NEWS AND EVENTS

In the period October 31 – November 1, 2025, the congress “Traditions and Innovations in One” was held, dedicated to the Faculty Day and the 90th anniversary of the birth of Acad. Nikolay Popov.
 

The event, organized by the Faculty of Dental Medicine in cooperation with the Bulgarian Scientific Dental Association and the Bulgarian Dental Students’ Association – Sofia, brought together numerous active participants and more than 20 lecturers and moderators.
 

During the parallel sessions, faculty members, practitioners, and students had the opportunity to attend lectures and presentations delivered by leading national and international lecturers and specialists.
 

On the first congress day, held in II Auditorium of the Faculty of Dental Medicine, the program opened with a welcome address by the Dean of the Faculty – Prof. Boyko Bonev, followed by a presentation by Prof. Stefan Peev on bone augmentation in dental implantology, its alternatives, and prospects for future development.
The program continued with a lecture by Prof. Bozhidar Yordanov on conventional and digital approaches in dental implantology.
 

In the afternoon session, Prof. Angelina Vlahova emphasized the digital protocol in prosthodontics and implantology, followed by two foreign lecturers – Prof. Simone Grandini and Dr. Fadi Khoury, who respectively discussed the factors influencing endodontic treatment outcomes and mastering chair side implant dentistry in the aesthetic zone and factors for long-term succes. Meanwhile, in Auditorium V, Prof. Antoaneta Mlachkova and Dr. Zdravka Pashova focused on the gingival phenotype, its clinical significance, and modern methods of augmentation.
 

Later, Prof. Emilia Karova and Dr. Irina Tsenova-Ilieva jointly presented a lecture entitled “External perfection and hidden risks: the impact of nickel-titanium files on root dentin.”
 

Assoc. Prof. Deyan Neychev delivered a presentation on “The placebo effect and pain control in oral surgery,” followed by Assoc. Prof. Maria Shindova, who concluded the afternoon panel with a presentation on extrinsic staining of teeth in paediatric dental patients.
 

On the second day of the congress, in Auditorium V, the morning session was opened by Assoc. Prof. Sevda Yancheva, whose lecture focused on the biodegradation of dental composite materials.
 

Prof. Iliyana Stoeva presented on “Titanium allergy,” and Assoc. Prof. Kamen Kotsilkov concluded the session with a lecture on guidelines for clinical decisions in periodontology.
 

Within the framework of the event, several parallel activities took place – a session of the Bulgarian Scientific Dental Association, poster sessions, a competition for direct composite restorations led by Dr. Alexander Bonchev, as well as a student course on “Ceramic veneers – a complete clinical protocol” conducted by Assoc. Prof. Georgi Iliev.
 

In the parallel session in Auditorium II, Dr. Veronika Vilimek addressed the topic in pediatric dentistry “Sleep, Smile, Succeed: Stress-free outpatient dental treatment of children under general anesthesia,” followed by Dr. Daniel Rayner, her colleague, who discussed minimizing risk and maximizing comfort in ambulatory anesthesia for children in dental settings.

Prof. Paolo Melo, Dean of the University of Porto, drew participants’ attention with his lecture on non-cavitated carious lesions, while Dr. Ahmed Adel, another foreign guest, presented on molar protraction – from conventional to creative digital approaches.

The congress concluded with the award ceremony for the best-performing students in the student competition and poster sessions:

• Dayana Popova, 4th-year student – winner of the competition for distal composite restorations, supervised by Dr. Alexander Bonchev;
• Winner in the Poster Session, “Clinical Cases” category: “Interesting cases of orthodontic-surgical treatment of impacted premolars” – authors: Nikoleta Stavrinu (5th-year student, corresponding author), Gabriela Voynova, Prof. Elitsa Deliverska, Dr. Teodora Yordanova, Dr. Kostadin Temelkov, and Dr. Ivelin Zubchev;
• Winner in the Poster Session, “Reviews” category: “Association between periodontitis and psoriasis – contemporary literature data” – corresponding authors: Ivan Tsenov (resident) and Dr. Zdravka Pashova.

All winners were awarded by the Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Boyko Bonev.

The event was supported by the Research University within the project BG-RRP-2.004-0004-C01 “Strategic Research and Innovation Program for the Development of the Medical University – Sofia.”