Reopening circles and reconnecting with periodontologists, By Joseph Amenaghawon

The PAN 2026 conference was more than a professional engagement. It was a reminder that circles, once opened, can be revisited and that the people and passions we encounter along the way enrich us, whether we walk beside them or simply cross their path decades later.

There is something uniquely affirming about reconnecting with a path not taken and discovering, decades later, how beautifully it intersects with the journey you ultimately chose.

On Wednesday, 25 February, I found myself at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, for the 5th Biennial Scientific Conference and General Meeting of the Periodontologists Association of Nigeria (PAN 2026). The theme: “Beyond the Probe: Artificial Intelligence and Digital Tools in Periodontology.” My role? To serve as chairman of the substantive conference, standing in for Oluseun Onigbinde, global director of BudgIT Foundation, who had graciously asked me to step in weeks earlier.

What Seun perhaps intuited, consciously or otherwise, was that this engagement would bring me full circle to a chapter of my life I had long closed, yet never quite left behind.

A Story That Began in 1988

In 1988, I secured admission into the University of Ibadan to pursue a Bachelors of Dental Surgery (BDS). It was the beginning of a dream, one that, over four grueling years (1988–1992), became clouded by personal and mental struggles, two failed MB exams, and extended academic time occasioned by university closures: the 1989 anti-SAP protests, strikes by the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and the general turbulence of that era. By late 1992, I had exited the pre-medical school track and begun the journey to study Economics.

I never lost touch with my course mates in Medicine, Dental Surgery, and other health-related fields. But until that Wednesday at LASUTH, I had never engaged with them professionally — neither as individuals nor as a collective. The PAN conference changed that.

Preparation and Collaboration

In the weeks leading up to the event, I began working with Akinkunmi Oludiran, BudgIT’s in-house AI focal person, to craft a suitable opening remark that would honour the conference theme, while reflecting our organisation’s growing engagement with artificial intelligence. Together, we shaped the text, receiving invaluable guidance from Professor Olubunmi Onigbinde, chair of the Local Organising Committee for PAN 2026. She was diligent and generous with her time, clarifying every detail about my role, BudgIT’s participation, and potential partnership support for the event. Their collaboration ensured that when I finally stood before the gathering, my words would resonate with both the scientific community and the development perspective I brought to the table.

Arrival and Immersion

I had mistakenly believed the conference would commence at 8 a.m., and by 8:10 a.m., I was still enroute from Ikoyi to Ikeja, quietly fretting. When I arrived around 8:30 a.m., Professor Onigbinde greeted me with surprise: the substantive conference wouldn’t begin until 10 a.m. Would I like to sit in on the ongoing scientific session?

That invitation became my immersion into the world of periodontology; the branch of dentistry concerned with the tissues surrounding the teeth: the gums and alveolar bone. I listened to research presentations that were, in many ways, profoundly enlightening.

One study examined how religious beliefs can hinder oral health care, a fascinating case of a self-proclaimed prophetess who neglected her dental health, fearing it would disrupt her ability to receive spiritual insights. Through patient counselling, she was guided back to professional care, with transformative results.

Another presentation explored the potential of artificial intelligence to scale periodontal services to underserved communities, a theme that resonated deeply with BudgIT’s own work on leveraging AI for civic impact. I was also struck by a report highlighting how equipment shortages in public facilities sometimes force periodontologists to revert to manual procedures, underscoring the urgent need for 24-hour access to critical tools in public healthcare.

Through it all, I witnessed the quiet resilience of Nigerian periodontologists, committed, against considerable odds, to ensuring that citizens receive the best possible care, primarily within public health institutions.

But beyond the sessions, the conference opened doors I hadn’t expected: opportunities for collaboration between BudgIT and PAN on integrating AI into periodontal services, infusing oral health into primary healthcare, tracking budget allocations to health outcomes, and jointly advocating for better periodontal health for Nigerians.

A Familiar Face

Midway through the session, I spotted a face I hadn’t seen in decades. When we finally exchanged greetings and confirmed identities, it was Professor Kehinde Umeizudike, a course mate from pre-medical school at UI. I had rewritten the MB exams with her set in the 1992/1993 session.

The reunion was profoundly moving. Kehinde, like me, had spent time at the University of Lagos before beginning dentistry at UI. And then there was Dr Theophilus Umeizudike, her husband — an alumnus of State Grammar School, Eric Moore, Surulere (I am of the 1986 set; he is of the 1988 set). We had both begun pre-medical studies at UI in 1988, he on the Medicine track. When Kehinde called to tell him that I was at the conference, he honoured us with his presence, and we spent a few precious minutes catching up.

To be reconnected with Kehinde and Theo — two brilliant, committed professionals advancing their fields, impacting lives, and raising standards at LASUTH, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and University of Lagos, was a gift I had not anticipated.

Professor Umeizudike was the scientific chair of the Local Organising Committee of PAN 2026.

The Chairman’s Address: Beyond the Probe

After warm addresses by Professor Olubunmi Onigbinde (LOC chairman) and PAN President Dr Modupeore Ekua Sorunke, I took the stage, no longer in a formal conference, it seemed, but among colleagues in conversation. Drawing on the theme, I charged PAN 2026 to:

• Embrace AI — but insist on ethics.
• Digitise its systems — but secure them.
• Compete globally — but govern locally with integrity.
• Invest in tools — but invest even more in people.
• And above all, ensure that every digital advancement ultimately improves patient outcomes.

Because technology, I reminded them, is not the destination. Better care is.

Deeper Learnings, Unexpected Connections

Dr Clement Azodo (professor of Periodontology, University of Benin) delivered a keynote speech which offered further insights into AI’s value-add to periodontology. Dr Moyosore Makinde (consultant, family physician, LASUTH) led a wellness session which reinforced how oral health is inseparable from food and lifestyle choices.

And the panel discussion headlined by Dr Azeez Butali (a professor in the College of Dentistry, University of Iowa, USA), Dr Solomon Olusegun Nwhator ( professor of Periodontology, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife),  Dr Priscilla Ameh (consultant periodontologist , University of Jos Teaching Hospital) and moderated by Dr Noimot Balogun (global health communication strategist) drew together the many threads — practice, policy, and reality — that define periodontology in Nigeria today.

But beyond the sessions, the conference opened doors I hadn’t expected: opportunities for collaboration between BudgIT and PAN on integrating AI into periodontal services, infusing oral health into primary healthcare, tracking budget allocations to health outcomes, and jointly advocating for better periodontal health for Nigerians.

On the sidelines, I shared something personal with Professor Umeizudike. Academic setbacks — failing promotional exams can exact a heavy toll: mental strain on students and families, financial loss, and years that can never be reclaimed. My charge to young people is this: muster all your energy to retain the academic rigour and discipline required to secure the qualification you’re pursuing…

A Personal Reflection

On the sidelines, I shared something personal with Professor Umeizudike. Academic setbacks — failing promotional exams can exact a heavy toll: mental strain on students and families, financial loss, and years that can never be reclaimed. My charge to young people is this: muster all your energy to retain the academic rigour and discipline required to secure the qualification you’re pursuing. Whatever career you pivot to afterwards will be strengthened by the resilience you built in staying the course.

It is a charge my younger self did not heed. I missed out on securing that BDS degree from the University of Ibadan, and probably a life as a periodontologist.

But I also pivoted to Economics, and eventually a career in the development sector.

Gratitude and Forward Motion

The message is clear: we are critical to shaping our life’s outcomes. When setbacks come, we must pick ourselves up and push forward again.

I am grateful for the unwavering commitment of my late parents — my Mum, Evbekozin, and my dad, Amenaghawon, who rallied around me as I rebuilt my life. To my late elder brother, Daniel, who sought to steady me through those early struggles and stayed close even after the missteps. To my other siblings: my elder sister, Auntie Orobosa, Dr Francis Amenaghawon, with whom I eventually graduated from UI in 1998, Thomas, Justina, Reverend Fr Paul, Osaretin, Odion and Owohan, for their love then and now.

And to my wife, Elizabeth, whose enduring love pushes me on. She never forgets to tease me: “Joe, you be Ọmọwé”

Indeed, a scholar I remain, just on a different path.

The PAN 2026 conference was more than a professional engagement. It was a reminder that circles, once opened, can be revisited and that the people and passions we encounter along the way enrich us, whether we walk beside them or simply cross their path decades later.

Joseph Amenaghawon is a development expert and writes from Lagos, where he is currently Acting Country Director, BudgIT Foundation (www.budgit.org) and Head, CivicHive (www.civichive.org)