Dental Asia May/June 2022

DENTAL UPDATES
ITI announces changes, new awards, and resume of in-person events
The International Team for Implantology (ITI)
has established three new ITI sections, two new
ITI honorary fellowships, and launched the ITI
Distinguished Achievement award.
During the organisation’s annual general
meeting, Charlotte Stilwell, president of ITI,
announced three new ITI sections, bringing the
overall total to 34. Until recently, Thailand and
Vietnam were part of the regional section South
East Asia, however their exponential growth and
the concentration of activities in these countries
made them excellent candidates for their own
sections.
Additionally, the ITI Board of Directors awarded
the official section status to Ukraine as well, with
immediate effect.
“In the light of everything that is currently
happening in Ukraine, it is more important
than ever to uphold our community spirit,” said
Stilwell. “We therefore took the opportunity, in
however small a gesture, to grant well-deserved
section status to our ITI community in Ukraine.
The ITI extends its deeply felt compassion to all
those affected by this humanitarian tragedy.”
The ITI honorary fellowship recognises longstanding
fellows with a distinguished career,
and since 1992, has awarded 21 fellows. This
year, the ITI added two new names to the list
of eminent honourees: Lisa Heitz-Mayfield from
Australia and Frauke Müller from Switzerland, both
former ITI board members and committee chairs,
and also the first two women to be presented with
the ITI’s highest recognition.
The new ITI Distinguished Achievement Award is
presented to professionals, within or outside ITI,
who have made a strong and enduring contribution
to either a specific milestone topic in implant
dentistry or a particular ITI project.
The first recipients of this award are Anthony
Dawson from Australia and Steven Eckert from the
US. Dawson received the award for his contribution
to the ITI SAC Classification in Implant Dentistry,
and Eckert for his work disseminating implantrelated
research and knowledge in his editorial role
for leading journals within the field.
ANDRÉ SCHROEDER RESEARCH PRIZES
2022
At the ITI Annual Conference, Ryan Lee from
Australia and Stefan Bienz from Switzerland
together with their co-authors were announced
winners of the 2022 André Schroeder Research
Prizes.
Lee received the prize for pre-clinical research for
his study on “Re-establishment of macrophage
homeostasis by titanium surface modification in
type II diabetes promotes osseous healing”, and
Bienz for his paper on “Clinical and histological
comparison of the soft tissue morphology between
zirconia and titanium dental implants under
healthy and experimental mucositis conditions — A
randomized controlled clinical trial”.
ITI CONGRESS ITALY AND ANNUAL
CONFERENCE
The ITI has also announced to hold again series
of global on-site events, enabling ITI fellows and
members to meet again in person, after a three-year
hiatus.
The AGM was preceded by the annual conference
that focused this year on “Peri-implant soft-tissue
integration and management”, in line with the
recently published volume 12 of the ITI Treatment
Guide book series.
Preceding that, the ITI Congress Italy on “Esthetics
in implant dentistry: Clinical and scientific evidence”
was held from 31 Mar-1 Apr 2022. Both events
attracted 1,005 and 885 participants respectively, as
reported by ITI. ■
Mectron signs agreement with ITI
Mectron, inventor and producer of
PIEZOSURGERY, the piezoelectric bone
surgery unit, and the ITI have signed a longterm
sponsorship agreement.
As the first sponsorship partner in a new
initiative launched by the ITI to establish
longer-term relationships with a small
number of companies from the industry,
Mectron will be working more closely with
the ITI for an initial period of three years.
The agreement encompasses primarily ITI
congresses and symposia as well as the
contribution of educational material for the ITI
community in its area of expertise. Mectron is
at present one of a select group of companies
known as industry partners of the ITI.
“This global ITI initiative is based on a
modular sponsorship concept that allows us
to meet the individual needs of our sponsors,”
said Charlotte Stilwell, president of ITI. “It
represents a mutually beneficial, longer-term
commitment made by carefully selected
companies that share similar educational and
scientific, evidence-based principles as the
ITI. We are very happy to welcome Mectron on
board.” ■
14 DENTAL ASIA MAY / JUNE 2022