A webinar Titled “East meets West Oral Pathology Session: Smokeless Tobaccos and Oral Lesions - India and US experiences” was organised by the ECHO project on 9th July 2020. Project ECHO, short for Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes, is a telementoring program first developed in 2003 at the University of New Mexico as a way to extend and improve treatment options for patients in rural and medically underserved areas. In Project ECHO programs, specialists working at major healthcare “hubs” partner with rural providers and those working in underserved regions, offering mentoring, guidance and training using teleconferencing technology. The program now has 109 partners working in 21 countries to improve treatment for almost 60 conditions.

The speakers were Dr. Suzanne. T. Nethan, program manager (ECHO), National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, India and Dr. Jerry Boquot, professor Emeritus, UThealth school of dentistry at Houston represented USA. Dr. Jerry Bouquot earned his DDS and MSD degrees from the University of Minnesota, with postdoctoral fellowships to the Mayo Clinic and the Royal Dental College in Copenhagen, Denmark as the recipient of a Career Development Award from the American Cancer Society.

He holds the record as the youngest oral pathology chair in U.S. history and for more than 26 years was chair of two diagnostic science departments, one in West Virginia University and the other at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He has received more than 50 honors and awards, including WVU’s highest awards for teaching and service to humanity, and its alumni association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is now a retired adjunct professor of The University of Texas and West Virginia University, and remains the director of research for his private research center, the Maxillofacial Center for Education and Research.

Dr. Jerry Boquot having heard of the rare case collection in Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, invited Dr. Pratibha Ramani, Professor and Head, Department of Oral Pathology, to showcase four rare cases associated with smokeless tobacco habit following the lecture. The lecture lasted for 2 hrs with poll questions in between and a brief question and answer session in the end.

Following which, Dr. Pratibha Ramani was invited along with the postgraduate residents to present the interesting case reports. Following a brief introduction by Dr. Pratibha Ramani, postgraduate residents Dr. Suvarna, Dr. Reshma PK, Dr. Hemashree and Dr. Rahul Mohandas presented the cases. The case reports were much appreciated by all the participants. A total of 190 participants attended the webinar from throughout the world.