Dental meetings draw big crowds

The Greater New York Dental Meeting and the Chicago Dental Society's Midwinter Meeting are among the top 10 medical conferences in the U.S. in terms of attendance, according to data released this month by the Healthcare Convention and Exhibitors Association (HCEA).

The HCEA's tally of attendance at the 50 biggest medical meetings in 2011 found the Radiological Society of North America meeting on top, with total attendance of 59,097 and professional attendance of 27,305. The next-best-attended meeting was the Greater New York Dental Meeting, with total attendance of 53,789 and professional attendance of 45,565.

The Chicago meeting was No. 8 on the list, with 30,575 total attendance and 15,864 professional attendance, followed by the Yankee Dental Congress (total and professional attendance of 27,685 and 21,261, respectively) in the No. 9 spot and the California Dental Association Anaheim meeting (27,410 and 20,127, respectively) in the No. 10 spot.

The ADA annual session was 11th on the list, with 27,026 total and 15,749 professional attendance.