Introduction

We are pleased to invite you to join this 20th Students Scientific Conference (SSC) with the theme of “Resurgence of Research Post Covid ”.

This 20th SSC marks 20 years of the school organising this conference. Held as an annual event, this conference serves as a platform for students to showcase their work in research, may it be in clinical sciences, basic sciences or public health. Indeed, it has been a great honour to host such an event every year. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, starting 2021, the event had to be changed to a virtual conference to accommodate with the COVID-19 situation where movement control order (MCO) had taken place for many months.

This annual conference is a platform for undergraduate students to share their research experience and work with other students in the field of dental medicine. It is hoped that this first research experience will not be their last experience as they embark and explore the dental practice on their own in the very near future.

This year, 2023, we have decided to open this conference to all undergraduate dental students in Malaysia and neighbouring countries to participate and share their research experiences. We hope that this event will not only inculcate evidence-based dentistry amongst participants but also foster networking within dental fraternity.

Message from Dean, School of Dental Sciences USM

Assalamualaikum warahmatullah and greetings to all,

On behalf of School of Dental Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, I welcome all of you to the 20th Students Scientific Conference 2023. This year marks the 20th anniversary of this annual conference and we would like to see more participation from other universities locally and regionally in this year’s conference with the aim of providing an interactive platform for students to share their research findings and encourage the practice of evidence-based dentistry.

For the past two years, this entire conference has taken place on a digital platform due the Covid-19 pandemic/endemic. However, research has never stopped and new discoveries are continued to be made even during this difficult time. No matter how small the finding is, we are still contributing to research. This year’s conference theme ‘Resurgence of Research Post Covid’ reflects all the hard work and persistence in research during Covid-19 pandemic/endemic which continue with much optimism and enthusiasm post-Covid. We really hope that this conference will be a platform to prepare the students to share useful and valuable research findings. We encourage all participants to take this opportunity to share and exchange knowledge and experience as well as establish networking, forge collaboration and utilise all your dedication and skills to uphold the sciences and education in dentistry.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the organising committee and respective judges who have been involved in planning and running this 20th SSC.

With that, a hearty welcome to all of you. May everyone have a very successful and fruitful time being part of this conference.

-Associate Prof. Dr. Mohd Fahdli Khamis-

Message from the Chairperson

Assalamualaikum and a warm greeting to all.

On behalf of the organising committee, it is a great pleasure to welcome everyone to our 20th Students Scientific Conference (20th SSC). The theme of this conference is “Resurgence of Research Post-COVID". This is the first virtual synchronous session for 20th SSC after two years of having it asynchronously to prevent COVID-19 infection. Among the many ways COVID-19 has affected research include the shift in grant offers and research focus, reduced time in the lab and fieldwork, and increased online collaborations, to name a few.

In Malaysia, this is no exception, as many researchers, scientists, academicians, and students are trying to continue doing research even during the pandemic. In USM, although pandemic has disrupted the study plans of our undergraduate elective-year dental students, they remained calm, persistent, and, more importantly, becoming more creative with the management of their research.

Our elective program aims to expose and teach our students to identify an area of interest for their research, balance collaborative and individual work, understand publishing works better, and launch their careers as researchers in the future.

This year, our 20th SSC offers various interesting topics that provide updates on the latest research findings, improvement in the scientific quality, and the opportunity to learn from the different disciplines—basic sciences, clinical sciences, and public health. In essence, this knowledge-sharing event helps the participants to be an evidence-based, excellent professional dentist and scientist.

As conference chair of 20th SSC, I know that the conference's success ultimately depends on the many people who have worked with us in planning and organising this synchronous virtual conference. In particular, we thank the Dean and Deputy Deans for their wise advice and brilliant suggestions on organising this virtual program and the Year 3 DDS Program Committee for their effort, creativity, and time spent making the opening video. Recognition should go to the members of the local organising committee who have worked extremely hard to detail important aspects of the conference. May God bless us all with good health to make this event successful and enjoyable!

Best regards, and thank you.

-Ts. Dr. Wan Nazatul Shima Shahidan-