A Journey of Dedication and Learning
Dr. Zeo Lee’s path to becoming the President of the Malaysian Dental Association (MDA) Southern Zone is a testament to his dedication and continuous pursuit of knowledge. Starting as a young dentist eager to contribute to the dental community, Dr. Zeo became actively involved in various committees and initiatives, ultimately leading to his current role. Reflecting on his journey, he describes it as a fulfilling experience that has allowed him to make a meaningful impact on the profession.
Inspiring Events for Professional Development
Dr. Zeo’s motivation to organize events for the Southern Zone Dental Congress stems from a desire to provide a platform for continuous education and professional development. He aimed to create events that not only enhanced the skills of practitioners but also fostered a sense of community and collaboration among dentists in the Southern Zone.
Goals and Objectives
The primary goals for the Southern Zone Dental Congress were clear: offer advanced educational opportunities, introduce the latest techniques and technologies in dentistry, and facilitate networking among dental professionals. The MDA team at the southern zone aims to create a comprehensive workshops and exhibitions addressing the current needs and future trends of the dental field. For example, we have just finished organizing a workshop for Advance Masterclass in Complex Restorative Treatment held in Melaka Manipal University College over the weekend and it was a definitely tiring but we pulled off such an amazing combination of skilful speakers that showcased their hands on skills and we are proud that many practitioners who attended have benefited from workshops such as these.
Dr. Zeo believes that these events will significantly benefit the dental community in the by providing access to cutting-edge knowledge and skills crucial for delivering high-quality patient care. Additionally, the opportunities for professional growth and collaboration can lead to better clinical outcomes and innovations in dental practice.
Planning and Execution
Planning the Southern Zone Dental Congress and the advanced hands-on masterclass workshop was a detailed and collaborative process. For the upcoming congress, the focus was on creating a diverse program covering various aspects of dentistry. Key considerations included selecting relevant topics, securing expert speakers, and ensuring logistical efficiency. The workshops will emphasize practical, in-depth sharing with participants accessing state-of-the-art equipment and experienced mentors.
One of the major challenges was coordinating schedules and the availability of renowned speakers, given their busy calendars. Ensuring the smooth execution of events, from registration to hands-on sessions, required meticulous planning and coordination.
To select topics, speakers, and participants, Dr. Zeo and his team conducted surveys and consultations with members to identify the most relevant and needed topics. Speakers were chosen based on their expertise and contributions to the dental field, while participants include a mix of experienced professionals and younger dentists to foster a diverse learning environment.
Participation and Engagement
The response from the dental community towards the Southern Zone Dental Congress activities was overwhelmingly positive. Dr. Zeo reports excellent feedback on the quality of the sessions and the relevance of the topics that will be provided. Many participants appreciated the opportunity to learn from leading experts and engage in meaningful discussions with their peers.
Achievements and Impact
During his term as president, Dr. Lee highlights the successful organization of the Southern Zone Dental Congress part and present and the advanced hands-on masterclass as key achievements. Both events received high praise from participants, increased membership engagement, and fostered a stronger sense of community among members. Several participants also reported significant improvements in their clinical practices after attending these events.
Success and impact are measured through participant feedback, post-event surveys, and tangible improvements in clinical practices reported by attendees. Increased participation rates and positive testimonials also serve as indicators of the events’ impact.
Participants’ feedback was notably positive, with many appreciating the hands-on nature of the masterclass, which allowed them to practice new techniques in a supportive environment. Highlights included the high quality of lectures and the opportunity to network with peers and experts in the field.
Future Plans
zone plans to continue organizing similar events focusing on emerging trends and technologies in dentistry. Future events will likely cover areas such as digital dentistry, advanced restorative techniques, and interdisciplinary approaches to patient care.
Dr. Zeo envisions the Malaysian Dental Association Southern Zone becoming a leading provider of continuing education for dentists, offering a wide range of learning opportunities catering to different stages of a dentist’s career. The goal is to support lifelong learning and professional development within the community.
Personal Reflections from Dr Zeo
Stigmatizing is something I would like to overcome in Malaysian Dental Association. MDA is not purely a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) provider, we do much more in shaping our fraternity, quoting such an example would be to ensure all stakeholders provide relevant feedback on policies, international relationships. MDA provides an avenue to channel issues that can be raised up to the respective departments.
I used to run many CPD events for the Southern Zone. The goal has always been to elevate the level of dentistry so we do not end up competing only on a pricing standpoint, but all other contributing factors related to skills in dentistry.
From my experience, I feel we have lost out using advance technologies and technique adaptation in dentistry compared to our neighbouring countries. Things are evolving fast, better techniques, materials and treatment modalities are readily available. The CPD was only meant to provide a learning platform for the practitioners to catch up with professional development.
But as time went on, I also realized that we dentist are stigmatized by the public’s perception that we only solve their issues when they have dental pain, scaling and extractions which is extremely untrue. This was reflected in multiple surveys conducted including the latest National Health and Mobility Survey 2023 where only 25% population visited a dentist for the past 12 months (8.6 Mil over 34 mil population). Many would conclude that this phenomenon is due to the level of public awareness, which to be honest even I totally agree with.
With that being said now the million dollars question is how we change that. It is not as simple as an A+B=C equation but the reality of the situation is that it needs a multifaceted approach from a variety of angles.
At this very moment, what have we achieved so far. First and foremost, let us talk about advertising. Now before you read further and stigmatize that advertising equal to discounts and price promotions, I strongly urge you to read the introduction of the MDC public information guidelines, where there are clear definitions of what the term advertising in reality refer to.
The main intention is to increase the dental awareness. It is a way to let the public understand what a practitioner is allowed to do, and this was meant to increase public awareness. There is a fine line between advertising it ethically vs unethically. It is my hope that we as practitioners always uphold our code of professional conduct to maintain our professional integrity.
Secondly, for me which I feel has been my greatest achievement in MDA, is to include the dental tax relief for personal, spouse and children amounting up to RM1000 in the year assessments staring from 2024 onwards.
This has taken 4 years to make it success starting from the proposal at
the National Oral Health Plan 2021-2030, multiple presentation with OHD, Ministry of Finance and LHDM.
This only can be achieved with the full support from MDA’s involvement in multiple levels of policy making while seeking constructive and mutually beneficial solution being presented to the respective departments.
One of the key take aways from me is that throughout my time in MDA, I have been involved in many areas including policy building, what I learnt that I wish to share with my fellow practitioners is we always have to look at things from multiple angles and not only view from one single angle, We should work together for the betterment of the fraternity and not only for the fraction or the group that you represent.
We should take the time to understand the objective as to why the needs of such policies came in the first place and offer workable or alternative solutions which meets the initial objective with minimal impact and make it easier for the fraternity to understand and adapt to it.
As such, we need strong representation in the fraternity, our members should stand up and be counted, contribute your feedback into our suggestions. We need likeminded people to join the force in contributing ideas and solution to make our fraternity better.
Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.
– Henry Ford
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