The annual British Orthodontic Conference, organised by the British Orthodontic Society (BOS) took place between 19-21 September 2019, at the Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow, Scotland.

The pre-conference course provided some excellent talks around the theme: 'Psychology in Orthodontics and Decision-making'.

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Niecoo Tajmehr

The conference was opened by David Waring, Chair of BOC 2019, who provided a warm welcome to delegates and introduced this year's theme: 'Looking Ahead', which aimed to address issues surrounding the current uncertain climate in dentistry and orthodontics and the uncertainty of Brexit.

The main programme kicked off with a superb talk by keynote speaker Professor Robert Winston. Lord Winston's inspiring presentation, titled 'Can we achieve happiness?' delved into a memorable discussion on the pursuit of happiness, providing plenty of food for thought.

The afternoon programme continued with further notable speakers including Magali Mujagic, with a motivating talk on achieving optimal patient reported outcomes using lingual braces, and Jay Bowman, with an entertaining and educational presentation on mini-screws, titled 'Uno, Dos, Tres'. Peter Miles presented a frank and relevant talk on 'The Agony and Ecstasy of Invisalign', and emphasised the need for good patient co-operation in achieving treatment outcomes.

Other fantastic presentations across the weekend included Susan Cunningham's thought-provoking 'Patient-centred Care in Orthodontics - Are We Getting It Right?' and Lembit Öpik's moving talk about his journey with orthognathic surgery, titled 'The Man who fell to Earth'.

Professor Greg J. Huang from Seattle presented the Northcroft Memorial Lecture 2019 with a valuable insight into 'Treatment Outcomes and Satisfaction for Adult Anterior Openbite Patients'.

The NHS Commissioning Session took place on Friday and covered an update on commissioning and the legal helpline.

This year's conference boasted two parallel sessions: 'Driving Private Practice' and 'So You Want To Know More About Orthodontics?'. I attended the latter session where a range of speakers including StRs, post-CCSTs and consultants provided informative talks on the ins and outs of orthodontic speciality training, which I found thoroughly useful. This was followed by an opportunity to mingle with trainers, registrars and specialists at the 'Aspiring Orthodontist's Lunch'.

There were also two jam-packed days of excellent talks and sessions for dental care professionals, including clinical skills tables, new for therapists this year.

Back for a second year, the popular OrthoTED session took place on Saturday with several short, educational presentations on current orthodontic trends, including 3D printing, digital workflows and clinical pearls.

The social events for this year's conference included a Gala at the Glasgow Science Centre on Thursday evening, with traditional Scottish live music and dancers for entertainment. Friday boasted a wonderful formal banquet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Day activities included free bicycle tours of Glasgow for delegates.

The BOC returns in 2020 to Manchester (17-19 September 2020). I would like to thank this year's committee for organising an excellent conference which was highly educational, inspiring and stimulating. I look forward to attending next year and would absolutely encourage others to do so.