BSP Conference 2022 report
This article first appeared in The Probe in November 2022
October saw the culmination of a lot of hard work in the form of the BSP Conference, a perio and implant dentistry event held at the stunning Luton Hoo Hotel and Spa in Bedfordshire. Fast forward 3 days, we had hosted 300 attendees, listened to speaker presentations from across the globe, taken part in practical workshops, enjoyed breakout sessions, eaten, danced and listened to speeches at a formal dinner and even relaxed in a yoga session… and then it was over… and we were high on a job extremely well done for many days afterwards.
However, the highlight for me was the realisation that absolutely everything we do well we do as a team. If we try to do anything outside of our teams it has a much lower chance of success. It was in the planning of the conference and with the need to open the event with an entertaining, witty and insightful presentation (no pressure!) that I put this into words.
“It takes a village” was my opener. From there I was on a roll, writing furiously, excited to have found a really powerful thread – inspired by the conference organisation yes – but also inspired by everyone who is in ‘my village’. The point of my presentation was to highlight how we all have a tribe who surround us, at home, work, in the community, in the dental world and how it’s vital to recognise the role those people play - but also the role we play in other people’s villages.
I asked the delegates to consider who was in their tribe, who may be missing, what might be missing and what could they do to play their part for others. A really important part of this consideration, especially as we were in a conference setting, wasn’t just what we had to learn but what we can pass on ourselves. It’s really easy to be inward looking, particularly if we are ambitious dentists, but we can gain a huge amount from being generous with our knowledge and playing an active part in the ‘village’ around us.
A really nice anecdote (which you may know) is the story of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington. Birds, in their droves, were pooping all over it. It was unpleasant, unhygienic and an embarrassment. Trying to clean it was impossible and damaging. The issue drew in a number of people and it took a little investigation and a lot of lateral thinking to work out that birds were attracted to the Jefferson Memorial because of the abundance of spiders – in bird terms, that’s a bit like free Nandos on tap. The spiders were attracted to the Memorial because of many insects nesting there. And the midges were attracted to the Memorial because of the light. As it happens, midges like to procreate when the light is ‘just so’, and it just so happens that the lights were switched on at exactly this time of day. Let’s call it ‘mood lighting’. The midges were attracted to the light. The spiders were attracted to the midges. The birds were attracted to the spiders. The situation simply called for a slightly later light switch on time and that was enough to resolve the mystery. Imagine trying to resolve something like that with just one viewpoint. It’s unlikely, unless by chance that one person was an entomologist, that it would ever be sorted out.
I like this analogy for life – imagine trying to navigate it from just a single perspective? I hope the BSP Conference helped to cement a few relationships, create some new connections and solve a few issues. It’s by meeting up, sharing and learning that we create and strengthen our village, not just for the serious stuff but the dancing and yoga as well!
[Pictured: Rajan and Sharon Nansi]