Participation of dental researchers at annual SA IADR Conferences (1967-2004): drivers and passengers.

A descriptive study of SA IADR Conference participation 1967-2004 showed that both membership numbers and conference presentations have declined by half over the past 20 years. Of the total of 3 259 presentations, from mainly the six Schools of Oral Health Sciences (SOHS), the majority were from SOHS 1, followed by the SOHS 2, 3, 5, 4 and 6. Productivity of individual SOHS has changed over the years. Number of annual presentations per school has varied according to the organising school and the distance of the school from the conference venue. Research prizes are well supported. Research active "drivers" have high personal research productivity but do not significantly influence (P > 0.05) the number of conference presentations of their respective schools.