The History
of the EADMFR

European Academy of DentoMaxilloFacial Radiology (EADMFR)

The European Academy of DentoMaxilloFacial Radiology was officially formed in June 2004 in Malmö, SE, holding its inaugural meeting on June 17, 2004.

However, its creation came out of many years of meetings between Europeans with a special interest in dental and maxillofacial radiology, who had, without the financial backing of a dedicated organization, managed to meet regularly, sharing scientific matters of common interest, and generating inter-personal links as well as forging important professional relationships.

As early as 1962, a group of radiologists meeting in Bonn at the invitation of Sidney Blackman, first President of the British Society of Dental Radiology, discussed the possibility of a European Association of Dental Radiology. This group also included Karl-Åke Omnell (SE), Gustav Korkhaus (DE), Jan van Aken (NL), and Till Jung (DE).

However, the background really began in 1978, when Professor (Norman John) David Smith, incoming President of the British Society of Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology (BSDMFR), proposed inviting dental radiologists, working in the European Economic Community, to meet and discuss matters of common interest. 41 BSDMFR members and guests from elsewhere in Europe attended this meeting and discussed topics in the fields of safety and undergraduate and postgraduate education in dental radiology. This opened the conduits of cooperation over the coming years. 10 later, after the 1985 Congress of the International Association of DentoMaxilloFacial Radiology (IADMFR) in London, David, in his second presidency of BSDMFR, again invited the European colleagues who had been at the international meeting to join a meeting of the BSDMFR when the main topic would be the formation of an informal European Group and the running of European Congresses. Thus the European idea was born, and the 1st Congress took place in Geneva, CH, in 1987, organized by Prof. Friedrich Pasler, with approximately 250 delegates present.

Following this, there was an agreement to hold meetings regularly, in different locations throughout Europe, preferably not the same year as an IADMFR meeting, and often linked to a national or regional meeting in DMFR. Part of the thinking behind this was to enable interested professionals to attend a meeting in their part of the world, with the financial advantages that that offered. A dedicated working party oversaw the selection of sites and provided advice to those individuals offering to hold a congress. The initial membership of this working party comprised Friedrich Pasler (CH), Lars Hollender (SE) and Brian O’Riordan (UK). Brian was a key member of this group, co-ordinating much of its work until 2000, when he reluctantly passed on the baton. The membership of this small group changed only a few times and usually included the person who had organized the last congress, to ensure the transition of valuable organizational advice. Core members of the group over the years were Madeleine Rohlin (SE), Gerard Sanderink (NL), and, taking Brian’s place when he stepped down due to illness, Laetitia Brocklebank (UK). At each of the conferences, time was set aside for discussion of both future meetings and the setting up of a European Society of DMFR, led by this group.

These universally successful congresses were held as follows, with the key organizer recorded, though each was supported by a, usually small, group within their Local Organizing Committee (LOC):

1. 1987 – Geneva, CH (Friedrich Pasler)
2. 1989 – Kuopio, FI (Stina Syrjänen)
3. 1990 – Amsterdam,  NL (Paul van der Stelt)
4. 1993 – Turin, IT (Silvio Bianchi)
5. 1985 –  Cologne, DE (Ferdinand Sitzmann)
6. 1998 – Oslo, NO (Tore A Larheim)
7. 2000 – Athens, GR (Kostas Tsiklakis)
8. 2002 – Krakow, PL (Hanna Markiewicz)
9. 2004 – Malmö, SE (Madeleine Rohlin)

At each of these congresses, the LOC included activities that enabled the attendants to gain a flavor of the local culture, even within a few days.

At the Athens Congress in 2000, it became apparent that within the new European Union, there needed to be an authoritative and representative voice for dental and maxillofacial radiology. Prof. Lennart Flygare, SE, proposed that there should now be a formal society. It was agreed that this would be discussed more fully at the Congress in Krakow, PL, in 2002. This was done at an open meeting chaired by the current site selection group, Madeleine Rohlin, Laetitia Brocklebank, and Kostas Tsiklakis. It was agreed that a working group comprising Lennart Flygare, Kostas Tsiklakis, and Eric Whaites would take this forward and bring a formal proposal to the congress in Malmö in 2004 for discussion, agreement, and ratification.

Working Group deliberations

The Working Group considered three possible scenarios: (1) remain informal, (2) create a formal organization within IADMFR and (3) create a formal organization separate from IADMFR. After considerable discussion, it was agreed that the best way forward was to create a separate formal European Academy of Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology (EADMFR). The EADMFR is not intended to detract from IADMFR so it was agreed that future European Congresses should be timed not to occur in the same year as IADMFR congresses and that European Academy members would be encouraged to join the IADMFR, if not already members. The Working Group then drafted a constitution for the proposed EADMFR and undertook a consultation exercise. Over 400 colleagues, throughout geographical Europe, interested in dental and maxillofacial radiology were sent copies of the Constitution for their comments, a letter explaining the background and suggesting an initial annual subscription of €30 , together with a short questionnaire. The
questions asked enabled the Working Group to assess the level of support both for a formal EADMFR and for the proposed Constitution, as well as allowing colleagues to be involved in choosing the Academy’s logo and to comment generally. The questionnaires returned indicated an overwhelming majority (99.4%) supporting a formal academy. Several colleagues made very useful comments and suggestions about the Constitution, many of which were incorporated. The logo, which attracted the majority of support from a widespread selection process, was selected for the Academy.

Malmö, Sweden, 2004, 9th Congress
Establishment of EADMFR,

Before the meeting in Malmö, SE, interested professionals in the field of dental and maxillofacial radiology were invited to become founding members. Eric Whaites coordinated this and created a worksheet that showed these members and their demographic details. This informed some of the discussions that were then held in Malmö concerning the constitution of the proposed Central Council, from which the Officers, Chairmen, and members of the Committees would be selected. The Founding Members were involved in selecting, from many potential designs, the logo for the new Academy. Certificates for founding members were available in Malmö.

There was unanimous agreement to formally establish the European Academy of DentoMaxilloFacial Radiology, with immediate effect, and to elect Eric Whaites as the first President and Kostas Tsiklakis as the Vice President and President Elect.

According to the Draft Constitution, the number of representatives on the Central Council from each country would be determined by the number of members, provided there were at least four members from that country. Members present in Malmö were asked to meet with others from their country and to select their representatives. Those people selected attended the first meeting of the Central Council, held on June 18, 2004.

This meeting was chaired by Douglas Lovelock, who indicated that the main purpose of this meeting was to determine the officers, chairmen, and members of the various committees. It was agreed that members should take part in at least one committee, and they were asked to volunteer for the committees of particular interest to them. As a result of this democratic and convivial meeting, the following officers were selected, and the committee chairmen were subsequently selected by the members of each committee.

• President Eric Whaites
• Vice-President/President-Elect Kostas Tsiklakis
• Secretary Paul F. van der Stelt
• Treasurer Laetitia Brocklebank

The Executive Committee, comprising the officers and chairmen of the committees, then met, and a number of required actions were agreed upon:

• The president is to write to all founding members, informing them of the successful formation of the Academy
• The secretary is to set up a website for the Academy, design stationery incorporating the agreed logo, create an application form, and write to appropriate professional and educational organizations to inform them of the formation of the Academy.
• The treasurer is to establish appropriate bank accounts in the United Kingdom, operating in Euros and Pounds, to serve the Academy’s needs.
• The chairmen of each committee, in collaboration with the committee members, to draw us a proposed remit for their committee.
• The vice president would be responsible for producing the academy’s newsletter annually and securing sponsorship to cover the cost of production.
• Newsletter sponsors: companies sponsoring the newsletter would be invoiced for a sum to cover two years, commencing the year after the Academy was established.

A photograph of this inaugural Executive Committee was taken.

To facilitate the smooth transition of some important aspects of the academy’s function, a couple of interim decisions were necessary.

Central Council: normally members would serve for four years. In order that not all members would potentially change in any one year, it was agreed that some members would step down in two years’ time so that Central Council would comprise a mix of experienced and potentially inexperienced members.

Congress location selection: following on from the pattern already established, it was agreed to continue to have a congress every second year, alternating with those organized by the International Association of DentoMaxilloFacial Radiology. The Congress Committee would be responsible for co-ordinating bids from groups of members in interested countries, and the location would be determined four years in advance at each Congress. Previously the venue had only been decided two years in advance. The choice of Leuven, BE, for the 2006 Congress had been made in Malmö. It was therefore agreed that at Leuven two venues would be chosen for the congresses in both 2008 and 2010.

The numbering of congresses would follow on from those held before the establishment of the Academy.

In years in between congresses, the Executive Committee took the opportunity to meet, usually during IADMFR congresses, and some important decisions were made at these.

Malmö, SE, 2004