Greeting

　Greetings from Congress President of the 16th Annual Meeting of JAMD The 16th Annual Meeting of the Japan Association of Microscopic Dentistry (JAMD) will be held at Hitotsubashi Hall in Tokyo on April 27–29, 2019.The theme for the 2019 meeting will be “Master Precision Dentistry.”
It has already been 25 years since stereomicroscopes were introduced into dental treatment in Japan. I learned the basics of microscopic dentistry directly from Dr. Gary B. Carr of the Pacific Endodontic Research Foundation in San Diego in the United States in 1993. Practical use of stereomicroscopes initially began in the field of endodontics, which is my own specialty, but sales of microscopes across the whole country are now in excess of 7,000 units, and in Japan, stereomicroscopes are increasingly being used not only in endodontics, but in all other areas of dental treatment as well. Originally, dental treatment mainly involved carrying out delicate tasks by feel, but enhanced visualization now allows precise, reliable treatment, which meets the advanced technical needs of present-day dentistry. It has also become increasingly common to see dental hygienists carrying out cleaning while peering into a stereomicroscope, or dental technicians using a stereomicroscope when manufacturing prostheses. The stereomicroscope has now become an indispensable item for general dental treatment.
At the 16th Annual Meeting, we will have presentations from specialists on precision dental treatment applied to everyday clinical practice in the fields of conservative endodontics and periodontics and the field of prosthodontics. There will also be a special lecture from the AMED, and I am sure this Annual Meeting will be the perfect opportunity to reaffirm the importance of the microscope in present-day dental treatment.
At the same time, looking over the lectures given every year at the Annual Meeting, there have been presentations on the use of microscopes in a range of different treatments. There is now a need for careful scrutiny to ensure that the content is legitimate in terms of the Clinical Trials Act that has come into effect in Japan. While this does not apply only to the JAMD, there is a need for members, including executives, to once again attain a good understanding of the present situation. We are therefore planning a symposium on the theme “The Present Status and Problems of the Clinical Trials Act,” to which we will invite specialists to contribute from a professional point of view.
We will also have the customary sessions from dental hygienists, and I very much hope the Annual Meeting will contribute to the further development of the clinical skills of dentists and dental hygienists who use microscopes. I look forward to the participation of as many of our members as possible.

Masahiro Furusawa, DDS, PhD
Congress President of the 16th Annual Meeting of the Japan Association of Microscopic Dentistry Tokyo Dental College