Welkom in Brussel! Bienvenue à Bruxelles! Wilkommen in Brüssel!

As the largest multi-disciplinary ORAL HEALTH RESEARCH association in Europe, the Continental European Division of the International Association for Dental Research (CED-IADR), together with the Scandinavian Division (NOF), is looking forward to welcoming you at the 2021 HYBRID CED-IADR/NOF Oral Health Research congress in Brussels, Belgium. This two-and-half-day event will present you with a broad scientific programme, consisting of state-of-the-art symposia, outstanding keynote lectures, as well as oral & poster presentations of researchers from Europe and beyond presenting their latest research findings in a wide spectrum of dental disciplines, and young CED-IADR workshops on research reporting.

Save the congress dates in your calendars: September 16-18, 2021.

The past year has been challenging for all of us. Besides the continuous pressure of COVID-19 restrictions, oral health research has been put on hold or decreased repeatedly since Spring 2020. Many researchers did not have the opportunity to present their latest research findings at congresses or connect with colleagues outside the virtual world. As a result, we learned not to take real-life networking for granted.

It is, of course, still difficult to predict how the COVID-19 situation will evolve and how effective the vaccines available will be. Be aware that, as a health organisation, we are closely monitoring the evolving restrictions to guarantee that all regulations in force at the time of the congress will be followed in preparation for the congress and during the congress. An online platform will be integrated in our in-person event. This way we hope to be inclusive towards those who are unable to attend the congress physically. We are determined to ensure that both in-person and virtual attendees will experience some unique networking opportunities.

One of the advantages of the hybrid congress set-up is that the lectures will remain available online for a certain time after the actual congress dates. While in the past you often had to choose between two or more overlapping lectures, now you will be able to view all presentations whenever it suits you by logging onto the easy-to-navigate and straightforward virtual platform, set up for both in-person and virtual participants.

Our in-person attendees are invited to the free CED-IADR/NOF Opening Ceremony & Reception on Thursday night, to be held inside the magnificent historical Brussels city hall at the ‘Grand Place’ or ‘Grote Markt’. The CED-IADR/NOF Friday Get-Together will take place in the exquisite Panoramic Hall of the modern and excellent congress venue ‘Square Convention Centre’ located in the heart of Brussels, the capital of Belgium.

The multilingual city of Brussels is considered to be the de facto capital of the European Union, giving you plenty of travel options (air travel, railway, car) and hotels (different price categories) to choose from. As a relatively small city, Brussels’ main tourist attractions, such as the Royal Palace, the Royal Gallery of St. Hubert, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium, the Margritte Museum, the Parliament of Belgium and Manneken Pis, are within walking distance from the congress venue. Dine out in a traditional Belgian restaurant, or simply stroll around the famous city square ‘Grand Place’ or ‘Grote Markt’, whilst enjoying some Belgian fries in a paper cone.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH EXCHANGE is more important than ever and will be the focus of our two-and-half-day programme. Let’s combine our efforts more than ever to promote and advance oral health throughout Europe and beyond, be it virtually or physically!

Hope to see you in Brussels!