Aida Mulic, Jon E. Dahl and Frode Staxrud.
The Norwegian Dental Association (NTF) held its annual “Holmenkollen symposium” in Oslo the 5th and 6th March2018.
The conference covered the topics: aesthetics, quality and ethics. Participating lecturers came from Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Spain and Norway. A number of methods for rehabilitating teeth in an aesthetic fashion were presented, including direct composite techniques and indirect techniques employing ceramics processed in a digital work flow. Also surgical and orthodontic treatment possibilities were covered. NIOM’s director, Jon E. Dahl, lectured on bleaching, its legal requirements and clinical possibilities.
The questions for the ethics discussion were “How do trends in cosmetics and beauty business and industry influence dentists’ daily work? Are dentists businessmen or health workers? What are the guidelines for dental professionals in practice today?” The audience was definite that dentists are still primarily health workers, as their number one goal is maintenance of good oral health, and that necessary treatment should be based on actual medical diagnoses and informed patient consent. Pushing unnecessary treatment and costs on to the patient or a third party (i.e. reimbursement from the public purse, Helfo) was not considered acceptable.
