The bi-annual 15th Congress of the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry (EAPD) was originally due to take place in Hamburg, Germany from 1-4 July 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, EAPD made the decision to change the format to a virtual congress, which took place between 3-4 July 2020. Despite the new format, the congress had over 1,300 attendees globally.

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The congress was opened by Professor Katrin Bekes, President of the German Society of Paediatric Dentistry and Professor Ulrich Schiffner, Chair of the Local Organising Committee. The theme of this year's congress was 'Towards New Horizons in Paediatric Dentistry', which had a strong emphasis on management of molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH), early childhood caries and traumatology.

The main programme was kicked off by divulging the aetiology of MIH, showcasing the latest research around Bisphenol-A, common childhood illnesses and antibiotic usage. The treatment sessions included stimulating talks by Richard Steffen on pain control for hypomineralised teeth and provided plenty of tips and tricks for delegates to take away. Other notable speakers in the treatment sessions included Professor David Manton, Professor Norbert Krämer and Professor Katrin Bekes who shared their views on treatment of MIH, including the role of stainless steel crowns and silver diamine fluoride. Nick Lygidakis presented spectacular examples of his microabrasion and resin infiltration cases for hypomineralised incisors, whilst Christian Kirschneck provided a particularly interesting talk on molars, exploring ideal timing for orthodontic extractions.

The second day was jam-packed and began with speakers discussing 'paediatric dentistry in a changing society', including a fascinating talk by Professor Sotiria Gizani on the oral health of refugee and migrant children. In addition, Daniel Koch and Professor Paul Coulthard discussed the impact of COVID-19 in paediatric dentistry, which were impressive and extremely relevant additions to the programme. Delegates were spoiled for choice with additional sponsored workshops running parallel to the main symposia, including a talk by Professor Norbert Krämer on restoration of early childhood caries in COVID-19 conditions, which was pertinent during the current pandemic.

In the main hall, Richard Steffen, Professor Bernadette Drummond and Professor Katrin Bekes presented thorough and educational presentations on early childhood caries, which emphasised that the 'seal is the deal' for effective direct and indirect restorations. The Oral B Symposium featured an exciting introduction to the Strong Teeth-Strong Kids Project. Professor Sebastian Paris shared some practical tips from his clinical experience in caries infiltration, which was an exciting element of the day. Later, the speakers discussed dental trauma, including a well-needed update on the International Association of Dental Traumatology Guidelines, where Professor Anne O'Connell emphasised the need for recognition of non-accidental injuries. Dr Hani Nazzal presented useful tips for accurate determination of pulp status and current knowledge in revascularisation. Finally, the symposium ended on a high as Professor Gabriel Krastl and Professor Monty Duggal gave stunning case presentations exploring interdisciplinary management of trauma, focusing on decoronation, orthodontic extrusion, autotransplantation and 3D scanning. These final speakers left the audience truly captivated and certainly ended the congress on a high.

As expected, this year's EAPD Congress was drastically different due to the virtual format. While virtual flower presentations and exploring Hamburg from your own living room simply doesn't match up to the real deal, EAPD nonetheless managed to successfully deliver a wide variety of excellent content for viewers, and boasted a Virtual Exhibition Area, providing the opportunity for recorded oral poster and e-poster presentations to be viewed. In addition, by making the lectures available on-demand for two weeks following the congress, delegates could access the talks in the alternative hall or simply revisit the wonderful content.

Overall, whilst EAPD's decision to move an international congress to a virtual format must have been exceptionally difficult, they did an excellent job of hosting the congress. Congratulations to all of the presenters and prize winners and thank you to EAPD for enabling paediatric dentistry learning to thrive and the paediatric dentistry community to safely come together, despite this challenging 'new horizon'.

The EAPD Congress returns on 23-24 April 2021 at the Interim Seminar in Oslo, followed by the 16th EAPD Congress on 15-18 June 2022 in Lisbon. https://www.eapd.eu/index.php/post/upcoming-events.