Shenzhen is now gearing up for the Federation Dentaire Internationale (FDI) World Dental Congress that will be held from Sept. 22 to 25 in 2006 in the city.

The congress, the FDI¡¯s first to be held in China, is expected to attract more than 10,000 dentists from all over the world. The four-day event will feature academic seminars, round-table discussions and exhibitions on dentistry.

A working committee has been set up, which includes representatives from the publicity, health care, public security, tourism and communications departments. The Shenzhen tourism bureau has urged hotels to improve the English of their employees and arrange for online booking services.

J.T. Barnard, acting chairman of the FDI, said: ¡°Shenzhen is a vibrant and beautiful city. I can see that the government is working seriously with the event. What I am looking forward to the most is many Chinese dentists could participate in the meeting, so dentists from other countries will be able to meet their Chinese counterparts.¡±

Founded in Paris in 1900, the FDI is the main organization representing dentists worldwide. It organizes an annual global meeting to bring dentists together to discuss relevant issues.

Jin Qinggang with a Shenzhen dental clinic, who has practiced dentistry for more than 20 years, said he is looking forward to the event. ¡°I am eager to study the latest information of the world dentistry and meet world¡¯s renowned dentists. China is still on its way to improve its dental services,¡± Jin said.

A recent survey released by the Shenzhen dental disease prevention committee indicates more than 90 percent of the Shenzhen population is afflicted by dental diseases and 50 percent have problems with rotten teeth, making the need for dentistry in Shenzhen great indeed.

Editor: Yan