‘History is made by those who have the ability to change the present’
Thursday September 15th, 2005 marked a monumental day for the South Asian Dental Association (SADA). The evening gala event, held at Payal Banquets in Mississauga, served as the official launch of SADA. The 500-plus individuals in attendance were also treated to a symposium featuring the latest developments in Digital Technology in the field of dentistry.
The event attracted some of the top officials from the dental community, including Dr. Cam Witmer, President of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons (RCDSO) as well as federal and provincial dental association executives. In addition, prominent South Asian government leaders, Mr. Harinder Takhar, Minister of Transportation (M.P.P) and Mr. Navdeep Bains (M.P), joined SADA to mark this inaugural event. The joint Masters of Ceremonies for the evening’s festivities were SADA’s executive members, Dr. Neil Gajjar and Dr. Vageesh Sabharwal. They were given the task of introducing the evening speakers, Dr. Bob Carroll, who is Quality Assurance Advisor with the RCDSO, and renowned lecturer Dr. Walter Golub. The audience was further entertained with a video montage featuring memories from SADA’s past events. Dr. Jack Cottrell, president of the Canadian Dental Association and his Ontario counterpart, Dr. Jocelyn Pearce were on-hand as the Honourable Mr. Takhar took to the stage for the official ribbon-cutting presentation.
SADA was formed in 2002 under the guidance of Mr. Elesh Ruparel, a non-dentist representative from the RCDSO. Mr. Ruparel’s intent at that juncture was to promote advancement of dentistry within the South Asian community. Since its inception, SADA has operated as a non-profit dental association for the pursuit of excellence in dentistry by all members of the dental team. This intent is best exemplified by the 5 core goals of SADA:
1.To promote oral health in the community
2.To encourage dentists to create a team environment in the profession
3.To promote high professional standards amongst dentists
4.To collaborate with other dental organizations
5.To have an international presence
The founding members of SADA have devoted countless hours promoting events and providing continuing education seminars to South Asian Dentists. Dr.Gajjar best describes SADA “as a nimble organization which has enabled dentists to become friends and has made dentistry a more favourable environment practice”.
2005 marks the first year in which SADA has created an official membership drive for its events. To date, there are over 250 registered members in Ontario. Due to the diligence of its committee members, SADA has also gained international recognition from its counterparts in the Middle East and India in the past few months.
For further information about SADA and to view pictures from the Gala event, please visit our official website www.sadaonline.org/galaonline
