During the SEPA Barcelona 2025 Congress, the handover in the presidency of this scientific society took place. Dr. Paula Matesanz, professor at the Faculty of Dentistry of the Complutense University of Madrid and, until now, Vice President, has taken over the role from Dr. José Nart. 

Barcelona, December 16, 2025. Dr. Matesanz has brought together a board committed to continuity, maintaining a majority of women, and incorporating Dr. Ana Mollina as the new Vice President. Alongside them, Dr. Alberto Monje becomes the new Secretary General, Dr. Olalla Argibay will serve as Board Member for “Professional Outreach”, and Dr. Beatriz de Tapia will focus especially on the area of “Training/Research”. The board also welcomes new members: Dr. Andrés López, Board Member for “Awareness/Cuida tus Encías”, and Dr. Javier Sanz, who assumes responsibility for “Scientific Meetings”. 

The Pillars of an Ambitious Project

Dr. Matesanz’s extensive and successful career within SEPA—where she has held leadership positions for the past 13 years and has been part of its Executive Committee since 2012—gives her presidency a clear sense of continuity. She reaffirms that the society’s core values remain central: “rigor, innovation, excellence, transparency, and ethics”. Alongside these, the new mandate aims to strengthen policies related to sustainability, inclusion, diversity, global outreach, interdisciplinarity, and broad engagement. 

““I receive a legacy of more than 65 years, having been involved in decision-making for the last 13 of them, so it is difficult to propose a break with what has been done so far. I believe I can provide stability and work hard to ensure that Sepa continues advancing while staying true to its values,” she states. “The Society faces many challenges, and I am fully aware of how difficult it can be to ensure institutional stability in an organization as large as Sepa. But I am confident that I have the best team to generate new ideas that will make the sustainability of the project possible.”

She also expresses her hope that the next three years will be marked “by inclusion and by embracing diversity”. As she explains, “The profession of Dentistry, and the field of Periodontology and Implant Therapy, are no longer a niche of like-minded individuals. Sepa has been working for some time to create space and visibility for emerging profiles: women, young professionals trained in different universities, coming from different regions of Spain and the world, all contributing to the international image of Sepa as a benchmark of rigor and quality.” 

Among her objectives—aside from ensuring continuity—is ‘maintaining institutional stability in an organization as large as Sepa’ and contributing to ‘positioning the Sepa brand worldwide as a reference in rigor and quality’

SEPA’s work for the period 2026–2029 will be organized around the following pillars: professional outreach, training and research, awareness, and congresses and scientific meetings—each with its own objectives, all aimed at advancing knowledge of Periodontology and Implant Therapy to ensure the highest possible standard of care in dental clinics.

A particularly important area for Dr. Matesanz is the increasing feminization of Sepa, where women now play an outstanding role in numerous meetings, congresses, and training activities. Not only has gender parity been achieved, but the current Executive Board has a majority of women. In this regard, the new president—only the second woman to lead this scientific society in over 65 years—highlights the legacy of Dr. Nuria Vallcorba, who “more than a decade ago took on the responsibility of becoming the first woman to preside over this organization and opened the path for those of us who came after”.

José Nart, an Extraordinary Legacy

This change in the presidency also provides an opportunity to reflect on the legacy of the previous president, Dr. José Nart. “I leave with the satisfaction of duty fulfilled.”

During his three and a half years in office, numerous initiatives were launched. One of the key objectives was strengthening SEPA’s presence in mainstream media, beyond specialized channels, to reach the general population with high-quality information about periodontitis and its implications. “We have succeeded in bringing periodontics and peri-implantitis into mainstream media through attractive, high-quality content. We have made significant progress in raising awareness among both patients and dental professionals,” Dr. Nart notes. 

He also highlights the success of the congresses held during this period, with exceptionally high participation among dentistry, stomatology, dental hygiene, and clinical management professionals. This has been complemented by the implementation of a top-level continuing education program of great value for improving clinical care quality. Additionally, three international workshops (consensus meetings) were held during his presidency, with Sepa leading one of them—an EFP workshop between Spain and Italy, especially relevant because it focused on evaluating the patient’s perspective.

SEPA has also strengthened its collaboration with the dental industry, addressing the needs of companies individually, which has facilitated the development of highly relevant scientific projects.

“None of this would have been possible without an exceptional human team—people who prioritize the common good over individual interests. It gives me peace of mind to know that I leave behind a leading international institution recognized for its scientific rigor,” the outgoing president reflects. He will remain connected to SEPA as a board member of the foundation.

A Career Linked to the UCM

Although institutionally Dr. Matesanz is deeply connected to SEPA, her academic training and professional trajectory are closely tied to the Complutense University of Madrid, where she obtained her degree in Dentistry, her Master’s in Periodontology, and her PhD in Dentistry. She is currently an Associate Professor at the UCM and a Board-Certified Periodontist of the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP). 

Composition of the new SEPA Executive Board

• Paula Matesanz: President
• Ana Molina: Vice President
• Alberto Monje: Secretary General
• Olalla Argibay: Professional Outreach
• Andrés López: Awareness / Cuida tus Encías
• Beatriz de Tapia: Training / Research
• Javier Sanz: Scientific Meetings

 Para más información:

Prensa SEPA. Paco Romero. Telf. 639.64.55.70. [email protected]