News Items
Record-Breaking 32nd European Veterinary Dental Forum Held in Oslo
Oslo, Norway – The 32nd European Veterinary Dental Forum (EVDF), held from 29th to 31st May in Oslo, marked a milestone for veterinary dentistry in Europe, with 751 attendees – the largest gathering in the forum’s history. The event featured a diverse programme designed to support all levels of expertise, including Essentials, Intermediate, Advanced streams, Research and Case Report sessions, as well as dedicated streams in Equine Dentistry and Zoo Dentistry, as well as streams for veterinary nurses, including an Equine nursing stream for the first time.
A highlight of the week was the EVDC Study Days, hosted on Thursday. These sessions offered advanced clinical training on a variety of topics including axial pattern flaps for oncologic reconstruction, orthodontic procedures, basic and advanced endodontics, resin techniques, composite use in cranio-maxillofacial fractures, mandibulectomy, and advanced periodontal surgery. The Equine Study Day covered advanced topics in sinus imaging and facial fracture fixation, supporting ongoing growth in equine veterinary dentistry.
The forum was also a celebration of professional achievement. New Diplomates were welcomed into the European Veterinary Dental College:
- In Veterinary Dentistry: Drs James Haseler, Annabel McFadzean, Martin Hamilton, Maura Lazzarotto, Professor Chris Snyder, and Assistant Professor Lisa Mestrinho
- In Equine Dentistry: Dr Alexis Leps
A spectacular gala dinner on Friday night brought together more than 500 participants to enjoy fine food, wine, and dancing in true Norwegian style.
At the farewell drinks, the College proudly presented the prestigious Paddy Dixon and Cecilia Gorrel awards for the best resident presentations.
- The Cecilia Gorrel Award went to Crina Dragu for her outstanding presentation "Human factors – from aviation to veterinary dentistry and into the future."
- The Paddy Dixon Award was awarded to Amelia Sidwell for her innovative work "Behavioural assessment of dental pain in horses: development and initial validation of a proposed equine composite oral and maxillofacial pain scale (ECOMPS)."
This year also saw the renaming of the EVDS/EVDC Research Grant to the Frank Verstraete Research Grant, honouring Professor Verstraete’s enduring contributions to the field of veterinary dentistry. The 2025 grant, valued at €5000, was awarded to Amelia Sidwell and her team for their proposal "Behavioural indicators of oral pain in horses: Development of an equine dental ethogram."
The European Veterinary Dental College, in collaboration with the European Veterinary Dental Foundation, extends its deepest thanks to all participants, speakers, and supporters. The calibre of scientific proposals and clinical innovation showcased throughout the event demonstrates the vibrant future of veterinary dentistry in Europe.
The European Veterinary Dental Forum 2026 will be organised at Centro de Congressos da Alfandega in Porto, Portugal from 7-9 May 2026!
EVDF 2024
The Cecilia Gorrel and Paddy Dixon Awards
EVDF took place this year from 30th May until June 1st in the beautiful city of Nantes, France. EVDC was proud to partner with EVDS in supporting this event.
The EVDC study days which occur on the Thursday prior to the start of the conference, allow practical wet-lab tuition taught by EVDC Diplomates. This year the topics covered: Piezosurgery applications, Surgical endodontics, Crown preparation, Rabbit Dental procedures, Incline plane procedure, Gap arthoplasty and condylectomy, CBCT: principles and application, Basic histopathology of the oral lesions, Incisor extractions and pulp capping, Sinus anatomy, transnasal endoscopy and sinuscopy and Advanced radiographic projections of the equine head
Next year’s topics include axial pattern flaps, fracture repair, introduction to composites and interactive sessions. Be sure to sign up as soon as registration opens so you don’t miss out on these Specialist-led labs.
The Paddy Dixon and Cecilia Gorrel prizes were awarded for the first time this year. These prizes are awarded for the best presentation during EVDF by either an equine or general resident. The prizes consist of a certificate and voucher.
The 2023 winners were:
Cecilia Gorrel Award 2023: James Haseler for his presentation "Marsupialisation of dentigerous cysts"
Paddy Dixon Award 2023: Dewi Borkent for her presentation “The use of CT to measure apical angles of cheek teeth requiring extraction’’
The 2024 winners were:
Cecilia Gorrel Award 2024: Hannah van Velzen for her presentation “Extraction tips for feline dentistry’’
Paddy Dixon Award 2024: Michèle Clarysse for her presentation “Analysis of dental dust and its potential respiratory health risk’’
We hope this encourages EVDC residents to submit presentations to EVDF.
The call for papers is now open for EVDF 2025, which will be held in Oslo, Norway.
Junior vet Camil Stoian Memorial Award
Camil Stoian was an extraordinary and dedicated veterinarian, with a profound love for Dentistry and Oral surgery. He was an extraordinary human being with a very big heart, who understood and embraced the raw beauty of this job.
Camil Stoian was a Diplomate of the European Veterinary Dental College. He graduated from the Faculty of Dental Medicine of Cluj-Napoca (6 year program) with a Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degree in September 2002 and from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca (5 year program) with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree (DVM) in 1990. He received his PhD Degree in dental implantology from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Cluj-Napoca (Romania), Department of Surgery, with “Magna cum laudae” distinction in October 2005.
To honor his memory, Junior vet has created the Junior vet Camil Stoian Memorial Award, an award that we would love to represent the greatness, passion and love for Dentistry and Oral Surgery. Junior vet Camil Stoian Memorial Award is addressed to all veterinarians working in the field of Dentistry and Oral surgery in Small animals, Exotic and Zoo animals.
The Junior vet Camil Stoian Memorial Award has a value of 350EUR which will be awarded as a grant to the winner of this scientific contest in the field of Dentistry and Oral surgery in Small animals, Exotics and Zoo animals.
Click here for all detailed information!
Please note that the deadline has been extended to 30 June 2021.
EVDC Trial Examinations were a success!
The EVDC entry examinations take place annually, and consist of two written 4- 4 ½ hour papers, and three 4-hour practical examinations. The written papers have historically been paper-based. This year, with the help of EBVS, the EVDC is migrating to a computer-based system for examination preparation and implementation. Examsoft and Examplify are computer-based assessment and examination software systems, with over 20 years of success in worldwide academic institutions. Examsoft allows the Examination Committee to securely build a bank of suitable examination questions, construct valid and fair examinations, and then scrutinise results in detail, producing strengths and opportunites reports. Examplify is the secure platform upon which candidates sit the examination. Although invigilators will still be required, this does allow us to offer remote examinations, the first of which will take place in June 2021. In preparation for this, the EVDC examination committee have prepared a trial examination, constructed from questions supplied by residents and candidates. This was successfully arranged and executed in January 2021. Feedback from the trial examination included that it was “very intuitive and easy to use” and that “photos and radiographs were clear to assess”. The Examination Committee is grateful to the EBVS for creating this opportunity, and in particular Mark Bowen, the director of Education who helped us familiarise with the platform.
Rachel Perry, March 2021
Professor Dixon retires from the University of Edinburgh
It is with no little sadness that I report to you the announcement from the Royal(Dick) School of veterinary studies, University of Edinburgh, that Professor Paddy Dixon has retired from the Staff at the College, having been Professor of Surgery for many years. Prof Dixon started at the Dick undertaking his PhD, and initially published widely in the fields of Respiratory medicine and surgery, leading undergraduate teaching and training many residents including myself. During this period his attention was caught by the dearth of data on equine dentistry that had been sorely neglected by the profession. After forming alliances with prominent practitioners in the United States in the early 1990’s, including Jack Easley and Leon Scrutchfield, a new era of science-led equine dentistry began. Despite much resistance, they fostered collaborative links amongst veterinarinary associations and the emerging dental technicians that has remained largely collaborative to this day in the UK and US at least. Together these and other luminaries, assisted by generations of subsequent minions, and supported by equine practitioners in Europe and the UK, started a prodigious era of evidence-based publications and Equine dentistry was dragged screaming and kicking out of the medieval darkness, to be able to sit alongside dentistry in comparative species. In the first part of the 21st century a generation of undergraduates had received training in equine dentistry at many veterinary schools, many of which can be traced back to individuals who came into contact with the achievements at the Royal Dick. At this point there was sufficient scientific foundation for equine dentistry to be eligible to be accepted by specialist dental colleges in Europe and the USA, and despite some inevitable teething troubles, both the EVDC and AVDC now include an Equine speciality that learns from and compliments the other companion species. As the primary conductor in this orchestra, Equine undergraduates, veterinarians specialising in equine dentistry, dental technicians, and horses owe Professor Dixon considerable gratitude, for his rigour and drive. We hope that Prof Dixon will remain active and contribute to this College for many years despite hanging up his boots at the Royal Dick.
Henry Tremaine, February 2021
EVDC Treasurer receives EBVS Award
I am delighted to announce that Leen Verhaert received an award for service to the EBVS from EBVS President Stephen May. Leen and her colleague served as the EBVS auditors from 2004-2009 EVDC is also pleased to announce that EBVS has approved our five year revalidation. A lot of hard work was put into this by Leen, Alex and Cedric. Everyone in the college owes them a debt of gratitude for helping to make sure that the college remains on the list of European Veterinary Specialist Colleges.