The Endodontics and Conservative Dentistry Clinical Research (ECCLIRES) convention is conducted as an annual event to emphasize the importance of clinical research and serves as a nationally recognized forum for presentation of new clinical research findings. The objective of team ECCLIRES is to encourage and inculcate interest in young minds to do clinical research.

The 2nd international and 5th national conference of ECCLIRES 2016 was conducted at Hotel Accord Metropolitan on 26 and 27 of August 2016. The success of this event with increased number of participants from all over the country is definitely another feather in the crown of ECCLIRES team. The event started with an inauguration function, which was graced by Dr MR Srinivasan, President, Conservative and Endodontic Association of Tamil Nadu and Dr B Mohan, Honourable General Secretary, Indian Association of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics. Dr B Mohan spoke about the importance of clinical research and the need to encourage the same. He ended by congratulating the team ECCLIRES for creating a platform for the students to showcase their interest and talents in clinical research.

To our pride, we had two internationally acclaimed keynote speakers: Professor Paul V Abbott, Winthrop Professor of Clinical Dentistry, University of Western Australia, and Professor V Gopikrishna, Thai Moogambigai Dental College, Chennai, India. Professor Paul Abbott has more than 130 publications to his credit and is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Dental Traumatology. Professor Paul Abbot consented to give three extensive lectures in this 2-day event. On the first day, his lecture focused on pulp, root canal, and periradicular conditions and various reliable ways to diagnose them. On the second day, he summarized the strategies to reduce the consequences of trauma to the teeth and outlined the various tissue responses to trauma and guidelines for effective and predictable management to reduce the potential consequences of trauma to the teeth.

Dr V Gopikrishna is the editor of four internationally acclaimed textbooks and associate editor of the European Endodontic Journal. His lecture was on critical analysis of current clinical protocols in endodontics. This evidence-based presentation provided answers to poignant questions that would arise in a clinician's mind. He stressed on the importance of cleaning over shaping, the effectiveness of various methods of cleaning and shaping the root canal, and provided an objective overview in enhancing our ability to strive for perfection in endodontics.

Scientific committee members Dr R Mensudar, Dr V Prakash, and Dr A Karthick handled the increase in number of papers efficiently. More than 60 papers and posters were presented in the conference, out of which 40% were clinical trials. Enthusiasm and interest shown by the participants to do clinical research is a boosting factor for ECCLIRES team to take the event to the next level.

A total of 10 presentations were selected from which the best paper was selected in the final session.

Presenter nameTitle
Rakesh AllaComparative clinical evaluation of new glass ionomer & nanohybrid composite filling materials in non-carious cervical lesions – randomized clinical trial
Sandhya ShanmugamTo evaluate the relationship between the number of root canals in the root and incidence of vertical root fracture
Sheerin BanuRadix distoligualis – an unusual anatomy of 2nd maxillary molar
Sibi SwamyVital pulp therapy – MTA pulpotomy of permanent teeth with closed apex – case series
Sowjanyaa JComparative evaluation of the efficacy of diclofenac sodium using different delivery routes in the management of endodontic pain – a randomized controlled clinical trial
K. ManigandanInfluence of PA status on dimensional variability of apical foramen and apical constriction of root canal
Nandha KumarComparative study on post-instrumentation pain after the use of rotary, reciprocation and TF adaptive NiTi endo file system
AnushaPostoperative pain evaluation after using endovac and endoactivator irrigation devices in single visit root canal treatment – a randomized clinical trial
Umesh GEvaluation of anesthetic efficacy of 4% articaine with 1:1,00,000 epinephrine and 4% articaine with 1:1,00,000 epinephrine buffered with 0.5 mol/l solution mannitol on the success of inferior alveolar nerve block for teeth with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. An in-vivo study
Huzefa NJEndodontic management of aberrant root canal anatomy. A case series

The best paper award was given to Dr Manigandan (Thai Moogambigai Dental College) and second best paper award was given to Dr Sibi Swamy (Thai Moogambigai Dental College). The best presenter was awarded a cash prize and a rolling shield. The best presentation was selected by Dr Paul Abbott and Dr S Mahalaxmi, SRM Dental College, Chennai, India.

The event ended with a speech by Dr Paul Abbott who advised the participants that they should undertake more research projects in future. He also said that the advantage in our country is the accessibility to larger sample size, which will definitely increase the validity of research work done. He also encouraged the participants to publish their research projects to validate their findings. Professor Abbot also mentioned that he was overwhelmed by the hospitality and cultural heritage of our country.