Fédération Dentaire Internationale

R e p o r t s o f C o u n c ils a n d B u r e a u s

C O U N C IL O N I N T E R N A T IO N A L R E L A T IO N S

F é d é r a tio n

D e n ta ir e

I n te r n a tio n a le

G e ra ld L e a t h e r m a n , D .M .D ., F .D .S .R .C .S ., L o n d o n , E n g la n d

A t a lu n c h e o n given fo r in te rn a tio n a l guests by th e A m e ric a n D e n ta l A ssociation a t its re c e n t n in e ty -e ig h th a n n u a l session, w h ich h a d a n a tte n d a n c e o f 204, G e rald L e a th e rm a n , sec retary -g en eral o f th e F é d é ra tio n D e n ta ire In te rn a tio n a le , d elivered th e follow ing ad d ress: in th e h e a lth field ca n c la im seniority to th e F .D .I. a n d th a t is th e In te rn a tio n a l C o m m ittee of th e R e d Cross. I n th e early d e v e lo p m e n t o f th e F e d e ra tio n , larg ely d u e to v o lu n ta ry in ­ d iv id u al efforts of a few in te rn a tio n a lly m in d e d d entists in th e co u n tries of E u ro p e a n d in th e U n ite d S tates, it is an im p o rta n t fa c t to n o te th a t th e F e d e ra ­ tio n fro m th e first sh o w ed a n in te re st in th e s ta n d a rd s of pro fessio n al e d u c a tio n a n d th e p ro v isio n o f a d e n ta l h e a lth service fo r th e p u b lic. T h e first tw o in ­ te rn a tio n a l C om m issions o r C ouncils to b e fo rm e d , w ere those o n e d u c a tio n a n d o ra l hygiene— la te r to b e called P u b lic D e n ta l H e a lth Services C om m ission. T h is fa c t doubtless h as b ee n larg ely responsible fo r th e F .D .I. b ein g ab le to w ith sta n d th e test o f tim e a n d th e s tra in o f tw o w o rld w ars. T h e w ars seem to m a rk very d efin ite p erio d s in th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f th e F e d e ra ­ tion. F irst fro m 1900 to 1914— a stage of g ra d u a l g ro w th a n d con so lid atio n —th e n th e w a r fro m 1914 to 1918— fo l­ low ed by th e years fro m 1919 to 1939— d u rin g w h ich p e rio d th re e congresses w ere h eld in P h ila d e lp h ia , P aris a n d V ien n a . T h is p e rio d is m a rk e d by th e w ork of tw o b ro th ers, H e n ry a n d G eorges

I b rin g you th e g reetin g s o f D r. B ran d ru p -W o g n sen , p re sid e n t of th e F é d é ra ­ tio n D e n ta ire In te rn a tio n a le a n d of th e m em bers o f its C o u n cil. I sh o u ld like to th a n k you fo r y o u r h o sp ita lity a n d fo r giving m e th e o p p o rtu n ity o f sp eak in g before th is d istin g u ish ed in te rn a tio n a l g ath erin g . N a tu ra lly , as sec re tary -g en e ral of th e In te rn a tio n a l D e n ta l F e d e ra tio n , to w hich I shall re fe r as th e F .D .I., I w a n t to ta lk to you a b o u t th is o rg a n iz atio n — tell you a little a b o u t its p ast— how it h as d ev elo p ed , surv iving tw o w o rld w ars, b e ­ com ing th e only d e n ta l o rg a n iz atio n in th e w o rld th a t c a n speak o n a v o lu n ta ry basis a t a n in te rn a tio n a l level on d e n ta l affairs a n d finally, to tell you a little of its aim s in th e fu tu re . T h e first In te rn a tio n a l D e n ta l C o n ­ gress w as h eld in P aris in 1889— th e second in C h icag o in 1893 a n d th e th ird in P aris in 1900. D u rin g th e th ird C o n ­ gress, h e ld u n d e r th e p resid en cy of D r. C h arles G o d o n of F ra n c e , th e F .D .I. was fo rm e d to b ecom e th e p e rm a n e n t b u re a u fo r th e o rg a n iz a tio n o f fu tu re in te rn a ­ tio n al d e n ta l congresses. S in ce th e n n in e m o re h av e been successfully h eld — m ile­ stones in th e h isto ry o f th e d e n ta l p r o ­ fession. O n ly one o th e r in te rn a tio n a l body 279

280 • T H E J O U RN A L O F T H E A M E R I C A N DEN T A L A SSO C I A T I O N

V illa in in F ra n c e , a n d th e a d m in is tra ­ tio n o f C h arles N o rd of th e N e th e rlan d s, w h o w as th e secretary o f th e F e d e ra tio n fo r m ost o f th a t tim e. T h e years 1939 to 1946 saw W o rld W a r I I , a n d in 1947, w e h a d a n ew re v iv al w ith th e X th I n te r n a ­ tio n a l D e n ta l C ongress b ein g h e ld in Bos­ to n , th a n k s to th e efforts of O re n O liv er a n d H a ro ld H ille n b ra n d a n d th e n cam e th e q u in q u e n n ia l p erio d fro m 1947 to 1952. I sh o u ld like h e re to p ay trib u te to th e w o rk o f O re n O liv e r a t th a t tim e, fo r it w as largely d u e to his p erso n al efforts th a t fu n d s w e re collected in th e U n ite d S tates to e n a b le th e F e d e ra tio n to ca rry o n w ith its in te rn a tio n a l aim s a n d objects. W e shall n e v e r fo rg et th e fine w o rk o f D r. O liver. A t th e conclusion of th e la st W o rld W a r, th e re was a g re a te r realizatio n th a n ev er b efo re o f th e n ee d fo r c o n c e n tra te d in te rn a tio n a l a c tio n to c o m b a t disease a n d c re a te h e a lth an d , th ro u g h th e U n ite d N a tio n s, th e W o rld H e a lth O r ­ g a n iz a tio n ca m e in to being. I t is in te re st­ in g to n o te th a t fro m th e in cep tio n o f W H O in 1948, u n til 1952, n o t a single p e n n y w as set aside in its b u d g ets fo r d e n ta l h e a lth , w h ereas th e c u r re n t b u d g e t fo r 1958 in clu d es ap p ro x im a te ly $84,500 to be u sed fo r d e n ta l h e a lth purposes. T h is h as largely b een b ro u g h t a b o u t by th e efforts o f th e F .D .I., strongly su p ­ p o rte d by th e A m eric an D e n ta l A ssocia­ tion. I n 1952, w e h a d th e L o n d o n C ongress, w h ic h was su p p o rte d by n ea rly 4,000 p a r ­ tic ip a n ts fro m som e 70 co u n tries, am o n g st w h ic h th e re w ere 641 fro m th e U n ite d S tates. I t is im p o rta n t to n o te th a t a t this tim e, th e F e d e ra tio n was re o rg an ized to b ecom e a m o re effective re p re se n ta tiv e o f n a tio n a l d e n ta l associations. F in a lly , th e re is th e last q u in q u e n n ia l p e rio d fro m 1952 to 1957. I w o u ld like to q u o te fro m a m essage o f o u r n ew p re sid e n t, D r. B ran d ru p -W o g n se n o f S w eden. T h is m essage is to be p u b lish ed in th e D e c e m b e r issue of th e N ew sletter, w h ic h is sen t to e ach su p p o rtin g m em b er :

The

F e d e r a ti o n

q u in q u e n n ia l p e r io d

h as

p e r io d

no w of

f in is h e d

its

a n o th e r

a c ti v iti e s .

h a s b e e n w i th o u t d o u b t th e

T h is

m o st im ­

p o r t a n t i n t h e h is to r y o f t h e F . D . I . T h o s e w h o h av e h ad

t h e p l e a s u r e o f p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n th e

w o r k o f th e F . D . I . d u r i n g th e s e f iv e y e a r s h a v e h a d t h e o p p o r tu n i ty o f w a tc h i n g a n o r g a n i z a ­ tio n w e

g ro w

w i th t h e s p e e d

c o u n t th e

n a ti o n a l

o f a n e x p lo s io n . I f

in d iv id u a l

a s s o c ia tio n s

at

m e m b e rs p re se n t

of

a l l th e

a f f i l ia te d

to

t h e F . D . I . , w e r e a c h a to t a l o f a b o u t 2 6 0 , 0 0 0 d e n tis ts . E v e n i f w e d o n o t k n o w

ho w

m an y

d e n tis ts th e r e a r e i n th e w h o le w o r ld , I th i n k w e a r e n o t w r o n g i n s a y in g t h a t th e m a jo r i ty a r e r e p r e s e n te d

in

th e

G e n e r a l A s s e m b lie s o f

t h e F . D . I . , o r i n o t h e r w o rd s , t h a t th e F e d e r a ­ tio n

is n o w

a r e a l w o rld

d e n ta l o r g a n i z a ti o n .

T h is brin g s m e to th e p re se n t tim e an d th e R o m e C ongress w h ich h as ju s t en d ed . A g a in I w o u ld like to q u o te fro m a n e d i­ to ria l in th e B r itis h D e n ta l J o u r n a l of O c to b e r 1 5 th : The

Rom e

C o n g re s s

h as

sh o w n

th a t

th e

s p e c ta c u l a r s u c c e s s o f th e L o n d o n C o n g r e s s o f f iv e y e a r s a g o w a s n o t d u e to a te m p o r a r y p o s t­ w a r e n th u s ia s m

b u t w as

e v id e n c e o f

th e

d e­

v e l o p i n g s tr e n g th o f th e F . D . I . R o m e d e m o n ­ s tr a te d b y th e n u m b e r o f th o s e w h o a tte n d e d , th e q u a l ity o f th e d e b a te , th e e x c e ll e n c e o f th e o r g a n i z a ti o n , a n d

t h e i m p o r ta n c e w i th w h i c h

th e C o n f e r e n c e w a s v ie w e d b y g o v e r n m e n t a u ­ th o r i ti e s , th e f a c t t h a t th e F . D . I . is a n o r g a n i ­ z a tio n o f e s ta b lis h e d i n te r n a ti o n a l im p o r ta n c e . T h i s i m p o r ta n c e d o e s n o t v a n is h b e tw e e n C o n ­ fe re n c e s:

i t is m a i n ta i n e d

by

th e

s te a d y

d e­

v e lo p m e n t o f th e I n t e r n a t i o n a l D e n t a l J o u r ­

n a l , t h e p u b l i c a ti o n o f a q u a r te r l y N e w s le tte r in

f iv e

d if f e re n t

lia is o n w i th W H O

la n g u a g e s,

th e

in c r e a s in g

a n d t h e m a i n te n a n c e o f a n

a c ti v e p e r m a n e n t S e c r e t a r i a t. T h e n i a l c o n g r e s s e s p r o v id e a m e e ti n g

q u in q u e n ­ g ro u n d

fo r

d e n tis ts f r o m a lm o s t e v e r y c o u n tr y in t h e w o r ld an d of

th e f o r u m th e

fro m

i n te r v e n i n g

w h ic h y e a rs

th e can

a c h ie v e m e n ts be

d is c u s s e d .

B a r r i e r s o f r a c e , l a n g u a g e , a n d r e lig io u s c r e e d a r e s w e p t a s id e b y i n te r n a ti o n a l g o o d w ill. T h e o n ly m o tiv e s w h i c h a re

th e

tis tr y , th e i t,

an d

fro m

in s p ir e th o s e w h o

ad v an cem en t o f in c r e a s e

th e

th e

a ll

m e m o r ie s

of

e n jo y m e n t o f m e e ti n g th e s e it

w i ll

w h o w e r e f o r tu n a te

a tte n d of

d en­

o f f a c ilitie s f o r p ro v id in g

o th e r c o u n tr i e s . T h e

p r o v id e d

sc ie n c e

in

f u ll

lo n g

c o lle a g u e s

C o n g re s s in m e asu re re m a in

eno u g h

to

Rom e

an d

w i th

th e

th o s e

a tte n d .

T h e se n u m b e re d a p p ro x im a te ly 7,000 fro m 72 co u n trie s in c lu d in g 1,350 e n ro ll­ m en ts fro m th e U n ite d States.

REPORT S O F C O U N C I L S A N D BU REA U S . . . V O L U M E 56, FEBRU ARY 1958 • 281

W e a re no w a t th e b eg in n in g o f a new q u in q u e n n ia l p erio d — 1957-1962— w h en th e X H I t h In te r n a tio n a l D e n ta l C o n ­ gress w ill ta k e p la c e in G erm an y . T h e F e d e ra tio n h a s m a n y responsibili­ ties b o th no w a n d in th e fu tu re . I t can a n d s h o u ld establish s ta n d a rd s fo r d e n ta l e d u c atio n . I t c a n re p re se n t th e d e n ta l profession in c o o p e ra tin g w ith m ed icin e in th e d e v e lo p m e n t of a n in te rn a tio n a l em b lem to p ro te c t civilian m e d ic a l a n d d e n ta l u n its in civil d efense a n d in d r a f t­ in g in te rn a tio n a l m e d ica l law s e n c o m ­ passing d en tistry . I t ca n c re a te in te rn a ­ tio n al s ta n d a rd s fo r d e n ta l m ate ria ls a n d stan d ard iz e m ilita ry d e n ta l eq u ip m e n t, re co rd in g m eth o d s, n o m e n c la tu re a n d d o c u m e n ta tio n m eth o d s. D r. P affenb arg e r, as c h a irm a n o f th e S u b co m m ittee on S ta n d a rd iz a tio n o f D e n ta l M ate ria ls of th e S cientific C om m ission, is to b e co n ­ g ra tu la te d fo r th e fine results ach iev ed u n d e r his lead e rsh ip in h a v in g a c cep ted by th e G e n e ra l A ssem bly o f th e F .D .I., in te rn a tio n a l specifications fo r alloy fo r d e n ta l a m a lg a m a n d fo r d e n ta l m ercu ry . T h is m ark s a g re a t step fo rw a rd in th e stan d a rd iz in g o f d e n ta l m ateria ls. I t c a n organize th e profession, espe­ cially in E u ro p e , to cope w ith th e socio­ econom ic p ro b lem s o f d e n ta l p ra c tic e w h ich a re g ro w in g daily. I t c a n advise th e n atio n s in S o u th A m e ric a h o w to im ­ p ro v e th e ir n a tio n a l d e n ta l associations. I t c a n assist those n a tio n s like In d ia , In d o n e sia a n d M a la y a to d ev elo p th e ir d e n ta l a n d a n c illa ry d e n ta l services fo r th e m asses of th e p o p u la tio n w h o are g ettin g in a d e q u a te d e n ta l service. I t can establish closer c o n ta c ts o n a n a tio n a l d e n ta l basis w ith R ussia, J a p a n a n d C h in a . I t is th e in te rn a tio n a l m o u th p ie ce of th e d e n ta l pro fession a n d , in fa c t, th e F ed e ra tio n in th e fu tu re ca n be an y th in g its m em b ers w a n t it to be, giv en a d e q u a te su p p o rt. T h a t su p p o rt m u st com e fro m th e d e n ta l profession th ro u g h o u t th e w orld. T h e F .D .I. is a F e d e ra tio n of n a tio n a l o rg an izatio n s so it behooves all dentists to see th a t th e ir n a tio n a l associations b e ­

com e m em b ers a n d re n d e r a d e q u a te fin an cial su p p o rt. F u rth e rm o re , all d e n ­ tists as in d iv id u a ls c a n p la y th e ir p a r t by b ecom ing s u p p o rtin g m em b ers a n d ta k in g th e I n te r n a tio n a l D e n ta l J o u r n a l. M e m ­ bers of th e A m e ric a n D e n ta l A ssociation only h av e to ap p ly to O b e d M o en , 6 M a in S t., W a te rto w n , W is., th e n a tio n a l tre a s u re r o f th e F .D .I. in th e U n ite d States. C o m p ariso n s a re usu ally odious a n d h av e little m e a n in g b u t it w ill be o f in ­ tere st to tell you th a t w h e n w e co m p a re th e p ercen ta g e o f d en tists in various co u n tries w ho h a v e show n a n in te re st in in te rn a tio n a l affairs by b ec o m in g su p ­ p o rtin g m em bers, w e fin d th a t fo r ex­ am p le 20 p e r c e n t o f th e profession in F in la n d is affiliated w ith th e F .D .I., 10 p e r ce n t in D e n m a rk , 7 p e r c e n t in th e U n ite d K ingdom ,, b u t alas, less th a n 2 p e r ce n t in th e U n ite d S ta tes in spite of D r. M o e n ’s sp len d id efforts. I n m e n tio n in g th is I w o u ld wish to m ak e it cle a r th a t 2 p e r c e n t of th e A .D .A . m em b e rsh ip m ean s m o re su p p o rt­ in g m em b ers th a n in an y o th e r c o u n try a n d trib u te m u s t b e p a id to th e w o n d e r­ fu l w ay in w h ich D r. M o e n h as a c cep ted th e responsibility o f n a tio n a l tre a s u re r fo r th e F .D .I. in th e U n ite d S ta tes a n d is p ro m o tin g su ch a fine s u p p o rtin g m e m ­ b ersh ip cam p a ig n . W e a re in d e e d g ra te fu l to D r. M o en . I t is v ita l to th e su rv iv al o f o u r civili­ z a tio n as we love a n d ch erish it, fo r th e p eoples o f th e w o rld to g e t to kn o w a n d u n d e rs ta n d o n e a n o th e r. H e r M ajesty, Q u e e n E liz a b e th I I , o n h e r re c e n t visit to th is co u n try so rig h tly s a id : “ Ig n o ra n c e creates fe a r a n d suspicion.” T h e F .D .I. is d en tistry ’s in te rn a tio n a l m e a n s o f d is­ p ersin g such ig n o ran c e. B ecom e su p p o rt­ in g m em b ers a n d com e to o u r m eetings an n u a lly a n d to o u r congresses every five years. T a k e o u r J o u r n a l, b u t above all, m e e t y o u r colleagues fro m o th e r c o u n ­ tries, g e t to k now a n d tru s t th e m a n d to call th e m y o u r frien d s in a peaceful w orld. 3 5 D e v o n s h ir e P la ce