EDITORIAL

Speech given by Dr. Clara Eugenia Escobar, Dean of Universidad de Antioquia School of Dentistry, in celebration of the journal's 25th anniversary.

With great satisfaction and on behalf of the entire School, I thank you all for joining us today in celebrating the 25th anniversary of Revista Facultad de Odontología Universidad de Antioquia.

Those involved in these readings maintain that all new things have a place in the construction of human society and contribute to its permanence.

I think the journal was founded to make the School's history by publishing its scientific and cultural work. We know that scientific and technological research requires patience and dedication and that researchers are keen to find new knowledge and to actively participate in the transformation not only of this discipline and this profession but also of society. Their results deserve then to come to public light so that we all can benefit from them.

Similarly, culture develops through everyday actions that gradually take up social dynamics. Dentists are recognized by certain ways of doing things, and we educate our students that way.

The tasks of researching, writing, and teaching are in continuous development, always supported by faculty members in their effort to publicize their ideas—their ways of perceiving and interpreting the world.

Scientific knowledge changes to an increasingly rapid pace and its impact in everyday life is undeniable. We may say that we are today what science wanted to do of us. This is what we call development, not only in material terms but also in the way of perceiving and interpreting the world.

It is then often said that our thoughts are headed towards new conceptions about men and women, about society and its institutions.

As scholars and professionals, dentists are not and cannot be disconnected from this reality; we cannot stay still seeing the world pass by. We must open our lives and transform them. And we should do this from our profession, the one we decided to pursue years ago as our life project, isn't it the best way to achieve such a goal? Dentistry is a way of seeing and interpreting the world because it is there where we want to accomplish our dreams and expectations.

Research, scientific controversy, information and the accumulation of knowledge daily wandering around the School; the eagerness and enthusiasm of stimulating curiosity and passion in a place that we wanted to be—and we still do—a referent to the profession, made the journal a dream come true. A means of communication was created to disseminate knowledge in society.

It is not utopian to work together towards a different society in which relationships among human beings and with the environment are based on science—the new science summoned to provide new physical and spiritual horizons.

We needed to disseminate knowledge and to raise interest among professionals to share the products of their work. Cooperation to publicize their research benefits us all and increases the number of dentists—knowledge seekers—by incorporating new knowledge and new technologies.

It is in that context that more than 25 years ago the School considered it necessary to plant its seed in the dental profession, sharing its knowledge, thoughts and topics to contribute to the development of society from our discipline's competency, oral health.

Thus, in 1989, the Journal of the School of Dentistry came to light originally known as Acta Clínica Odontológica as a result of the union activity of those times; it later became Temas Odontológicos, a joint organ of Sociedad Odontológica Antioqueña and the School of Dentistry. It was headed by doctors Javier Echavarría R. and Julián Cadavid G. It was a quarterly journal free of charge. As Revista Facultad de Odontología Universidad de Antioquia, its first editor was Dr. Gabriel Tobón Cambas and later Dr. Fabio Becerra Santos, who managed to include the journal in category C of Colciencias' Publindex. Current editor, Julio Roberto Saldarriaga Molina, has continued this work and the journal is now classified in category A2. It is today the highest rated dentistry journal in the country, and one of the few in Latin America. It has an Editorial Committee and a Scientific Committee each with 10 members, 60% of whom are from overseas and most hold PhD degrees. Every six months, the journal publishes on average 8 articles resulting from research, as well as literature reviews and clinical cases in Spanish and English, all with peer evaluation, mostly by external scholars with master's or doctorate degrees.

The journal's records show that it has had a significant number of readers—making it a moral obligation to continue its publication.

The journal is always open to whoever wishes to contribute to the development of the discipline and the profession, but these are not the only ones involved; there are others who are not that known but play a vital role in this endeavor: the entire work team, the Editorial Committee, the Scientific Committee, and evaluators of submissions. And we should not forget the anonymous work of secretaries, assistants, and all those who contribute their bit so that we can be overjoyed today.

In this history, the ones who are here and those absent, pioneers as well as newcomers, have been necessary to the creation of this journal and its permanence over 25 years. Some have contributed their knowledge; others offered their support and friendship, with understanding and affection.

Some others, the readers, the main objective of the journal, have encouraged us to persist in this venture, thanks to their receptivity and interest.

The current realities of the 21st century show us nowadays that we were right. The humanity has never had so many reasons to build a better world as a result of a new awareness led by the older but above all by young people. And this awareness refers to respect, dignity, justice, and solidarity.

For all these reasons, with joy and gratitude we have assembled you today here, a place in which we regularly share knowledge and experiences, to celebrate these achievements and to thank family, friends and readers alike.

We are confident in all of you, especially in the youth of today, and we encourage you to leave your own mark: the species and human society have always known that they have a future, but it is your responsibility to shape it.

Once again I want to thank everyone for joining us today.

Thank you.

Clara Eugenia Escobar G.

Dean