Jaramillo serves as ROOTS SUMMIT scientific chairman

Professor David E. Jaramillo, DDS, of UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry served as the scientific chairman at the 2024 ROOTS SUMMIT in May in Athens, Greece.

The 2024 edition, held May 9-12, marked the 25th anniversary of the endodontic meeting with participants joining from more than 50 countries.

As the scientific chairman, Jaramillo organized the event’s lectures, which featured international speakers spanning nine countries, and reviewed all abstract submissions for posters and oral presentations. He also moderated each session and announced presentation winners.

“ROOTS SUMMIT is always a great meeting,” said Jaramillo, a member of the UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry’s Department of Endodontics faculty. “Attendees expect high-quality speakers, and I’m very happy with the good balance of clinical and scientific work to bring them.”

Topics included irrigation and disinfection of root canals, complex diagnosis in endodontics, restoration of endodontically treated teeth, the effect of radiotherapy on dental structures, root canal blockage management, and the rationale for the management of complex, borderline cases in endodontics.

The trip was a family affair for Jaramillo. In addition to being around endodontic colleagues, his wife, Monica, and daughter, Analia, accompanied him.

During their travels, the family stopped in Rome, where they attended a cooking class and toured the Vatican Museums, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Coliseum. In Athens, they toured Acropolis and did a walking food tour.

Jaramillo’s main research focus is on the irrigation of the root canal system. He has dictated more than 150 conferences worldwide, published over 29 peer-reviewed papers, and has written eight book chapters, including one in Spanish and one in Portuguese.

Jaramillo joined the UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry faculty in 2014. He has been teaching non-stop since 1990 when he originally began on a part-time basis.

Jaramillo earned his dental degree and endodontics certification from Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara Dental School.

ROOTS SUMMIT began as a mailing list of endodontic enthusiasts in the 1990s. Since the inaugural ROOTS SUMMIT meeting was held in 1999 in Toronto, conferences have been held all over the world spanning the U.S., the Netherlands, Mexico, Spain, Brazil, India, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Czech Republic, and Greece.