On the way to world-standard periodontal treatment

For a long time, the field of periodontology in Mongolia was annexed to the field of general dental treatment. People who graduated as dentists were able to treat periodontal patients with scaling and root planing. The Mongolian Association of Periodontology (MAP) was established in 2009, with 5 members who were interested in periodontology. Since then, the ongoing activities of the MAP have become well recognized in the dental community and among the Mongolian population. In 2016, the Ministry of Health of Mongolia approved “periodontal specialist” as a distinct occupational code.

This success is connected to the relationship between the Korean Academy of Periodontology (KAP) and the MAP. In January 2010, when the average temperature was −27°C in the day and −36°C at night in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 2 sincere and brave professors from the KAP, Professor Beom-Seok Chang and Professor Young Ku, arrived at the School of Dentistry of the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, where they learned more about the situation of the MAP in response to a letter from the MAP. At that time, the School of Dentistry was limited to only 8 dental treatment units located in a small corner of the university building. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed at the 50th General Session of the KAP by Presidents Kyoo-Sung Cho and Ravjaa Tseren in 2010. Then, in March 2011, Dr. Oyunkhishig Khishigdorj was sent to the Department of Periodontology of Seoul National University and, in accordance with the MOU, studied there as a visiting scholar for 1 year.

Eight KAP-MAP joint workshops have been held in Seoul and Ulaanbaatar, providing Mongolian dentists with the opportunity to learn from lectures, hands-on workshops, and observations of periodontal treatment.

The first book on periodontology in the Mongolian language was published in 2006, based on a Russian-language classification of dental disease. In 2012, the periodontology curriculum was changed to reflect the 1999 classification to assist our dentists in obtaining a better understanding of the modern perceptions of periodontal science accepted in many countries in the world. Then, in 2017, a new textbook on periodontology was published, which received a warm reception from our students and dentists. We are now preparing the second edition of this textbook. Last year, we published a new manual on the most important periodontal treatment practices for students and dentists. On September 30, 2019, the Governance Council of the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences approved the opening of a new Department of Periodontics and Endodontics in the School of Dentistry. We are now preparing our first residency program to train periodontal professionals in Mongolia. As such, 2019 was a monumental turning point in Mongolian healthcare. The historic opening of the periodontal department will improve the periodontal health, and thereby the general health, of the Mongolian people.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the former and current presidents of KAP, the deans of schools of dentistry, the directors of clinics, the heads of departments, and to all active members of the KAP who have encouraged our collaboration and supported our workshops. We would also like to extend our special thanks to Professor Young Ku, President of the KAP, and Seung-Yun Shin for their kind efforts in recent years.

We wish you all success and would like to congratulate you on the 50th anniversary of JPIS, the official publication of the KAP.