Celebrating in 2017
ALUMNI CONNECTIONS FALL 2016
Features MERCY SHIPS Page 4-5
TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE Page 6
FIRST GRAD FROM DH MASTER’S PROGRAM Page 7 Alumni Connections is published twice a year by the School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry. Design & Concept Tarwinder Rai
PARTY AT THE TAJ Page 8-9
Contributing Writers Cheryl Deslaurier
Douglas Phillips Tarwinder Rai
Cover Photo University of Alberta Contributing Photographers Cheryl Deslaurier Sonia Roy (COLAGENE.COM) Tarwinder Rai
dentistry.ualberta.ca
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Compassion fund for patients
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Centennial celebrations
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Lauren McLeod GPR
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Bulyea Cup recipient
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From diploma to degree
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Alumni Connections
Alumni Messages GREETINGS FROM THE SCHOOL The School of Dentistry is pleased to release its second edition of Alumni Connections—a biannual publication that tells the stories of our dentistry and dental hygiene alumni.
School of Dentistry Executive
From a centennial perspective, we recently hired a historian/ writer by the name of Taylor
Lambert. He is a journalist and author of the book Rising: Stories of the 2013 Alberta Flood, which features stories and narratives from many different people who were affected by the 2013 flood. Rising went on to reach No. 1 on the Calgary Herald’s bestseller list. Taylor is here to write the story of the School’s 100 years.
If all goes well, the completed book will be distributed at our closing 100 Year Gala on September 22, 2017. If you have a story or memoir you wish to share, please contact Cheryl Deslaurier at cdeslaur@ualberta.ca or 780-492-0850.
GREETINGS FROM THE DDS ALUMNI CHAPTER Another summer has passed and we are that much closer to the School’s centennial year – 2017. Bill Sharun
DDS Alumni President DDS ‘74
I am proud to say that I am an alumnus of a 100 year-old dental school. The age of a
program can hold a lot of symbolism in its years of operating, but it is its people that create the stories and carry the memories of what happens in the hallways, classrooms, clinics, and lunchrooms.
GREETINGS FROM THE DH ALUMNI CHAPTER The School of Dentistry will be celebrating its centennial year in 2017!
Kimmi Khabra
DH Alumni President DH ‘13
School of Dentistry
Over the years, the growth and development of the School has been significant. It has transitioned from the historic Dentistry & Pharmacy Building to its new home in the modern Kaye Edmonton Clinic. This new environment houses innovative
dental technology, an electronic charting system and supports a collaborative learning environment. However, one thing remains unchanged since the inception of the School, its strong commitment towards helping patients achieve oral health and a healthy smile. The School is also the first Canadian institution to
Over the next year, the School of Dentistry will celebrate these stories and memories through events, videos and written narratives. We hope you will become a part of sharing a story and leaving a legacy.
establish a master of science in dental hygiene. This new development allows dental hygienists opportunities for further growth and professional development. As an alumnus of the dental hygiene program, I am excited to see what the School has in store for the next 100 years.
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Vicki Thompson (‘72 DH) has volunteered numerous times with Mercy Ships Canada providing health care services in various parts of Africa.
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Alumni Connections
ALUMNI PROFILE
ALUMNUS LENDS A HAND Thompson sold her house to volunteer as dental hygienist with Mercy Ships Vicki Thompson’s (’72 DH) career and dental hygiene work has taken her around the world. While she’s the first to admit that staying in one place for too long isn’t her style, neither is working in a dental office. However, helping those who are less fortunate is definitely her forte. Her lifelong passion for public health and improving the dental health of unserved populations started shortly after working in a penitentiary during her summer school break while enrolled in dental hygiene. With experiences like this in mind, Thompson sold her house and gave away her belongings in 2008. She then embarked on what many would call the journey of a lifetime and headed to Liberia West Africa as the volunteer Dental Program Manager for Mercy Ships Canada. Mercy Ships Canada is a team of nurses, doctors, surgeons and other
School of Dentistry
health-care professionals from around the world who donate their time aboard the world’s largest non-governmental floating hospital. As a floating hospital, Mercy Ships can sail around the world to provide life-saving medical care and treatment. Thompson’s first stint with the organization was in Benin, West Africa in 2004.
They had no medical system in place at the time.” Still, the experience reinforced Thompson’s belief that everyone has a purpose in life – and this was hers. Following her stint on Mercy Ships, she returned to Liberia three more times, albeit on land, to manage a dental clinic.
“I knew from the start I just couldn’t work in an office,” she says. “I have tried to do many different things throughout my career.”
Now 65, Thompson admits she’s had to slow things down. After going back last fall for four months to manage the clinic, she knew she’d have to find others ways to help.
Thompson is adventurous. A risk-taker. But most of all she’s passionate about dental hygiene.
“I thought I was 20, but I’m not,” she jokes. “I still keep in touch with the clinic and help where I can.”
“It was the best and worst year of my life,” she recalls of the 2008 mission. “The country was just recovering from a very brutal civil war, and I was out of my depth. People who came to see us were hugely compromised.
Looking back on her career, Thompson says the impact public health awareness has on people is clear. Today, more than 40 years later, she wouldn’t change a thing.
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Randall Croutze (‘85 DDS) and his wife Angela keep it all in the family when it comes to running their dental office.
Two for the price of one “It’s two for the price of one,” says Randall Croutze (‘85 DDS). That’s what you get when you work with Randall and his wife Angela, or at least whenever they are able to tag team on projects. Angela works side by side with Randall in many of his business ventures. They’ve been together for 35 years. He was recently appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Alberta Dental Association and College (ADA&C). Previously, he was President of the Canadian Dental Association. He has also served in presidency roles for the ADA&C in 2006 and for the Edmonton District Dental Society in 2003. Randall has been a clinical associate professor at the University of Alberta School of Dentistry since 1985. All in the family Randall’s son Brian (‘15 DDS) works in the family practice. “My wife, daughter, sister and daughter-in-law work there, too,” says Randall. “Family is very important to me.” Randall’s other son is in his fourth year of medical school at the University of Alberta. Because of Randall’s community 6
leadership and belief in social accountability, it’s no surprise that his entire family works in the health-care field. He’s worked with the inner city through the Boyle McCauley Health Centre, was the faculty liaison for the Students’ Health Initiative Meeting the Needs of Edmonton (SHINE) Dental Clinic when it first began, and along with Gordon Thompson, Stu Root, Jack Sherman and Jonathan Skuba, he was instrumental in establishing the ADA&C mobile dental clinics. In 2004, he accepted an award from Mayor Stephen Mandel on behalf of the SHINE Dental Clinic. What are your fondest memories of dental school? Randall chuckled, “the ‘Slave Auction’” but added that “it’s not what you think.” While the name is politically incorrect these days, that’s what they called it back then. It was a student/instructor auction where students would bid on services offered by the instructors. Randall was the auctioneer. For example, one instructor owned a limo company and put up for auction a night on the town in a fancy stretch limo. Another fond memory was Skit Night.
“It was all about the social events,” says Randall. “They were fun and they really helped the students bond with faculty.” An undergrad student, Randall was president of the Dental Undergrad Society (known today as the Dental Student Association). Why did you choose dentistry as a career? “I had a great dentist when I was a kid,” Randall says. “I don’t ever remember being in pain and was treated with respect. Most of all, I remember feeling like the dentist and staff really wanted to help me. I also really liked all the cool-looking equipment.” How has dentistry changed? Randall notes that, for him, dentistry has stayed the same more than it has changed. He says the fundamentals of patient care should never change. However, what has changed are the technology and the materials used today. He’s still waiting for one of the biggest and most expected changes: the integration of dentistry and medicine. “We’re not there yet,” he says. “But there’s been progress.”
Alumni Connections
ALUMNI PROFILE
FIRST GRAD FROM DENTAL HYGIENE MASTER’S PROGRAM Kimi Khabra (‘13 DH) is the first person to graduate from the dental hygiene master’s program. With the launch of any new program, there are often kinks to work out. But Khabra says her experience was amazing. It was her supervisor, Sharon Compton, director of dental hygiene, and her co-supervisor, Louanne Keenan, director of community engagement who helped make her time in the program worthwhile. “The positive relationships I had with my supervisors were the key to my success,” says Khabra. “They were excellent mentors.” Khabra says that advanced study differs vastly from the undergraduate learning experience. As undergraduates, the goal is to obtain knowledge. In graduate school, the goal is to contribute knowledge to a field of study. Khabra’s research focused on exploring older adults’ oral health experience, as well as utilization and access to care. Older adults identified oral health care as the most common health care service they need. The purpose of the study was to explore oral-health experiences from the perspective of older adults’ living in community dwellings; to identify facilitators and barriers to oral health care; and to determine how oral health services utilization compares to utilization of other health care services. While in the program, Khabra worked with grad students from other faculties like rehabilitation medicine and nursing. She says it was beneficial in understanding research methods and the different ways of applying them. “It also enriched my experience and allowed me to see a broader scope of care,” says Khabra, adding she will eventually pursue her PhD. Director of the dental hygiene program Sharon Compton and master’s graduate Kimi Khabra during Convocation 2016. School of Dentistry
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Members of the U of A School of Dentistry class of ’58, including alumnus Douglas Phillips (third from left), perform a skit in costume (enhanced in this photo illustration) at the annual “Molar Mambo.” Illustration by Sonia Roy/COLAGENE.COM
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Alumni Connections
ALUMNI PROFILE
PARTY AT THE TAJ Dentistry grad shares memories of friends, fun and fluoride By Douglas Phillips ‘56 DDS AS I WRITE THIS, I wear my University of Alberta School of Dentistry class-of-’58 gold ring on my right pinky finger. Seldom have I taken it off! The 5 and 8 on the sides are worn away and there is little left of the dental-school emblem, but the memories of my classmates and our shenanigans are still as vivid as ever. U of A had the only dental school west of Toronto until 1958, so our class of 29 comprised a great mix of students from across the western provinces. Not all were party animals, but we enjoyed each other’s company, whether at our annual Molar Mambo — a themed costume party featuring funny skits and a dance — or at the “Taj Mahal,” the designated party house where I lived with seven other university students. Often on a Friday after a lecture, some joker would write on the chalkboard in big letters “PARTY AT THE TAJ” to get the word out to both students and professors. On those evenings we would inevitably gravitate toward the piano, where our talented classmate, Bill Collier, ’58 DDS, would lead us in rousing singalongs. Our repertoire was mostly nostalgic wartime tunes but we also wrote original songs on occasion. Never will I forget the rollicking ditty, “Sperry built a denture, tic douloureux,” that we dedicated to our honorary president, Sperry Fraser, ’30 DDS, the well-respected prosthetics professor. I imagine this was the only time the phrase “tic douloureux,” a chronic pain condition on the side of the face, has ever been used in song lyrics.
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Our class president was the fun-loving James (Jimbo) Duncan, ’54 BSc, ’58 DDS, who was so enthusiastic that we made him “president for life.” He led the charge on many group undertakings, such as constructing our prize-winning float for a football halftime parade. Taking advantage of the public event, we designed our float to feature the public service announcement: “Support Fluoridation — Reduces Tooth Decay by 60%” next to a novelty-sized tooth. Not all of our activities were rewarded, however. After restorative lab one day, we were reamed out for wearing our loupes — dental magnifying glasses — to the Tuck Shop, the beloved campus coffee shop. It was an important lesson in professionalism that we didn’t soon forget. I can’t remember whose idea it was to get class rings, but it was a great one. As dentistry students we were used to working with gold, carefully making crowns and inlays. It seemed natural, then, that some of our class chose to make their own rings — carving them out of blue inlay wax, and casting and finishing them in gold in the restorative lab. My ring not only brings back memories of the wonderful and unforgettable class of ’58 but also fills me with pride for my “bountiful mother” — my alma mater. I wonder how many other classes used rings as a sign of achievement and remembrance. To those classmates and spouses still with us, accept my gratitude for the memories. It was truly a grand adventure.
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COMPASSION FUND FOR PATIENTS DDS 2016 leaves behind legacy of giving The Dentistry Class of 2016 established a legacy that will benefit School of Dentistry patients for years to come. The DDS 2016 Patient Compassion Fund will use donated funds to help patients subsidize the cost of dental care when they have exhausted all other financial options. “This class established a footprint that will enable future classes to contribute in a meaningful way,” says dentistry professor Cheryl Cable, who played an instrumental role in helping set up the fund. She is also making the first donation on behalf of her family. Through the creation of the fund, Cable says the class also demonstrates tremendous leadership by helping provide care for the underserved and vulnerable populations in our communities. New graduates and practising dentists now have a gifting focus, which will help offset costs to patients in need. “This has never been done before and I couldn’t be prouder of these students who thought to help others,” Cable says.
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Student class representative and 2016 graduate Mika Wierenga (‘16 DDS) says the fund will help patients who require major dental work but often fail to receive treatment due to cost. “Even with the low-cost treatment the School offers, some patients still fall short. When other routes and options fail them, this fund will provide a much-needed financial subsidy,” says Wierenga. “The fund offers all school alumni an opportunity to give back and enables us to take on more complex cases.” The compassion fund will also benefit students whose academic credentials can be impacted when patients who are deterred by costs fail to show up for appointments. Wierenga says this should provide some relief for students, particularly in the last semester of studies which is often the most stressful. “This fund gets the ball rolling,” she says. “Our class came together to create something that can forever represent us and our commitment to dentistry. It embodies the values we share about doing the best we can and using our skills to improve someone else’s quality of life.”
Alumni Connections
ALUMNI PROFILE
Before graduating, dentistry students established the DDS 2016 Patient Compassion Fund to assist patients.
School of Dentistry
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Alumni Connections
GPR experience of a lifetime
ALUMNI PROFILE
Lauren McLeod completed her general practice residency (GPR) program this summer (2016). Part of the reason she enrolled in the program was to be exposed to more specialties. The other part was to gain more confidence. Happily, she achieved both. “It was important to surround myself with people who are doing what they do for the right reasons,” says McLeod. “People who give up their personal time to work in emergency and off-hour work conditions like the UofA Hospital Dental Clinic are truly committed. I admire that.” McLeod says the GPR program was invaluable because she encountered a wide variety of patients she wouldn’t normally see in general dentistry. She also appreciated being in the company of a strong network of professionals. “Having the luxury of good mentorship and support was really incredible in the GPR program,” she says. “My approach to dentistry is to be a part of a health care team, which was reinforced in this setting. “GPR was not easy, but is was worthwhile,” McLeod continues. “The weird and wonderful things I dealt with in a year, especially in hospital rotations, I may never see in private practice.” McLeod is making her home and professional career in Red Deer, Alberta. She recently bought a house and is working in Riverside Dental along with three other associates/dentists. What’s next for Lauren? She says she just wants to be ‘normal’ for a bit and catch up on things she hasn’t gotten to do for a while – like a good game of golf! “I’m taking lessons so I should be able to hit a decent game though I won’t set my expectations too high!” School of Dentistry
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ALUMNI PROFILE
2016 Bulyea Cup recipient As the 2016 recipient of the School of Dentistry’s Bulyea Cup, Dennis Bedard (’74 DDS) has always been involved with giving back to the community. Bedard and his wife Bev decided to extend their charity work on a global-scale by travelling to Guatemala in 1995 to provide dental services to the Mayan Indians in the remote western highlands. This experience provided the foundation for their charity, Dentistry for All. Since then, the organization has helped more than 70,000 individuals around the world by providing primary dental care they either couldn’t afford or had difficulty accessing. Dennis’s charity work, his work with special-needs patients and dedication to dentistry made him a worthy recipient for this year’s Bulyea Cup. “This Bulyea Cup is really for 14
Dentistry for All,” says Dennis. “The organization has succeeded because everyone involved embraced the idea of giving back and worked hard. This award goes to all of the people on our missions, along with our many financial supporters. A large thank you also goes to my wife for following me around the world and helping out.” Dennis’s journey to dentistry and the beginnings of Dentistry for All started in an unlikely place – the bank. “My career alternated between working in a bank and delivering bread,” he recalls. “I planned on returning to the University of Alberta to study teaching, but became interested in dentistry. I enjoyed basic dentistry, like stainless steel crowns and amalgams.” Dennis went on to specialize in pediatric dentistry. While Bedard was working in his
private practice in Edmonton, he approached a nursing professor who was taking nursing students to Guatemala for a six-week outreach program. He asked whether they required a dentist and thus the dental mission was born. “This was where it all began. After, I was approached to set up a mission in Nicaragua. Though my goal was never to build Dentistry for All, the volunteers caught on to the enthusiasm and expanded the organization to what it is today,” he says. “My belief is, ‘God gives us money to see what you’re going to do with it.’” To date, Dennis and his wife have been on 37 missions. “We embraced every country we visited, their culture, their food and way of living,” says Dennis. “Before, my world view was very black and white. Now, happily, there are many grey areas.” Alumni Connections
ALUMNI PROFILE
DH program now degree only The School of Dentistry’s dental hygiene program just made history. Since the program was founded in 1961, it’s been a diploma program. However, as of FALL 2017, the School is proud to announce it will officially be a degree-only program. “Over the years, the dental hygiene profession has changed considerably. To keep pace, we kept adding courses to the program while ensuring it stayed the same length,” says professor and director of the dental hygiene program Sharon Compton. “The evolution to a degree program will better address student learning and wellness resulting in an enriched overall program experience for our students.” Currently, students are admitted to the two-year diploma program following the completion of required pre-professional program courses. Once admitted into the program, School of Dentistry
following completion of the diploma, graduates have the option of staying on and pursuing one more year of studies to graduate with a bachelor’s dental hygiene specialization degree. However, with the suspension of the diploma program, all students will complete the degree going forward. “Our statistics showed that the majority of students were staying after the diploma program to complete the degree anyway,” says Compton. “The redistribution of the dental hygiene courses and the curriculum redesign will create programming that is more student-focused and learner-centred.” This change comes at a time when the School is in the midst of a comprehensive curriculum renewal project. For the first time, dentistry and dental hygiene curriculum will be integrated. Students from both
programs will learn together in many classroom and clinical situations. “By bringing these groups together, we will optimize the learning experience for both dentistry and dental hygiene students even further,” says Compton. “Also, as we are always looking for ways to better prepare our graduates for delivery of care in diverse populations, our programs will now offer more practicum experiences for students in non-traditional settings.” Examples of non-traditional settings include hospitals, home-care and assisted living facilities and cancer care clinics. Exposing students to varied community settings supports the goal of improving access to care. “Alberta has the broadest scope of practice for dental hygiene. We’re excited to be a leader in program delivery,” Compton adds. 15
1917-2017
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