Section X

Section Ten Report 

Holding the Middle East Section’s annual meeting in Sidon, in South Lebanon, had a dual purpose. The first purpose was purely symbolic as it was there that two of the best known dental vestiges were un earthed, both dating back to the 5th century B.C.:

• The “Gaillardot Bridge” discovered in 1862 and now in the Louvres Museum in Paris, and
• The “Ford Mandible” discovered in 1901 and now at the Archeological Museum of the American University of Beirut.

The second purpose was to offer the day-long scientific program as a public service to all dental professionals in the area. The theme of the day meeting was “Improving Your Daily Practice” and covered all specialties of dentistry. Over eighty dentists from Sidon and other towns and cities in South Lebanon attended the program which was well received.

The day ended with an Orientation Program and the Induction of three new Fellows from Lebanon: Fadi Antar, Phillippe Aramouni, and Andre Sacy. A dinner followed in Sidon’s Rest House which overlooks the city’s Crusader Castle that used to guard the city’s sea port.

The activities of the Section were moving slowly this year due to the tragic developments in Lebanon. Some of the planned study club meetings that the Section usually organizes in Beirut had to be cancelled and only one such meeting was held in May.

The election of a new slate of officers will be held at a business meeting scheduled in January. The Section has presently an active membership of 58 Fellows of whom 50 are in Lebanon. Contracts are underway to expand the Section to include outstanding professionals from Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region.

Officers of the Section with newly inducted Fellows:
Seated, L-R: Roy Sabri, Ali Awada, Nabil Barakat, Levon Karjian and Jean Marie Megarbane. Standing, L-R: Riad Bacho, Andre Sacy, Fadi Antar, Philippe Aramouni and Nadim AbouJaoude

General view of the lecture meeting. At the podium, Riad Bacho, who heads the Section’s Scientific Committee