The Faculty of Dentistry of the National University of La Plata (FOLP) celebrated 60 years of its history with a three-day international conference that brought together hundreds of professionals, teachers, students and specialists from all over the country and Latin America. The academic proposal – which began on Thursday and concluded today – included conferences, scientific update spaces, clinical presentations and specific areas for technicians, juniors, undergraduate and postgraduate students.
With the participation of the Dean, Dr. Gabriel Lazo, and authorities such as the President of the UNLP, Martín López Armengol, and the Mayor of La Plata, Julio Alaque, this event allowed us to strengthen the profile of FOLP as a leading institution in training, research and university extension in the field of oral health.
Furthermore, as part of the celebration, the University officially conferred the title of Honorary Doctorate on Vice Dean María Mercedes Medina, for her career and commitment to social dentistry and the UNLP programme.
A life dedicated to FOLP
During the opening ceremony, Dr. Lazo reviewed the path taken by the college and the challenges it faced to establish itself as a national reference space.
“We had great successes, on the one hand, but we also faced many obstacles along the way and knew how to overcome them,” the dean admitted, then added that the goal had always been “to continue to grow and take the FOLP program to the maximum in healthcare production.”
Regarding the conference, he explained that it not only served to honor six decades of institutional history, “but it also allowed us to strengthen our commitment to excellence, innovation and community service.”
He explained that it was also “an opportunity to rethink the profession, share progress and strengthen relationships with colleagues from different countries, in an environment as conducive to enriching our knowledge as our public university.”
He added: “The conference is a true reflection of the work dynamic that we maintain in our academic unit, where every member is considered essential to achieving a level of quality and distinguished care.”
Lazo also stressed that this was “the first time in history that at an international conference we saw teaching and non-teaching dental professionals working side by side and making their contributions.”
Over the course of the three days, the meeting included key conferences, courses, clinical tables, poster presentations and an additional chapter aimed at highlighting the experiences, projects and actions that connect the university with the territory.
In this sense, Lazo particularly highlighted the role of university volunteerism and regional work: “It is impossible for a student not to know reality.” He emphasized the 139 commissions distributed by Dentistry in La Plata and the region, as well as the campaigns developed in Formosa, Chaco, Santiago del Estero, La Rioja, Jujuy, Salta, Misiones and Neuquén. He stressed that the aim of each site visited was to provide free, high-quality dental care to vulnerable patients without obtaining a private consultation.
Finally, the dean did not avoid getting emotional when looking back on his personal career: “I’ve been at the college for 48 years. I’m the oldest professor,” he admitted. He added: “Here everyone calls me Gabriel or Gabi. This fills me with pride, because it is the name my mother chose for me.”
University point of view
For his part, UNLP President Martin López Armengol celebrated the gathering of the university community around high-level academic activity in a context in which “the university system is being called into question.”
He stressed that the best response is “by organizing this type of activity. This is the best way to show the university.”
After highlighting the college’s “guiding mission,” López Armengol noted, “UNLP was founded with distinct themes such as science, technology and extension. Joaquín V. González has always highlighted citizen education, in addition to academic education, which sets a course for us as a university.”
In this regard, he stressed that the College of Dentistry “is committed to each of these axes, whether through the work of its teaching hospital or through campaigns within the country, which represent a training opportunity for students and enable thousands of vulnerable families to access dental care at the highest level.”
Social contribution recognized by the city
La Plata Mayor Julio Alaque also highlighted the impact of the FOLP program on the local community.
“It’s the home where we were all formed,” he said, referring to his time at UNLP.
The community leader particularly appreciated the work of the University Hospital, which daily serves about 2,000 people without resources to access the private system: “Dentistry is one of the most distinguished academic units, as they carry out their work responsibly and with love and carry out a great mission of social awareness that opens its doors, with great human nobility, to provide free care to thousands of patients.”
For Alack, “Not only is this a commitment to the practice of teaching, but what we see are labors of love for dentistry, science and teaching.”
An initiative to demonstrate the work of FOLP
Within the framework of the conference, the Graduate Chapter emerged, which in recent years has shown a sustained growth in the participation of young professionals.
This space made it possible to present visual works in basic science, epidemiology, education, and clinical case reports, especially those related to the resolution of complex or clinically relevant cases.
“For us, it is essential to make visible the work that we do every day at the College,” emphasized Georgina Santangelo, Secretary of Graduate Studies, regarding the activity that brought together more than 23 international speakers from Latin America, teachers and nationally renowned professionals from the institution.
Six decades of building public health
The 60th anniversary finds FOLP reaffirming its historic mission: to train professionals of academic excellence, expand access to health and strengthen the presence of public universities in at-risk areas.
In this journey, Vice Dean María Mercedes Medina, recipient of an honorary doctorate, played a key role.
About her, Dr. Lazo highlighted: “She was a pioneer in putting the social community at the heart of the curriculum reform. She made our students get to know the real country, far from technology; they left the classroom to the streets and were directly connected to health reality.”
He added: “Thanks to her, dentistry opened its doors to the most vulnerable sectors and promoted volunteer work and awareness in the field of oral health, a work that is still alive to this day.”
From the academic community, it was emphasized that these awards express the path traveled and the projection that confirms FOLP’s commitment to education, research and university extension, pillars that have made it a major public health institution in Argentina.