Egg tarts and some crystal gazing!

APOS Trends will see its 10^th volume published next year. It’s been a defining decade for the organization (APOS), the journal (APOS Trends) and the specialty! The journal was the brainchild of Dr. Loh Kai Woh – APOS President (2010–2012). In February 2010, the 7^th IOC and APOC were jointly held in Sydney, Australia. I attended the event and on my way back home, made a quick stopover in Singapore. Dr. Loh invited me over to lunch and treated me to some of the best “egg tarts” I’ve ever had. The lunch discussion focused on his vision for the APOS and the idea to start a newsletter and a journal. He asked me to spearhead the project and before we knew –“APOS Trends” was a reality!

The website www.apospublications.com housed both the journal and the website. Those were humble beginnings! The society was just about organizing itself and its finances, and there was no way the website or the journal could be funded. Hence, it was my responsibility as the Editor in Chief (EIC) to not only source the science for the project but also the finances! Today, APOS is a robust and very relevant regional organization with 20 affiliate national associations and more than 20,000 fellows in its fold. The APOS sponsors a conference (APOC), a resident’s forum, a research foundation, and has its own website https://www.asianpacificortho.org.

The first two volumes of the journal (2011–2012) were published without a publishing house. Wolters Kluwer very efficiently partnered with APOS Trends from 2013 to 2018. In 2019, the Editorial Board deemed it necessary to change publishers, and Scientific Scholar was on board. As of today, 44 issues have been published since the inception of the journal. Global experts have contributed to the journal in various capacities, and a substantial number of published papers have been cited. A lot of our invited articles titled “Expert’s Corners” are used as important teaching references by a lot of graduate orthodontic programs in the region. APOS Trends Awards have been awarded at the 10^th (Bali-2016) and 11^th (Boracay-2018) APOC’s for the best papers published in the journal. These awards will have their third edition at the 12^th APOC next year and are an important initiative to inspire and reward excellence in published literature! [Tables 1-3] The award-winning authors have been invited to present their papers at the APOC’s in the past, and this is a trend that will continue into the future!

The journal will step into its second decade in 2020. In 2018, I did announce to the APOS functionaries, my desire to retire as the APOS EIC after the 12^th APOC in Yokohama, 2020. The search committee for my successor chose Dr. Eric Liou, from the Taiwan Association of Orthodontists to be the next EIC of the journal. Dr. Liou is a name that needs no introduction to anyone in orthodontics. He is an orthodontic giant who will assume charge as the new EIC of “APOS Trends in Orthodontics” from October 2020. I’m sure he and his team will be the satellites that will propel this important arm of APOS into the next orbit!

If I were to ask myself nearly a decade after I tasted that delicious egg tart in Singapore, “Did we make a contribution to orthodontic literature and education in the region?” I would probably think of it is “as only a beginning, with a long way to go”. This journey has seen me grow as a professional with the journal, and I cannot thank APOS enough, for the opportunity that has molded me in more ways than I can imagine or express! As we ruminate into the future, what does the crystal ball foretell for the journal, the society, and the profession?

This decade has seen orthodontics embrace the fruition of technology in ways that were perceived only as theoretical possibilities until the early part of the 21^st century.^[1] APOS Trends has had a very keen interest in featuring papers that evaluate the impact of these technologies on clinical care from a holistic perspective.^[2] We request colleagues around the world to contribute technological breakthroughs impacting orthodontic care to APOS Trends. The various fields that would interest us would be (1) three-dimensional (3D) printing, 3D-assisted diagnosis, and treatment planning; (2) biomaterials, nanotechnology, and biomimetics. (3) patient education, practice management, and postgraduate orthodontic education; (4) E-health and tele-orthodontics; and (5) marketing and social media utility.^[1] The current pace of technological change is indeed breathtaking! Ben Uglow, Morgan Stanley’s head of research for the Capital Goods Industry says,^[3] “This is not a vague concept that may happen one day in a hypothetical world. It is very much here and now, as real dollars are being committed, with tangible benefits in efficiency and productivity.”

From a health care in general, and orthodontics in particular perspective, it’s imperative that outcomes of these infusions in orthodontics where “dollars are being committed” engage a wide range of stake holders (such as, patients, parents/ caregivers, clinicians, allied health professionals, and researchers) so that clinically relevant outcomes that meet the needs of all the stakeholders are identified and published.^[4,5] It’s imperative that this is done, rather than just choosing outcomes that only meet the needs of the researcher or the clinician. My favorite brand of hotels in India is a hotel chain that belongs to the Marriott Bonvoy Luxury Collection. It uses a tag line “Responsible Luxury” as a part of its core philosophy. They make every effort to be carbon neutral and environmentally conscious. This not only defines who they are but also impacts their business by appealing to the “feel good” factor in this era of “#hash tag influenced decision making.” The next decade of orthodontics and its peer-reviewed literature will in all probability focus beyond the “eureka” moments of what have been the breakthroughs of this decade, with information that is holistically derived and critically analyzed! When the Editor of APOS Trends writes his/her editorial in December 2029… will we still read paragraphs on computer screens or interact with interfaces that we haven’t yet seen or imagined? Que sera sera!