Interview: “There will be a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary care”

What does the theme of “Orthodontics 360°” mean for attendees of this year’s BOC?
The theme neatly sums up our goal to not only explore the full circle of orthodontic topics, but also focus outwardly on the wider dental world that surrounds us and how we can work closer and better with our dental colleagues. Hence, there will be a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary care with a number of themed sessions.

Are there any particular speakers or events that you would like to highlight?
It is impossible, and probably unfair, to single out any individual presentations or lecturers, bearing in mind that we have a record 66 presentations from speakers from home and abroad. We also have a record number of parallel sessions, with three full days of parallel sessions and two half-day sessions running alongside the main scientific programme. There really is something for everyone, with dedicated sessions for therapists, nurses, managers and support staff. There are a large number of dedicated interdisciplinary sessions within the main scientific programme, including presentations on ortho-restorative treatment, orthognathic treatment, the ortho-periodontal interface, the role of orthodontics in the management of temporomandibular joint disorders, and the role and challenges for orthodontics in association with trauma.

There are also themed sessions dedicated to aligner treatment, a modality that is becoming increasingly popular, and also to lingual orthodontic treatment. If I were to highlight one single lecture, it would be the prestigious Northcroft Memorial Lecture. The honour of delivering it falls to the UK’s own Prof. Martyn Cobourne, who will be discussing his career-long research into craniofacial development.

An essential and very enjoyable aspect of any conference is the networking that accompanies the social programme. This year’s BOC will be no exception, with our “Rule, Britannia!” gala reception taking place at Church House, adjacent to Westminster Abbey, on Thursday, 27 September. The conference-closing black tie banquet, the Glitter Ball, will take place at the iconic Connaught rooms in Covent Garden.

How has the BOC developed over the years? Are there any new features or concepts at this year’s conference?
This year is the 31^st BOC, but, remarkably, the first in London. The very first BOC took place at a hotel in Bournemouth in 1986 and was the first joint venture of the then multiple national orthodontic organisations. The BOC was, in many ways, the precursor to the now unified society that is the British Orthodontic Society. That first conference had a few hundred attendees, but has now grown into arguably the largest specialist dental conference in the UK, with regular attendances of over 1,200 people.

Unlike most large conferences, the BOC is not organised by professional conference organisers, but by a team of society members on a voluntary basis supported by a dedicated HQ team. These teams look to constantly innovate and improve the BOC experience for attendees and this year is no exception. This year, we are holding the first parallel session dedicated to secondary care with a focus on orthognathic treatment and 3-D surgical planning. TED Talks have taken the business world by storm and so this year we have introduced our own take on this with the OrthoTED session, showcasing a number of dynamic short talks with a focus on new technology and how this is influencing education and treatment. With so much to choose from, attendees will be torn in terms of which session to attend. Fortunately, this year we have made that dilemma a little easier with the introduction of the BOC catch-up session, in which video recordings of many presentations will be shown in a cinema-style session at a later time during the conference.

Thank you very much for the interview.

Editor's note: Further information about BOC 2018 can be found here.

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