczynska, Polish Orthodontic Society
  • Marie  Sheflex, Czech Orthodontic Society
  • Milan Kaminek, -"-
  • Ivo  Marek, -"-
  • Frank de  Winter, Dutch Association of Orthodontists
  • Monty  Kraayeveld, Dutch Dental Association
  • Terttu  Pietilä, Orthodontic Section of Finnish Dental Society
  • Claude Bourdillat-Mikol,  SSFODF and EFOSA
  • Andre  Horn, Fench Orthodontic Society (SFODF)
  • Gerassimos Angelopoulos, Greece Association for Orthodontic  Study and Research
  • Wolfgang  Schmiedel, DGKFO/BDK
  • Peter  Schpf, -"-
  • Uli  Fellner, -"-
  • Roberto  Martina, FEO
  • Lars  Medin, Swedish Association of Orthodontists, EFOSA

Apologies  for misspelling. The list is made up from a handwritten list

1. Welcome by the President of the European Orthodontic Society and introduction of Chairman

The President of the EOS, Anne-Marie Kuijpers-Jagtman welcomed the participants of the Forum Meeting. Francesca Miotti, vice President of the EFOSA chaired the meeting and the Secretary of the EFOSA, Lars Medin, took the minutes. The meeting was opened at 09.15.

Attendance: 21 people from 12 countries attended the meeting. Also representatives from the FEO were present. An attendance list was signed.

2. Approval of the agenda and notification of any other business

There were no changes or additions to the agenda

Any other business: Information from the Azerbaijan Orthodontic Society

3. Approval of Minutes of the last Forum meeting

The minutes from the Forum Meeting on June 7th, 2004 in Aarhus, Denmark were approved.

There were comments from Gerassimos Angelopoulos, Greece Association for Orthodontic Study and Research concerning point 10, Any other business. Gerassimos was asked to submit a written proposal of the changes.

4. Report of the activities of the EOS (Professor A M Kuijpers-Jagtman)

Anne-Marie Kuijpers-Jagtman reported from the recent activities of EOS.

European Board of Orthodontics was introduced 10 years ago to encourage clinical quality. 52 individuals have taken the Board so far. Today there are more applicants from outside Europe than inside. This year there are 8 candidates and 5 come from Japan.

2007 the EOS celebrates its 100 year Anniversary in Berlin.

5. Report of the activities of the EFOSA (Professor F P G M van der Linden)

Vice President of the EFOSA reported the activities of EFOSA in the absence of the President Frans van der Linden.

Frank de Winter has been elected web master of the EFOSA web site

20 out of 22 countries have delivered a country report for 2004 available at the web site www.efosa.org

Belgium, Cyprus and Poland have been elected active members this year. Spain has been transferred to Observer status after 8 years as Provisional Member. The problem is that Orthodontics is not a recognized specialty in Spain and that General Practitioners are acting against a recognition.

The ten new EU countries were invited to the EFOSA General Assembly 2005. 4 was participating and 2 didn’t replied. Special rules concerning membership fees and requirements about number of specialists have been introduced.

The Ethics Committee and the Quality Committee have left their reports approved by the General Assembly. There will be a Quality self assessment system available on the web site in the future and also a Quality Newsletter.

A questionnaire has been sent out by the Training Program Committee. 40 replied out of 240. 12 out of 22 have replied to a request on requirements for becoming a specialist in Orthodontics and requirements to be recognized as a training institution. The three year Erasmus program for training was introduced in 1992.

A new draft on “Tasks and responsibilities of the EFOSA / EOS / FEO” has been approved by the EFOSA General Assembly.

A proposal on new voting procedures along the same lines as voting in the EU has been discussed.

6. Report of the activities of the FEO (Professor R Martina)

The FEO has also discussed the new draft on “Tasks and responsibilities of the EFOSA/ EOS / FEO”.

The FEO is preparing for the selection of the scientific award next week

There is a discussion going on if more than one national Society can be a member of the FEO. Roberto Martina is in favour but not the rest of the board.

7. Follow-up on the accreditation proposal

Accreditation as specialist in Orthodontics is regulated on a national basis. Every country has their own rules concerning national accreditation.

This point will then be released from the agenda of the Forum Meeting

8. Reports from member Societies

Gerassimos Angelopoulos from the Greece Association for Orthodontic Study and Research reported 295 out of 360 members during three weeks for free answered questions by telephone to the public in Greece. He also invited colleagues to a meeting in October 2006.

There is a new forum for postgraduate students in Orthodontics founded last year in Aarhus.

9. Future of the Forum

There are quite the same people attending the Forum Meeting as the EFOSA General Assembly which means that most information reported at the Forum Meeting already has been put forward at the EFOSA General Assembly. Is there a need for a Forum?

The Forum Meeting was introduced by the EOS to facilitate contacts between national orthodontic societies i.e. the eastern European countries.

The number of participants in the meeting have varied between 8 to 44 individuals.

Wolfgang Schmiedel, Roberto Martina, Gerassimos Angelopoulos, Susanne Siersbaeck-Nielsen and Claude Bourdillat commented on the need for common forum and joint interests of the three organisations EFOSA, EOS and FEO.

10. Any Other Business

Zaur Zeynalov from the Azerbaijan Orthodontic Society asked for help to organize an orthodontic Society in his country. He was recommended to ask WFO who can help.

Wolfgang Schmiedel urged the officers of the visit the new European Union countries and help them with scientific programs and promote your organization.

Andre Horn stated that there already is too many meetings to attend and also that there is too much distance between the leaders and the base. He also invited all participants to come to the IOC Meeting in Paris in September

11. Closure of the meeting

Francesca Miotti, vice President of the EFOSA thanked everybody for coming and for their contributions and closed the meeting at 10.30.

The next “Forum Meeting” if any is scheduled to be held in Vienna, Austria in July 2006.

Lars Medin

 

Report from "The Forum of National Orthodontic Societies", Monday, June 7th, 2004, 10.00 – 12.00 hours at the Building 250, Auditorium 4, University of Aarhus, Aarhus, Denmark

Representatives present:

  • Afonso Pinhão Ferreira (Portugal)
  • Carlos Silva (Portugal)
  • Pavlina _ernochová (Czech Republic)
  • Milan Kaminek (Czech Republic)
  • Marie Stefkova (Czech Republic)
  • Chris Kettler (United Kingdom)
  • Francesca Miotti (Italy)
  • Olivier Mauchamp (France – COCIO + SFODF)
  • Mikol Claude Bourdellat (France (EFOSA))
  • Susanne Siensbede-Nedsen (Denmark)
  • Preban Domgaard (Denmark)
  • Terttu Pietka (Finland)
  • Odile Hutereau (Luxembourg)
  • Bart Vande Vannet (Belgium)
  • Georges Kratzenberg (Luxembourg)
  • Barbara Siemminska (Poland)
  • Anne Elena (The Netherlands)
  • Frank de Winter (The Netherlands)
  • Monty Kraayeveld (The Netherlands)
  • Mirjana Sasic (Serbia and Montenegro)
  • Zoran Sasic (Serbia and Montenegro)
  • Jana Casparova (Slovakia)
  • Gabriela Alexandrova (Slovakia)
  • Viera Chromekova (Slovakia)
  • Torgeir Svensen (Norway)
  • Lars Medin (Sweden)
  • Anna Komorowska (Poland)
  • Wolfgang Schmiedel (Germany)
  • Peter Schopf (Germany)
  • Ulrich Fellner (Germany, Poland)
  • Anna Michalik (Poland)
  • Agnieszka Pilsulska-Otremba (Poland)
  • Hans-Peter Bantleon (Austria)
  • Lee W. Graber (USA - WFO)
  • Stefan Affolte (Switzerland)
  • Angelopoulos Gerassimos (Greek Association for Orthodontic, Study and Research – Greece, Greek Orthodontic Society)
  • Michael Kalavritnos (Greek Orthodontic Society)
  • Petros Kokkinos (Cyprus Orthodontic Society)
  • Gabriela Alexandrova (Slovak Orthodontic Society)
  • Jana Casparova (Slovak Orthodontic Society)
  • Vierra Chromeková (Slovak Orthodontic Society, Norwegian Association of Orthodontists)
  • Lars Medin (Swedish Association of Orthodontists)

1. Welcome by the President of the EOS. Introduction of Chairman.

The President of the EOS, Birte Melsen, welcomed the participants and introduced the President of FEO, Dr. Allan Thom as the Chairman of the "Forum of National Orthodontic Societies" of this year. In fact, it was established by EOS, EFOSA and FEO that every year the Forum will have a new Chairman, through a rotating process concerning the Presidents of the three participating institutions. The Chairman, Allan Thom, wished Birte Melsen a successful EOS Congress.

The Honorary Secretary of EOS, Luc Dermaut and the President of EFOSA, Frans Van der Linden, were also on the podium. The Secretary-General of FEO, Afonso Pinhão Ferreira, took the minute of the meeting.

2. Role of the National Forum (EOS initiative for discussion and exchange of information).

Allan Thom referred that this Forum was an EOS initiative in order to promote professional debate and exchange of information and reinforce friendship among all colleagues without an executive role.

3. Approval of Agenda and notification of any other business.

The Agenda for the Forum was approved as proposed. Allan Thom informed all the delegates that the last Forum Report is in the EOS and EFOSA websites. The minutes of the last meeting in Prague were read and approved.

4. Joint venture between EOS, EFOSA and FEO.

It was focused that the three organisations had met in London this year in connection with the EOS Council Meeting and according to last year decision in the Forum, they organised the Agenda of the joint "Forum of National Orthodontic Societies" on the hope of a joint venture for the orthodontic speciality and for all the orthodontists.

5. Reports of Heads of Agreement between EOS, EFOSA and FEO.

This issue has been discussed during the last two years. Nevertheless, Allan Thom said that, there are still some issues that need further discussion between the three institutions. It was not opportune to bring this report at this time into the Forum.

Allan Thom also referred that a new President of EFOSA was elected – Prof. Dr. Frans Van der Linden.

6. Report of EOS activities (EOS Secretary, Professor Luc Dermaut) EOS, EFOSA and FEO

A meeting of the President of the EFOSA, the President of FEO and myself took place in London in February, the aim of which was to intensify co-operation between the three societies. Discussions took place on:

Postgraduate Accreditation

The programme relating to Paediatric Dentistry was considered to identify areas that could be translated to the specialty of orthodontics. The EFOSA survey on Graduate Programmes in Orthodontics was discussed and suggestions were put forward. This survey has been circulated to the Heads of Orthodontic Departments.

Responsibilities and Heads of Agreement

The purpose of these heads of agreement was to ensure, as much as possible, that we speak with one voice for the mutual benefit of European orthodontics. It was agreed that whilst there may be some crossover of responsibilities, with mutual co-operation, there should not be a conflict of interest or responsibilities.

National Forum and Agenda

The National Forum, which is an EOS initiative where discussion can take place but no executive decisions are made, is an information exchange forum. It was agreed that the Forum would be a joint venture between the EOS, EFOSA and FEO with a rotating chair.

Meeting in 2005

Amsterdam

The 81st EOS Congress will take place in Amsterdam from the 3rd to the 7th June under the Presidency of Professor Anne Marie Kuijpers-Jagtman. The pre-Congress course will be given by Demetrios Halazonetis of Greece and the postgraduate course by Jaap Maltha and Christos Katsaros of the Netherlands. The topics for the Congress are: Biology in daily orthodontics, Interdisciplinary orthodontics, Cephalometric alternatives and The digital decade. Professor Kuijpers-Jagtman has brought together a number of very interesting keynote speakers. These are: Jonathan Sandy, Jaap Maltha, Maurice Mommaerts, Junji Sugawara, Monica Palmer, David Sarver, James Mah and Kenji Takada. The Sheldon Friel Lecture will be given by Irma Thesleff of Finland. Amsterdam is a most attractive venue which we are sure will appeal to all delegates and particularly postgraduates. We look forward to seeing you there.

7. Report of EFOSA activities (EFOSA President, Professor Frans Van der Linden)

The report was presented by Prof. Frans P.G.M. van der Linden, who was elected as new President of EFOSA the day before as the successor of Dr. Wolfgang J. Schmiedel.

In the General Assembly meeting of June 6, 2004, the Czech Republic and Portugal were accepted as Active Members and Serbia-Montenegro was elected as Affiliated Member of EFOSA. It was further decided that new EU Member coming from the former Eastern European countries have to pay only 50% of the fees during the first four years.

In the past year progress was made by the four subcommittees: the "Ethics Committee", the European Health Insurances Committee, the "Quality Working Group" and the Committee "Orthodontic Training Programs and Examinations". The latter recently had send out 240 Questionnaires to all Training Centres in Europe.

Little progress has been made in the three "old" EU countries, Spain, Austria and Luxembourg, in which the Specialism of Orthodontics is still not recognized. In all three countries the General Dental Practioners Organisations are the largest obstacles.

For further information is referred to the EFOSA Website "www.EFOSA.org" on which the minutes of the General Assembly Meetings, the semi-annual reports and more general information regarding the Specialism of Orthodontics is presented.

8. Report of FEO activities (FEO President, Dr. Allan Thom)

The FEO activities 2003 – 2004 were:

  1. 2003 General Assembly held in conjunction with the orthodontic society of Serbia and Montenegro in Belgrade attended by 22 representatives.
  2. The Turkish and Macedonian Orthodontic Societies Were admitted as members of FEO.
  3. The website has been reworked www.feo-online.org and continues to be updated as information becomes available.
  4. The Presidents of FEO, EFOSA and EOS met in February 2004 to discuss matters of mutual interest and to agree a "Heads of Agreement" paper.
  5. The FEO Award for the best scientific paper in a national orthodontic journal was awarded to the Journal of Orthodontics. Anonymised judging of 2 papers from each journal.
  6. The judging is now taking place for the 2004 award.
  7. The FEO lecture has been instigated. Last year Dr David Tidy (UK) gave the lecture at the Serbian and Montenegro Society meeting. This years lecture will be chosen in consultation with the country hosting the General Assembly.
  8. The secretary general is compiling a list of speakers who are available and willing to speak at members societies meetings. 50 names to date.
  9. The FEO accounts are sound and initiatives are being taken to use assets to the benefit of National Member Orthodontic Societies. More about this will be published in due course.
  10. As a member of FEO responded to the Guideline letter published by the WFO. The FEO made the statement that for post graduate education "at least 3 years" was necessary. Not 2 as suggested.
  11. Four countries submitted application to host the 2004 General Assembly and all were strong candidates. With great difficulty a choice had to be made. This year the GA will be in Florence Italy 29th October hosted by the Italian Orthodontic Society. It is record the thanks and appreciation to the other hosts and FEO hopes very much to the visit those countries in the near future.
  12. A new board of directors will be voted in at the next General-Assembly and applications for posts are being invited.

Dr. Allan Thom ended the summary of the FEO report by thanking all the FEO Board and all national presidents without whose help and enthusiasm FEO would not be so successful.

Dr. Wolfgang Schmiedel, former President of EFOSA, asked if non-European countries could be FEO members. Dr. Allan Thom answered that FEO has corresponding members such as Israel. These countries do not have the same rights as active or affiliated members. They can express opinions, attend FEO meetings but they can not vote. Dr. Angelopoulos, from the Greek Association for Orthodontic Study and Research (Greece) asked if it was possible in case of a country with two orthodontic societies, one of them to be corresponding member. Dr. Allan Thom said that this problem was never mentioned, but in case of happening, it would have to be discussed and maybe alter the FEO by-laws. It is a subject to be considered. Over this matter, Prof. Frans Van der Linden, said that from the EFOSA point of view, the society which represents the country must have, at least, 70% of the orthodontic specialists in that country.

9. Report from member societies – if appropriate.

There were no reports from member societies. Dr. Anna Komorowska from Poland asked what I.A.O. (International Association of Orthodontists) was. Dr. Lee W. Graber, President of WFO, answered that it was an association of generalists and its educational courses are not from specialists. It is an association of generalist dentists with whom there have been some controversies.

10. Any other business.

There was a period for discussion of several matters, including the one presented by Dr. Angelopoulos (Greek Association for Orthodontic Study and Research - Greece). This colleague focused the difficulties other colleagues have when they decide to practice the speciality in some countries. In fact, there is some legislation in some countries that oblige to a certain dimension of the rooms and to certain X-ray devices; this kind of legislation is very hard to follow and brings out serious problems to the professionals.

According to Dr. Angelopoulos that legislation should be pan-European and this subject should be in the Agenda of the next Forum.

11. Date and time of next meeting.

Dr. Allan Thom ended the meeting, reminding all delegates that the next Forum will be held in the 81º EOS Congress in The Netherlands.

 

Report from "The Forum of National Orthodontic Societies" - Tuesday, June 10th, 2003, 09.00 – 10.45 hours at the Congress Centre, Prague, Czech Republic


1. Welcome

The President of the EOS, Milan Kaminek, chaired the meeting of the "Forum" and welcomed the participants. The Honorary Secretary of EOS, Luc Dermaut, and the President of the EFOSA, Wolfgang Schmiedel, were also on the podium. The Secretary of the EFOSA, Lars Medin, took the minutes of the meeting.

Attendance: Thirty one people attended the meeting from 21 countries. Also representatives from the FEO were present. An attendance list was signed.

Agenda: There was an addition to the agenda called "Report from the EFOSA General Assembly Meeting, June 9th, 2003". It was also decided to discuss the point "Postgraduate accreditation" as the last point on the agenda.

2. Minutes of Previous Meeting

The minutes of the 2002 "Forum Meeting" were read by the EOS Secretary.

Wolfgang Schmiedel commented upon point 6. It is said that the conditions in Germany are in contrary to the EU policy. The statement is wrong. Unfortunately the EU Directives from 1978 allow the training authorities of the University faculties or Health Centres approved by the relevant authorities to train Orthodontic Specialists.

The minutes were then agreed as a correct record of last meeting.

3. Cooperation between the EOS, EFOSA and FEO

EOS Secretary, Luc Dermaut reported that the three organizations had met in London in February 2003 in connection with the EOS Council Meeting. They had agreed upon a common responsibility for the "Forum" and accepted to vary the chairing of the meeting.

When the cooperation between EOS and EFOSA started in 1997 tasks and responsibilities of the two organizations were listed in 1997. A similar clarifying of the role of FEO will be done.

4. Report from the EFOSA General Assembly Meeting, June 9th, 2003

The EFOSA President Wolfgang Schmiedel gave a short review of yesterdays meeting of the EFOSA General Assembly.

  1. All member countries except Ireland were present
  2. Austria has got a new Minister of Health which maybe can help in getting Orthodontics as a recognized specialty.
  3. An article about "European Orthodontic Specialists in 2002" will be published in the European Journal of Orthodontics in a near future
  4. Some changes in the EFOSA Constitution and Bylaws have been done
  5. The EFOSA web-site has undergone a facelift and all reports from meetings since the start 1977 are available at www.efosa.org
  6. The Czech Orthodontic Society" has been elected as Affiliate Member. EFOSA has now 20 member countries. EU has decided upon 10 new countries mainly from Eastern Europe. It will be a great challenge to incorporate these countries into the EFOSA organisation.
  7. Belgium will probably apply for active membership 2004. A new common organization called "Belgium Union of Registered Orthodontics (BURO) will be established.
  8. Portugal will form "A group of orthodontic specialists" inside their organization and accordingly qualify for Active Membership, maybe next year, 2004.
  9. A subcommittee on "Ethics" has provided a written report on ethical rules in the professional contacts. The member organizations will now discuss this and report back to the EFOSA.
  10. Three more subcommittees have been installed. "Training programs and examination", "Quality Control and development" and "Insurance programs in different countries"
  11. Spain will be Provisional Member for another two year until the specialty will be officially recognized.
  12. Luxembourg and Austria are also Provisional Members
 

The Forum of Orthodontic Societies - Tuesday June 4th 2002 at the Sorrento Palace Hotel 09.30hrs


The President of the EFOSA, Dr Wolfgang Schmiedel, chaired the meeting of the forum and the President of the EOS, Professor Roberto Martina, was also present. The Secretary of the EOS took the minutes of the meeting.

Thirty three members attended the meeting from 19 European countries and signed the attendance register.

1.

Apologies had been received from Drs M Ronchin of Italy and I Watson and T Crawford of Australia who were to be represented by Dr S Bajada.

2.

The Presidents of the EOS and EFOSA welcomed the representatives to the meeting. The President of the EOS welcomed the members to the meeting and hoped that they would enjoy the Congress in the beautiful area of Sorrento.

3.

The minutes of last meeting were agreed as a correct record.

4.

There were no matters arising other than those on the agenda

5.

The Secretary then reported on the joint letter of the EOS and EFOSA to the EU on training of Orthodontists. This had been sent both by post and courier but no acknowledgement had been received. However it always took a long time for the EU to respond but at least they had sent the document to us so that we could respond to their request.

6.

A letter had also been sent by the EFOSA and the EOS to the German Minister of Health as it had been brought to their attention that the local Provincial Parliament was considering allowing people who had only spent 3 years in private practice being allowed to register as Specialists. This was contrary to EU policy and was not acceptable to either the EFOSA or the EOS. No reply had been received to this letter either.

7.

There was considerable discussion on the criteria for the accreditation of orthodontic postgraduate training courses and the representatives of various countries contributed to the discussion. As there was no consensus of opinion it was suggested that the Presidents of the EFOSA the EOS and the FEO should convene a meeting and draw up a document which could be discussed at the meeting of the Forum next year. All those present agreed this and the EOS would co ordinate the meeting.

8.

The Chairman of the meeting Dr Schmiedel of the EFOSA said that all the minutes of the Forum Meetings could be seen on the EFOSA Website and members could consult them there. The Secretary thanked the President of EFOSA for making these available.

9.

Co-operation between the EOS and the EFOSA would continue as members felt that this had been a fruitful co-operation that had enabled orthodontic specialists to speak and to respond with one voice.

10.

The future of the Forum of Orthodontic Societies was discussed as the Secretary said that he had written to all the Orthodontic Societies for suggestions for the agenda and the only reply that he had had was from the Australian Society. The members agreed that it was a useful meeting and should continue.

11.

As there was no other business the Chairman closed the meeting and announced the date of the next meeting of the Forum.

12.

The date of next meeting would be Tuesday 10th June 2003 in Prague.

Minutes of the 2001 Meeting Forum of National Orthodontic Societies

The meeting of the National Orthodontic Societies of Europe, which was jointly arranged by the EOS and EFOSA, and is held annually with in the OS Congress, took place on Tuesday 19th June 2001 in the Congress Centre in Ghent, Belgium.

The EOS was represented by its President, Professor Luc Dermaut, and the General Secretary, Professor James Moss. EFOSA was represented by its President, Professor Jüri Kurol, and the General Secretary, Dr Wolfgang Schmiedel. Professor Luc Dermaut chaired the meeting.

There were 35 delegates from the following 18 European countries at this discussion forum: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and United Kingdom.

Professor Dermaut opened the meeting at 10.10 a.m.

1. Apologies

There were no written or oral apologies for absence.

2. Minutes of last Meeting

The delegates from Switzerland once again questioned the wording ‘at least’ from the previous Minutes. This was in reference to the education at the university. The majority of delegates agreed with the wording and so the Minutes of last year’s Forum meeting in Crete were unanimously agreed.

3. Matter arising

a) Letters to the EU Schmiedel reported that the letter, which was jointly sent in 2000 by EFOSA and the EOS to the European Council had been answered by its secretary, Nadja Costacurta. This was the first time in the history of both Societies that the European Commission had noted their concerns. Obviously from now on the European Commission will consider the interests of the orthodontic societies of Europe before any decision are made.

b) Specialisation Professor Kurol reported on the topic ‘Specialisation’ where a written request from the European Commission to EFOSA had recently been received. This concerned a working paper with the title ‘The Future Regime for Professional Recognition’ in which eight specific questions concerning further education and specialisation were proposed. These were to be answered by the 28th September 2001. It was decided that the EOS and EFOSA would jointly answer these questions and send a written reply to the European Commission. Professor Bolender emphasised the importance of referring to the so-called ‘Erasmus Programme’, which had already been published and agreed. Dr Schmiedel will publish the complete written answer on the EFOSA website (www.EOFSA.org) under the heading ‘News’. It will be available on a field not protected by a password so that all those interested may have access.

4. Accreditation of orthodontic training (What, When, Who, How)

Detailed discussions ensued about the European-wide recognition and harmonisation of orthodontic further education. Once again reference was made to the already existing ‘Erasmus Programme’. Professor Athanasiou (Greece) said that for the time being this agreement should be given to all European universities so that the quality of further education will be raised. Dr Karvelas (Greece) also pointed out that because of the absence of some European countries no uniform consensus of opinion could happen. Dr Affolter (Switzerland) emphasised the problematic nature of the non-EU countries and asked for a generally agreed definition of the term ‘accreditation’. Dr Schmiedel pointed out the problematic nature in Germany where each individual State Dental Chamber has the power to make its own decisions and so a uniform further education programme was almost impossible. Professor Miotti (Italy) pointed out the financial problems of the universities as well as the existence of non-official further education programmes. Dr Affolter (Switzerland) said that in the case of Switzerland’s entry into the Economic Union the State would have control of the further education programme. Drs Moss and Schmiedel suggested suspending this discussion until the subject of specialist orthodontics is recognised in all European countries, even Austria, Luxembourg, Spain, Belgium and Portugal.

5. Regionalisation of Orthodontic Societies

Professor Athanasiou (Greece) stated that the EOS, according to their Constitution, could not form any regional groups as members into the EOS was an individual membership of individual people. As a result the FEO (Federatio Europea Orthodontica) have taken over responsibility for the management of and information from the National Orthodontic Societies. Professor Moss said that he had been requested to include this item on the agenda. Further contributions to this discussion were made by Professor Athanasiou (Greece), Dr Pirttiniemi (Finland) and Dr Schmiedel. The delegates did not come to any conclusion on this item on the agenda.

6. Any Other Business

No other business was discussed.

7. Date of Next Meeting

The Chairman of the Forum Meeting, Professor Dermaut, gave the date for the meeting as Tuesday, 4th June 2002 in Sorrento, Italy. Professors Dermaut, Moss and Kurol and Dr Schmiedel thanked all those present for their contributions to the discussion. Professor Dermaut closed the meeting at 11.10 a.m.

 

Meeting of the Forum of Orthodontic Societies Strasbourg, Tuesday June 2nd 1999 9.00hrs


Professor C Bolender President of the EOS and Professor J Kurol President of EFOSA welcomed the 51 representatives from 28 different European Orthodontic Societies to the meeting.

Dr. W Schmiedel the Secretary of EFOSA reported on the meeting of the Cooperation Committee which met at least once every year. It had met in February 1999 and had discussed the letter that had been sent to the EU in 1998, the text of the proposed letter to the EU which had been circulated to all the Orthodontic Societies, Specialist examinations, the German Specialist problems and the FEO.

He said that there had been no response to the letter sent to the EU, not even an acknowledgment.

It was suggested that the letter to the EU should be sent with the names of all the Orthodontic Societies attached. Discussion then ensued as to whether the document would be accepted by the General practitioners who formed the largest group of the Profession in Europe. Holger Buch felt that although the EU needed advice on the skills and training of Orthodontists, the way in which this would be achieved would not be agreed. He suggested that the agreed letter which had been sent to all the Orthodontic Societies in Europe should not be sent to the EU but that we should respond to the document that had been sent out by the Advisory Committee on “Competencies in Orthodontics”. Once the document had been commented on we should seek a meeting with officials of the EU at the highest level in Brussels. The Advisory Committee only meets once or twice a year with only one representative from each country involved. There was therefore an urgency to get a response to the Advisory Committee and cooperate with it. Claus Munck was the representative from Denmark and he was an Orthodontist and Bill Allen was the representative from the UK.

It was agreed that the Cooperation Committee should meet in the fall and look at the document “Competencies in Orthodontics “ and formulate a response to take to the EU in Brussels. The response would be sent to all the Orthodontic Societies in Europe for their agreement and comments before being taken to the EU.

Orthodontic Specialist.

There was discussion on the definition of an Orthodontic Specialist. In France, Germany, the Netherlands and in some other countries this meant the exclusive practice of Orthodontics. Others felt that the education and training were most important. It was pointed out that education was a continuous process and that it should continue after Specialist recognition. In the Netherlands the Specialist had to be recognized by a Controlling body for Specialists. Professor Kurol reminded the Forum that a definition of an Orthodontic Specialist was essential for the Membership of EFOSA. Dr. Affolter from Switzerland said that we should define the education and skills but the limitation of practice should be eliminated. The definition of a Specialist varied from country to country but we should attempt to agree a definition for the whole of Europe.

Any Other Business.

Spain was anxious to obtain recognition for Specialists in Orthodontics in Spain and suggested that EFOSA write to the Government on their behalf.

Continuing Education was becoming extremely important in Europe and some insurance companies were asking for evidence of this. It was suggested that the Forum should write to all the Orthodontic Societies in Europe asking for details of their Accreditation programmes.

It was also felt that a list of all the University courses in Orthodontics should be made with the names of the heads of the Orthodontic Departments.

Date of Next Meeting.

The date of the next Forum of Orthodontic Societies would be June 2nd 2000 in Crete prior to the EOS congress.