Special conference as Odonto turns 150
Edinburgh-based society looks back on a century and a half of promoting education, knowledge sharing and standards
One of the oldest dental society’s in the world is celebrating a very special anniversary in March with a one-day conference and celebratory dinner in Edinburgh.
The Royal Odonto-Chirurgical Society of Scotland (ROCSS), or Odonto for short, was founded 150 years ago by a group of surgeons looking to raise the standards of dentistry at the time. And, in 2017, sesquicentennial president Ann Shearer is encouraging dentists in Scotland to attend the one-day conference to help celebrate a very special society. She said: “To anyone who is thinking of coming along to the conference or to one of our regular meetings, I’d say please come, you will be made very welcome. You will meet lots of new and interesting people.
“We also have an education programme of events that always take place on the second Thursday of the month between November and March. So, it is fixed in the calendar and you absolutely know when it is going to take place, which is quite nice.”
The Odonto was founded in 1867 by John Smith and a group of like-minded colleagues. Smith was the first person to institute a course of clinical instruction in dentistry in Scotland in 1865 and helped found the Edinburgh Dental Dispensary and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.
Ann, who is associate dean at NHS Education for Scotland, said: “We have to give enormous credit to our forebears for having shown the importance of sharing knowledge and experiences, helping to strengthen the profession and support successive generations of dentists.
“I see it as our role to champion the intentions of the founders of the society, namely to advance the profession by promoting dental education, maintaining ethical standards and uniting professional colleagues, from new graduates to senior colleagues in all branches of dentistry, in serving the needs of patients.”
Visit www.royalodonto.co.uk to find out more about the 150th anniversary conference.
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