EVENT DESCRIPTION:

SPIRIT 2023, the 4th Edition of SPIRIT, an ambitious thought process of the Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, SRM Dental College, Ramapuram was held on July 24th & 25th, 2023. It was a two-day national conference with this edition’s theme being HOPE (Highlights of Preserving the Endodontium). The conference was jointly hosted by Indian Endodontic Society (IES) and Conservative and Endodontic Association of Tamil Nadu (CEAT). This program was sponsored by Dentsply India and SHOFU India Private Limited. The conference was well attended by 150 participants from all over India, including undergraduate and post- graduate students and delegates. The Tamil Nādu Dental Council allotted 12 CDE points for this 2- day event.

Conference sessions were designed to provide participants with an in-depth understanding of the pulp-dentin complex and its preservation. Six lectures were delivered by eminent speakers, which included an international speaker from Ireland. The lectures were appreciated by the audience who interacted with the speakers with questions and lively discussions. A preliminary and final round of debate added zest to SPIRIT 2023. The second day was buzzing with a quiz program in which the students participated enthusiastically. Additionally, the conference served as a forum providing a free hands-on workshop on ‘Biomimetic restoration’ with materials sponsored from SHOFU to all the participants.

RESOURCE PERSONS:

Dr. K. Ranganathan is the Professor and Head of the Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, Ragas Dental College, Chennai. He completed in BDS and MDS from The Tamilnadu Dr.MGR Medical University in 1987 and 1990 respectively. He also holds a MS degree from the prestigious Ohio State University, USA and PhD from The Tamilnadu Dr.MGR Medical University in 2010. He is the first Indian to hold the post of President at Asian Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology (ASOMP) and Secretary at the International Association of Oral Pathologist (IAOP). He has won man accolades and awards for academic as well as research across the globe. He is an avid reader and a dynamic researcher with core interest in Oral cancer, Pre-cancerous lesions, OSMF, HIV and Stem cells. He has over 200+ publications and has guided 121 post graduates till date.

Dr. N. Velmurugan is the Principal and Head of the Department of Conservative dentistry and Endodontics at Meenakshi Ammal Dental College, Chennai. He completed in graduation from Rajah Muthiah Dental College, Annamalai University in 1993 and MDS from Tamilnadu Govt. Dental College, Dr. MGR Medical University in 1999. He is a diplomate of Indian Board of Endodontics and is currently pursuing PhD in root canal disinfection. He has a teaching experience of over 24 years and is a postgraduate trainer. He is a keen researcher and has over 108 publications in reputed national as well as International journals and an H-index value of 24. He has won several accolades such as Best teacher award, Dronacharya Award (CEAT) and IACDE Academic Excellennce Award 2016 (IACDE).

Dr. Henry (Hal) Duncan BDS, FDS RCS, FFD RCSI, MClin Dent, MRD RCS (Endo), PhD Received his dental degree from the University of Glasgow and his 4-year endodontic speciality training in Guy’s Hospital, King’s College London. For ten years, he worked part-time in specialist referral endodontic practice. He completed his PhD in the University of Birmingham on the subject of ‘Epigenetic approaches to the role of Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors (HDACi) in promoting dentine-pulp reparative mechanisms’. As an Academic Professor and Consultant in Endodontics, he has led endodontic teaching, service delivery and research in Dublin Dental University Hospital (DDUH) for the last 15 years. He has published over 100 international peer-reviewed scientific articles, 40 research abstracts, 18 book chapters as well as editing 2 textbooks. He was the primary

author of the recent European Society of Endodontology (ESE) position statement on ‘Management of deep caries and the exposed pulp’ and is the lead of the ongoing ‘ESE S3-level Guidelines for the Treatment of Endodontic Disease’. He is the current Editor-in-Chief of the International Endodontic Journal after being an Associate Editor for the International Endodontic Journal since 2014. Hal has completed three sponsored research fellowships in New York University/Rutgers University investigating the role of epigenetic-modifying agents on tooth development and regeneration as well as receiving multiple research grants as principal investigator. In DDUH, he currently maintains a research lab and is the principal supervisor of clinical and scientifically trained PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in basic and translational pulp biology and endodontics. Currently, he is the Director of Research in the DDUH, the Chair of Membership Committee of the ESE, a Member of the Executive Board of the ESE, the President Elect of the ESE, the President of the Irish Division of the IADR, the Vice-President of the Pulp Biology and Regeneration Group of the IADR and a Board Member of the Pan European Region of the IADR. He is a past president of the Irish Endodontic Society as well as an external examiner at home and abroad.

Dr. Viresh Chopra is the Course lead in Endodontics and Assistant Professor in Adult Restorative Dentistry, Oman Dental College, Muscat, Oman. He is also an Adjunct Professor in Saveetha Dental College, Chennai, India. He completed his graduation and postgraduation from Subharti Dental College. He served as a senior lecturer till 2012 after which he moved to Oman. Along with being the Course lead he is also pursuing his PhD in Clinical Endodontics from Queen Mary University, London, UK. He is the Editor of the book Clinical Atlas on Retreatment in Endodontics published under the banner of Wiley Blackwell, UK. He has had the honor of contributing to the literature in the form of various chapters in many of the specialty books on Endodontics. Along with chapters he also has few scientific research paper publications and clinical case reports to his credit. He is also an international editorial board member and reviewer for many national and international dental journals.

Dr. Leeba Varghese completed BDS with 1st rank in the University of Calicut from Government Dental College, Calicut in 2006. She did her Masters in Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics from Government Dental College, Thiruvananthapuram in 2011. She trained under Dr. Siju Jacob in micro endodontics, and is one of the pioneers of microscope enhanced dentistry in Kerala. She specializes in managing complex endodontic cases with the aid of the dental operating microscope. In her quest to provide the best treatment to her patients, Dr. Leeba keeps updating herself by attending conferences and workshops. She is trained and certified in implantology, management of temporomandibular diseases, and cosmetic dentistry. She is a renowned speaker in the field of dentistry and has been invited as a speaker to several CDE programs by Indian Dental Association, and many dental colleges in Kerala. Although Dr. Leeba also has several academic publications, both

at an international and national level to her credit, currently she is solely into private practice at Credence Dental Care Kottayam.

Dr. Adil Abdulla completed his Bachelors in Dental Surgery in the year 2010 from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore, later He took up an Advanced Training in Product Management and Material Science from Malaysia, To add to his clinical skills Dr Adil had Completed Certification in Cosmetic Dentistry, Oral Implantology and Orthodontics. He is a Dental Practitioner in Bangalore and currently the In-House KOL for Shofu Dental India, his work experience includes as a medical specialist for 2 years under a prominent health firm and as Product Specialist under Shofu Dental Asia Pacific- Singapore Branch for 3 years. Dr.Adil was invited as Guest Lecturer in various programs Nationally like WDS, IDA State conferences, Faculty in Technical platforms at Speciality Conferences, he had Also conducted various training programmes for Dentists, Dental Technicians & Marketing Staff throughout India and done various presentations on Dental Material Science ,Technology and their clinical applications.