IDHA conference 2024: focus on the future

Brush up on your skills, meet your peers and much more at this year’s Irish Dental Hygienists Association Annual Scientific Conference and AGM.

The Irish Dental Hygienists Association’s Annual Scientific Conference and AGM is set to return this autumn, with the two-day event taking place at the Galway Bay Hotel.

To be held on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 October, this year’s theme will be ‘focus on the future’. The conference, which is sponsored by Haleon, will feature a host of speakers offering practical advice as well as a trade exhibition, awards ceremony and drinks reception. Here’s a preview of what’s in store.

Friday 11 October

The event kicks off at 12pm with registration and the opening of the trade exhibition. This will be followed by a choice of sessions, each running at 1:30pm, 2:30pm and 4pm:

• Composite and orthodontic maintenance: this session will be led by Siobhan Kelleher, Éilish Duffy and Tracey Doole, and sponsored by NSK Ikigai 
• Silver diamine fluoride and caries management: Dr Rosarii McCafferty is the speaker for this session 
• Oral health and the ageing population: this talk is being given by dental hygienist Sarah Troute.

The sessions are followed at 5pm by the Sara Keane Awards ceremony and drinks reception for delegates.

Saturday 12 October

Registration and the trade exhibition will open at 8am on Saturday 12 October, and this will be followed by a number of speakers.

Yvonne Howell, president of IDHA, will kick off the meeting with a speaker from Haleon, the event’s main sponsors. 

Saturday’s speakers include:

• Dr Claire McCarthy, who will discuss minimally invasive non-surgical therapy and how it applies to dental hygiene. This session is sponsored by Hu-Friedy
• Dr Elena Vaughan, who will explore HIV stigma in healthcare settings
• Professor Mike Lewis, who will discuss How good is your oral medicine?

Several parallel sessions will be on offer at two different times (11.30am and 2.30pm) on the Saturday. These will be:

• Piezo tips and air polishing/air powder therapy, sponsored by NSK Ikigai, with speakers Siobhan Kelleher, Éilish Duffy and Tracey Doole
• Periodontal diagnosis, with speaker Dr Ed Madeley
• Who wants to be a radiologist? with Dr Andrew Bolas
• Dental anxiety – rise to the challenge! with speaker Dr Niall Neeson.

The AGM and charity raffles will be held at 1pm on the Saturday. Ahead of this, at 10:30am, the Kin Dental Hygienist of the Year 2024 will be announced.

Registration

To avail of early bird registration, which will save €45, register before 15 September. You will also be entered into a draw for free conference registration worth €135 (terms and conditions apply).