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Inter-American Dental Confederation
P le nary session o f p re sid e n ts o f n a tio n a l d e n ta l a sso c ia tio n s of the A m e ric a s
Inter-American Dental Confederation R oberto M . R u ß * D .D .S., M ex ico City, M ex ico
Representatives of ten national dental as sociations organized the Pan Am erican (later named the In ter-A m erica n ) D en tal C onfederation in N ovem ber, 1958. T he organization fu nctioned fo r about 18 months and then had to suspend its ac tivities tem porarily for lack of financial resources and interest. T h e needs and purposes that inspired the organization still exist. A revived confederation might group together all regional federations into an inter-Am erican organization, or might serve as a regional institute affili ated with the Fédération D entaire In ter nationale.
Four years ago, an idealistic and earnest desire gave rise to the establishment o f the Pan Am erican Dental Confederation. Born out o f the need to unify the dental profession in the hemisphere, the pur poses o f the Confederation were establish ing professional safeguards, “ [promoting] constant scientific, technical, cultural, ethical and social im provem ent” 1 and “ [achieving] the highest possible level o f oral health for the peoples o f the Am eri cas.” 2 A t first, the C onfederation’s objectives
were the coordination and dissemination o f results o f dental research am ong den tists o f this hemisphere, cooperation with the official agencies grouping all A m eri can dentists, sponsorship o f dental m eet ings, prom otion o f dental and health edu cation campaigns, publication o f a journal to bring the advances achieved by den tistry to all Am erican countries and elaboration o f a cod e o f professional eth ics.3 O ther im portant tasks were added to this already ambitious program, am ong them : the establishment o f a stronger and m ore productive association with the International Dental Federation; the de velopm ent o f insurance, credit and retire ment plans fo r dentists, and the com pila tion o f statistical data on oral health needs in the Americas as well as the re sources available to m eet them success fully.
H IS T O R Y
Representatives o f ten national dental as sociations signed the charter o f the C on federation on Novem ber 22, 1958 during the Pan Am erican Congress o f the M exi can Dental Association held in M exico City. T h e signatory countries were A r gentina, Canada, C olom bia, Cuba, Ecua-
68/530 • THE J O U R N A L O F T H E A M E R IC A N DEN T A L A S S O C IA T IO N
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F ig. 2 • C h a r t e r w ith sig n a tu re s o f re p re se n ta tives o f c o u n trie s p re se n t at m e e tin g o f p re sid e n ts o f n a tio n a l a sso cia tio n s, M e x ic o , N o v e m b e r, 1958
dor, El Salvador, Guatemala, M exico, Peru and the U nited States4 (Fig. 1-3). Representatives at the 1958 meeting agreed to designate a provisional organiz ing com m ittee with headquarters in M e x ico City, com posed o f the follow ing officers: R oberto M . R uff, president; C laudio Funcia Cornel, honorary vicepresident; R oberto E. W oodw orth, treas urer; M iguel M orayta, secretary general, and Jorge Brahams, consultant-counsellor. A Constitution and Bylaws Secretariat was established under the chairmanship o f Carlos E. Pomes, and the education, publications, professional safeguards, sci entific interchange, public dental health and international committees were ap pointed.5 T h e second meeting o f the institute took place in N ew Y ork on September 9 and 10, 1959 during the Centennial M eeting o f the Am erican Dental Associa tion. N ew delegations joined the C on
federation which brought the num ber of countries represented to 15. T h e delegates attending the N ew York m eeting decided to change the name from Pan Am erican D ental Confederation to Inter-Am erican Dental Confederation. T hey gave great emphasis to that aim of the C onfederation which states that the C onfederation shall “ cooperate by all available means with the International Derital Federation, with the Latin A m eri can Dental Federation and the Dental Federation o f Central Am erica and Panama.” 1 T his same meeting ratified the designa tion o f headquarters and officers fo r the board o f directors o f the provisional or ganizing com m ittee, studied the draft by laws and prepared and proposed a second provisional draft. In view o f the financial needs for the Confederation’s operation, it was decided to charge yearly dues to be paid by the national associations.1 Sev-
Fig. 3 * Paul J e se rich , p re sid e n t in 1958 A m e r ic a n D e n ta l A ss o c ia t io n , s ig n in g ch a rte r
of
RUFF . . . VOLUME 67, OCTOBER 1963 * 69/531
En fa d e l o c u a l l o » d e leg a d oa da la a r e e p e c tiv a a A a o c la c lo naa O d o n to lo g ica a , debld«m ente a c r e d lta d o a j a u to r lta d o a pa ra a l l o a u b a c rlb ia o a a l prasan ta documento en la clu d ad da Nuava f o r k a lo a d ia » d ia a d a l aaa da ò e p tie a b r e da a i l n o -, ▼ aclentoa c in c u e n tln u e r a .
KUTP Delegado da l a A a o c la c lo n Den t a i M exicana.
" LK HOT KNNIS. li a i
u e n c u i,
/?
CES AB YVKTtSO. Delegado de la P e d e r a c lo n ¡¿ ¿ o n t o lo g ic a E cu a to ria n a .
^FIHAIDO GOSZALtS HAkOS Delegado d e l C o le g io de C lr u Janoa D e n tia ta a de Pu erto R ic o
MATILDE LUIGUI CAMP06 Delegado de la A e o c ia c lo n 0 d o n t o lo g lc a Peruana. ~
CARLOS E. PCHSS. Delegado de la Socied a d D e sta i de Q u a teaa la.
fo A
B.E. tJfLTZgK. En r e p r e a e n te c lo n d e l Dr. D a n iel P. Lynch Delegado de l a P e d era cio n D ental I n t e r n a c io n a l.
WILLIAM 0 . McINTOSH. S a lega do da la A a o c la c lo n * D ental d e l Canada.
OSCAR FRUDHCIO COSIO Delegado de la A a o c la c lo n Od o n t o lo g ic a B o llr ia n a .
SQBE8T0 CBARTIÍfi D elegad* 4 « l a A a o c la c ló n O d o n t o li t ica da Coata R ica
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Carlos d i castro c . D elegado da la P e d e r a c lin Od o n t o lo g ic e C o lo a b la n a .
víxn
.6. j la A a o c la c lo n Odon t o l ó g i c a Panaaeña.
D elegado d e l C o le g io E a to a a t o lo K lco R a cion a l de Cuba, en r e p r e se n ta c ió n d a l Dr. C la u d io Púnela C o r n e ll.
RETATO A. MATAMOROS D elegado de la Socied a d D ental ■ de E l S a lr a d o r .
ALEJANDRO STlDTHAGEf h. Delegado de la A a o cia cl6 n Den t a l de N icaragu a .
Vw*} Carlos perbz m \k tik e z . Delegado de la Federaci&n Odón t o l o g i c a C o lo a b la n a .
HABIO ABBED B. Valacada le 1* Saciedad Ddoate ld c io a DocOaioaaa.
T h e General Secretariat o f the C on federation corresponded with and gave counsel to members, and the Treasury did an excellent jo b o f administering funds. In spite o f all the preparatory work and concrete achievements, we found it im possible to continue the activities o f the Confederation. W hat were the causes for this standstill? Im portant factors were the lack o f financial resources and the con siderable loss o f interest on the part o f some countries. T herefore, funds collected were insufficient to cover the most press ing needs in spite o f careful administra tion; at no time did the C onfederation collect the total amount receivable from assigned dues. Although some countries gave the C on federation enthusiastic support, coopera tion in general was scarce; often there was open lack o f interest in maintaining the necessary correspondence. A nother negative factor was that the third meeting o f the organization could not take place, as planned, either in Havana, C uba or in Puerto R ico , in spite o f the preparatory work perform ed. C o n sequently, it was impossible to consider the problem s o f the C onfederation until the 1962 meeting o f the Am erican Dental Association.
Fig. 4 • D o c u m e n t with sig n a tu re s o f r e p re se n ta tiv e s o f co u n trie s p a r tic ip a tin g in m e e tin g o f official d e le g a t e s to In te r-A m e ric a n D en tal C o n fe d e ra tio n , N e w York, S e p te m b e r, 1959
eral donations, mainly from the American Dental Association, the Dental Society o f Puerto R ico and interested persons, were o f great help in advancing the work o f the C onfederation (Fig. 4 ) . A t this meeting, the Guatemalan rep resentative read papers on scientific inter change and dental education. Later, a bimonthly dental newsletter (Fig. 5) was initiated in both English and Spanish and was distributed in all the m em ber countries o f the Confedera tion for a year and a half.
F ig . 5 • N e w sle tte rs C o n fe d e ra t io n
of
In te r-A m e ric a n
D e n ta l
70/532 • THE J O U R N A L O F T HE A M E R IC A N DEN T A L A S S O C IA T IO N
S U M M A R Y A N D C O N C L U S IO N S
T h e Pan American Dental C onfedera tion, now called Inter-Am erican C onfed eration, was founded in M exico City in 1958 by the delegates o f 10 dental associa tions established throughout the hem i sphere. T h e primary aims o f the Confederation m ay b e summarized as union o f all den tists in the Americas, protection o f the legitimate interests o f the profession, tech nical and scientific interchange fo r better oral health and close collaboration with the International Dental Federation. A provisional organizing com m ittee was established in 1958 with headquarters in M ex ico City. T his com m ittee was rati fied in 1959 during the N ew Y ork meeting. A draft constitution and bylaws were drawn up pending final approval. A bul letin was published in both English and Spanish and was distributed for a year and a half. It was agreed that dues would be paid by the institution members o f the Confederation. Lack o f financial resources and inabil ity to maintain interest in the objectives were the two main reasons fo r the tem porary suspension o f the Confederation’s activities. Although it has been impossible to achieve the ideal o f a solidly constituted Inter-Am erican D ental Confederation, the needs and purposes that inspired its organization still exist. T h e C onfedera tion should work closely with existing den tal associations, such as the Dental F ed
eration o f Central A m erica and Panama and the Latin Am erican Federation, at present in the process o f reorganization. It is conceivable also that the C onfedera tion m ight group together all regional federations into an inter-Am erican or ganization. T h e only one that has not been established is one embracing North A m erica and the Caribbean. O n the other hand, it is highly desir able to study the possibility o f organizing the C onfederation as a regional institute affiliated with the Fédération Dentaire Internationale. I believe that this would result in a more solid and efficient interAm erican group. In conclusion, the officers and head quarters staff have n ot been prom pted by personal interests; therefore, according to an agreement reached by comm ittee members, w e w ould be willing to give up both the headquarters and the officers’ posts in the C onfederation to any country which m ight desire them and be able to assume them. This action is inspired only by an unchanging spirit o f hemispheric solidarity. O u r sole purpose is to continue the effort fo r the betterment o f the den tal profession in the Americas, fo r the progress o f dentistry and for the welfare o f our peoples.
Presented as part of a panel, "Organized dentistry at the international level: its past, present and future," one hundred and third annual session, American Dental Association, Miami Beach, Fla., October 30, 1962. *Past president, Mexican Dental Association; associate professor, graduate department of orthodontics, Na tional University of Mexico, Mexico City, D.F.
Inter-American Dental Confederation R oberto M . R u ß * D .D .S., M ex ico City, M ex ico
Representatives of ten national dental as sociations organized the Pan Am erican (later named the In ter-A m erica n ) D en tal C onfederation in N ovem ber, 1958. T he organization fu nctioned fo r about 18 months and then had to suspend its ac tivities tem porarily for lack of financial resources and interest. T h e needs and purposes that inspired the organization still exist. A revived confederation might group together all regional federations into an inter-Am erican organization, or might serve as a regional institute affili ated with the Fédération D entaire In ter nationale.
Four years ago, an idealistic and earnest desire gave rise to the establishment o f the Pan Am erican Dental Confederation. Born out o f the need to unify the dental profession in the hemisphere, the pur poses o f the Confederation were establish ing professional safeguards, “ [promoting] constant scientific, technical, cultural, ethical and social im provem ent” 1 and “ [achieving] the highest possible level o f oral health for the peoples o f the Am eri cas.” 2 A t first, the C onfederation’s objectives
were the coordination and dissemination o f results o f dental research am ong den tists o f this hemisphere, cooperation with the official agencies grouping all A m eri can dentists, sponsorship o f dental m eet ings, prom otion o f dental and health edu cation campaigns, publication o f a journal to bring the advances achieved by den tistry to all Am erican countries and elaboration o f a cod e o f professional eth ics.3 O ther im portant tasks were added to this already ambitious program, am ong them : the establishment o f a stronger and m ore productive association with the International Dental Federation; the de velopm ent o f insurance, credit and retire ment plans fo r dentists, and the com pila tion o f statistical data on oral health needs in the Americas as well as the re sources available to m eet them success fully.
H IS T O R Y
Representatives o f ten national dental as sociations signed the charter o f the C on federation on Novem ber 22, 1958 during the Pan Am erican Congress o f the M exi can Dental Association held in M exico City. T h e signatory countries were A r gentina, Canada, C olom bia, Cuba, Ecua-
68/530 • THE J O U R N A L O F T H E A M E R IC A N DEN T A L A S S O C IA T IO N
i» »«teite *« msxMBms as ¿a&ziAaiatsm mszzu&n SB AM8XIGÁ, 4*1 C
«a i»
«ia áa á ti» lv « w í tan-i* à* U Ciaástá 8» 8*cto», 8«3f«, «1 Sí»
4« %
S r. B88S*800 M U tf
A sm m u
s r . a, a, m m
CASA0Â rn m su CUM
&r, c a m n m & m e.
sxmecK
sx, a m m s g m & s t*
st. sk iv t ím m *m
» r . g m m MÁííAK
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me. w iw k ¡> m u r t u
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8m . m u u 's hzfwn cum ..
tm
}>•> » w m W
Ji
St .
&r. a a s a m s,
< k _ .
if ***
s».
s * „ 38M » » , m m
2,
f
m ttm
A
"A '> fftter'gZ - ... . lL
& ÿA
¿ ~ / 'y . ' . .#? / •
I
F ig. 2 • C h a r t e r w ith sig n a tu re s o f re p re se n ta tives o f c o u n trie s p re se n t at m e e tin g o f p re sid e n ts o f n a tio n a l a sso cia tio n s, M e x ic o , N o v e m b e r, 1958
dor, El Salvador, Guatemala, M exico, Peru and the U nited States4 (Fig. 1-3). Representatives at the 1958 meeting agreed to designate a provisional organiz ing com m ittee with headquarters in M e x ico City, com posed o f the follow ing officers: R oberto M . R uff, president; C laudio Funcia Cornel, honorary vicepresident; R oberto E. W oodw orth, treas urer; M iguel M orayta, secretary general, and Jorge Brahams, consultant-counsellor. A Constitution and Bylaws Secretariat was established under the chairmanship o f Carlos E. Pomes, and the education, publications, professional safeguards, sci entific interchange, public dental health and international committees were ap pointed.5 T h e second meeting o f the institute took place in N ew Y ork on September 9 and 10, 1959 during the Centennial M eeting o f the Am erican Dental Associa tion. N ew delegations joined the C on
federation which brought the num ber of countries represented to 15. T h e delegates attending the N ew York m eeting decided to change the name from Pan Am erican D ental Confederation to Inter-Am erican Dental Confederation. T hey gave great emphasis to that aim of the C onfederation which states that the C onfederation shall “ cooperate by all available means with the International Derital Federation, with the Latin A m eri can Dental Federation and the Dental Federation o f Central Am erica and Panama.” 1 T his same meeting ratified the designa tion o f headquarters and officers fo r the board o f directors o f the provisional or ganizing com m ittee, studied the draft by laws and prepared and proposed a second provisional draft. In view o f the financial needs for the Confederation’s operation, it was decided to charge yearly dues to be paid by the national associations.1 Sev-
Fig. 3 * Paul J e se rich , p re sid e n t in 1958 A m e r ic a n D e n ta l A ss o c ia t io n , s ig n in g ch a rte r
of
RUFF . . . VOLUME 67, OCTOBER 1963 * 69/531
En fa d e l o c u a l l o » d e leg a d oa da la a r e e p e c tiv a a A a o c la c lo naa O d o n to lo g ica a , debld«m ente a c r e d lta d o a j a u to r lta d o a pa ra a l l o a u b a c rlb ia o a a l prasan ta documento en la clu d ad da Nuava f o r k a lo a d ia » d ia a d a l aaa da ò e p tie a b r e da a i l n o -, ▼ aclentoa c in c u e n tln u e r a .
KUTP Delegado da l a A a o c la c lo n Den t a i M exicana.
" LK HOT KNNIS. li a i
u e n c u i,
/?
CES AB YVKTtSO. Delegado de la P e d e r a c lo n ¡¿ ¿ o n t o lo g ic a E cu a to ria n a .
^FIHAIDO GOSZALtS HAkOS Delegado d e l C o le g io de C lr u Janoa D e n tia ta a de Pu erto R ic o
MATILDE LUIGUI CAMP06 Delegado de la A e o c ia c lo n 0 d o n t o lo g lc a Peruana. ~
CARLOS E. PCHSS. Delegado de la Socied a d D e sta i de Q u a teaa la.
fo A
B.E. tJfLTZgK. En r e p r e a e n te c lo n d e l Dr. D a n iel P. Lynch Delegado de l a P e d era cio n D ental I n t e r n a c io n a l.
WILLIAM 0 . McINTOSH. S a lega do da la A a o c la c lo n * D ental d e l Canada.
OSCAR FRUDHCIO COSIO Delegado de la A a o c la c lo n Od o n t o lo g ic a B o llr ia n a .
SQBE8T0 CBARTIÍfi D elegad* 4 « l a A a o c la c ló n O d o n t o li t ica da Coata R ica
@g/+i
—~j
Carlos d i castro c . D elegado da la P e d e r a c lin Od o n t o lo g ic e C o lo a b la n a .
víxn
.6. j la A a o c la c lo n Odon t o l ó g i c a Panaaeña.
D elegado d e l C o le g io E a to a a t o lo K lco R a cion a l de Cuba, en r e p r e se n ta c ió n d a l Dr. C la u d io Púnela C o r n e ll.
RETATO A. MATAMOROS D elegado de la Socied a d D ental ■ de E l S a lr a d o r .
ALEJANDRO STlDTHAGEf h. Delegado de la A a o cia cl6 n Den t a l de N icaragu a .
Vw*} Carlos perbz m \k tik e z . Delegado de la Federaci&n Odón t o l o g i c a C o lo a b la n a .
HABIO ABBED B. Valacada le 1* Saciedad Ddoate ld c io a DocOaioaaa.
T h e General Secretariat o f the C on federation corresponded with and gave counsel to members, and the Treasury did an excellent jo b o f administering funds. In spite o f all the preparatory work and concrete achievements, we found it im possible to continue the activities o f the Confederation. W hat were the causes for this standstill? Im portant factors were the lack o f financial resources and the con siderable loss o f interest on the part o f some countries. T herefore, funds collected were insufficient to cover the most press ing needs in spite o f careful administra tion; at no time did the C onfederation collect the total amount receivable from assigned dues. Although some countries gave the C on federation enthusiastic support, coopera tion in general was scarce; often there was open lack o f interest in maintaining the necessary correspondence. A nother negative factor was that the third meeting o f the organization could not take place, as planned, either in Havana, C uba or in Puerto R ico , in spite o f the preparatory work perform ed. C o n sequently, it was impossible to consider the problem s o f the C onfederation until the 1962 meeting o f the Am erican Dental Association.
Fig. 4 • D o c u m e n t with sig n a tu re s o f r e p re se n ta tiv e s o f co u n trie s p a r tic ip a tin g in m e e tin g o f official d e le g a t e s to In te r-A m e ric a n D en tal C o n fe d e ra tio n , N e w York, S e p te m b e r, 1959
eral donations, mainly from the American Dental Association, the Dental Society o f Puerto R ico and interested persons, were o f great help in advancing the work o f the C onfederation (Fig. 4 ) . A t this meeting, the Guatemalan rep resentative read papers on scientific inter change and dental education. Later, a bimonthly dental newsletter (Fig. 5) was initiated in both English and Spanish and was distributed in all the m em ber countries o f the Confedera tion for a year and a half.
F ig . 5 • N e w sle tte rs C o n fe d e ra t io n
of
In te r-A m e ric a n
D e n ta l
70/532 • THE J O U R N A L O F T HE A M E R IC A N DEN T A L A S S O C IA T IO N
S U M M A R Y A N D C O N C L U S IO N S
T h e Pan American Dental C onfedera tion, now called Inter-Am erican C onfed eration, was founded in M exico City in 1958 by the delegates o f 10 dental associa tions established throughout the hem i sphere. T h e primary aims o f the Confederation m ay b e summarized as union o f all den tists in the Americas, protection o f the legitimate interests o f the profession, tech nical and scientific interchange fo r better oral health and close collaboration with the International Dental Federation. A provisional organizing com m ittee was established in 1958 with headquarters in M ex ico City. T his com m ittee was rati fied in 1959 during the N ew Y ork meeting. A draft constitution and bylaws were drawn up pending final approval. A bul letin was published in both English and Spanish and was distributed for a year and a half. It was agreed that dues would be paid by the institution members o f the Confederation. Lack o f financial resources and inabil ity to maintain interest in the objectives were the two main reasons fo r the tem porary suspension o f the Confederation’s activities. Although it has been impossible to achieve the ideal o f a solidly constituted Inter-Am erican D ental Confederation, the needs and purposes that inspired its organization still exist. T h e C onfedera tion should work closely with existing den tal associations, such as the Dental F ed
eration o f Central A m erica and Panama and the Latin Am erican Federation, at present in the process o f reorganization. It is conceivable also that the C onfedera tion m ight group together all regional federations into an inter-Am erican or ganization. T h e only one that has not been established is one embracing North A m erica and the Caribbean. O n the other hand, it is highly desir able to study the possibility o f organizing the C onfederation as a regional institute affiliated with the Fédération Dentaire Internationale. I believe that this would result in a more solid and efficient interAm erican group. In conclusion, the officers and head quarters staff have n ot been prom pted by personal interests; therefore, according to an agreement reached by comm ittee members, w e w ould be willing to give up both the headquarters and the officers’ posts in the C onfederation to any country which m ight desire them and be able to assume them. This action is inspired only by an unchanging spirit o f hemispheric solidarity. O u r sole purpose is to continue the effort fo r the betterment o f the den tal profession in the Americas, fo r the progress o f dentistry and for the welfare o f our peoples.
Presented as part of a panel, "Organized dentistry at the international level: its past, present and future," one hundred and third annual session, American Dental Association, Miami Beach, Fla., October 30, 1962. *Past president, Mexican Dental Association; associate professor, graduate department of orthodontics, Na tional University of Mexico, Mexico City, D.F.