From the President The past few months have been a very busy time for SUDA as an organisation. Our DMD3 Social Reps have been busily preparing for the upcoming Cocktail Ball, the rugby team has been finalising their preparations for what should be an exciting final game against Medicine, there was a concerted campaign to block the removal of the dentistry library at SDH and shortly after Faculty Research Day we will all know the results of what will be one of the most hotly contested elections in recent years. I would like to say a big thankyou and myself to all of those students who took the time to put in a submission into the Library Change Committee of the University. It seems that the Dentistry students alone brought about an extension to the submission deadline. We will not know the final outcome until at least the 29th of September but we will keep you all posted. I would encourage everyone to get down to the Medicine game this coming Friday to watch the guys take on our oldest rival. It is always a huge night and the crowd is
certainly what makes the atmosphere. Also, if you haven’t purchased a ball ticket yet, grab one soon because they are selling out fast! Finally, I would like to wish all candidates in the upcoming election all the best. Whether it’s a positive result or a negative one, there are many ways for students to get involved in enriching your own and the experience of others during your time in the Faculty of Dentistry. The SUDA Committee is always on the lookout for new ideas so even if you’re not directly involved, don’t be afraid to speak up! I hope you all enjoy the upcoming September break and look forward to seeing you round the clinics and hospital corridors for the run into the end of the year! Cheers, Charlie Thompson
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This issue From the President .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Dentistry Cocktail Ball ........................................................................................................................................... 3 MIRAGE Rural Health Night ................................................................................................................................. 4 Dentistry does the City2Surf................................................................................................................................ 5 Bachelor of Oral Health Students involved in Sydney's Homeless Connect Program .......................... 6 BOH2 Halfway Dinner ........................................................................................................................................... 7 Women in Dentistry cocktail evening ............................................................................................................... 8 Rural placement reports ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Through the Loupes: Recent Graduate profile .............................................................................................. 12 Australian Dental Students Association (ADSA) news.............................................................................. 15
The next Facebow Issue will be out in early November! If you have any news, a fundraiser or an event that you would like your student colleagues to know about, please email Laura Raguine, SUDA Vice-Secretary: lrag3464@uni.sydney.edu.au
For more SUDA news and events, check out http://suda.org.au or ‘like’ our Facebook page www.facebook.com/USydSUDA
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Dentistry Cocktail Ball DMD3 Social Representatives DASUS and SUDA are proud to present the 2014 Dentistry Cocktail Ball, proudly sponsored by DASUS and Medfin, at the Ivy Sunroom on Saturday the 27th of September, from 7-12pm. This is the last opportunity for all seven years of dentistry to come together before we farewell the senior BOH and BDent students before they enter the big bad world. It is also a great chance to mingle with staff and alumni, and to celebrate nearly finishing some of the most stressful years of your life. Tickets are $70, and include unlimited drinks from 7:30-11:30PM, canapÊs, entre for door prizes and free entry to the Ivy Pool Club Bar after midnight to keep the party going. Don’t miss out. Visit the Facebook page or contact Kara (keve2703@uni.sydney.edu.au) or Jon (jmit7697@uni.sydney.edu.au) for more details.
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MIRAGE Rural Health Night Rural Representative
Dr Toulmin and his fan club
On Monday 4th of August MIRAGE hosted its Annual Rural Health Night. We were lucky enough to hear from three fantastic speakers, including physiotherapist Luke Wakely, Dr Moore – a GP with the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and finally Dr Graham Toulmin, a general dentist who reflected on one of the most remarkable careers one could hope for. The event was a huge success, with the biggest attendance in the event’s history. Of particular note was the massive turnout from our dental cohort of approximately 70 students! It was incredibly satisfying to see so many dental students interested in rural health, and how they can be involved.
All who attended certainly were enthralled, entertained, and most importantly, inspired by Dr Toulmin’s speech on his many adventures working as a dentist in rural areas. In particular, Dr Toulmin reflected on why he decided to dedicate much of his career to rural practice, and the many rewards that it has offered. One of the main aims of the event is to expose students to rural health practitioners, and their experiences, in an effort to inspire students to follow a career in a rural or at-need community. This was certainly achieved by Dr Toulmin and his many comedic stories and accounts of his experiences working in the central tablelands of Queensland and setting up
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the first dental practice in The Dominican Republic of the Congo. I’m sure many of us are looking forward to using our skills to help those in need, whether it be in Australia or abroad, and hearing how Dr Toulmin has done this was an invaluable experience. From the many students waiting to speak to Dr Toulmin about how they could get involved and follow in a similar way in their future careers, it was evident that the night undoubtedly inspired all of us to consider a rural career, and to hopefully have a career as unique and incredible as
Dr Toulmin’s. It was great to see that Dr Toulmin was able to highlight some of the issues facing rural areas, yet also have the audience in stitches at many of his stories. On behalf of all the students in attendance, I would like to thank Dr Toulmin for volunteering his time to offer us a unique perspective of dentistry that we often miss in our everyday learning. Finally, a huge thank you to all those students who attended and showed support it really was a great night! Looking forward to seeing you all at next year’s event.
Dentistry does the City2Surf Kyle Schaltz, DMD2 Sports Representative On August 10th, 80 000 people participated in the famous 14km race from Hyde Park in the CBD to Bondi Beach known to all as City2Surf. Making up 0.025% of this stampede was yours truly, USyd Dentistry! Having people from all years show up was an awesome display of the sporting prowess of our faculty and the determination to cross the finish line with your peers. Perhaps some of that desire to finish came from the thought of having a well-earned burger and beer as a group afterwards, but hey, whatever gets you running is reason enough for us! Seeing how keen everyone was for this years run, you guessed it… we’ll be running it again next year! We will be raising money for a charity yet TBD so everyone can overcome their philanthropic anxiety and help to donate to a great cause related to our degree. Let’s get even more people out next year and maybe we can get up to the 0.05% mark!
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Bachelor of Oral Health Students involved in Sydney's Homeless Connect Program Alumni Officer, Sydney Dental School On 3 June 2014 Sydney Town Hall hosted the third annual Homeless Connect where Faculty of Dentistry staff and students joined other health professions in providing much needed basic oral health advice and free dental products. Volunteer Bachelor of Oral Health students provided assistance by setting up and cleaning the bays and sterilisation of equipment, while teachers vetted patients for immediate urgent attention in the mobile dental clinic manned by two dentists and dental assistants. Says BOH2 student, Arruni Kandasamy, "The Homeless Connect event gave me an opportunity to witness first-hand the serious gaps in oral health present at the different socioeconomic levels in our own city. As health professionals we are learning the importance of aiming our clinical skills, knowledge and profession towards bridging such gaps in healthcare". Another BOH2 student, Aylin Savran, said: "I was astounded by the number of homeless people there are in Sydney alone, and hearing their stories and what they've been through was definitely eyeopening. It was distressing to see that, notwithstanding that many of the homeless understand the importance of their oral health and are often in extreme pain, they simply have 'more important' things to prioritise and hence, `live' with the pain. Being able to provide the smallest amount of care on the day and seeing their smiles was an extremely humbling experience. I hope that the event and our time have at least made a small contribution to bridging the gap between the homeless and the rest of our society. I'm looking forward to being involved again next year!"
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BOH2 Halfway Dinner BOH2 Year Representatives On Friday 20th June, the last day of exams for Semester 1, BOH2 students were proud to say that we were finally halfway through our gruelling three year course. After 18 months of hard work, including 2 RCA’s, the Halfway Dinner was a rare opportunity to let our hair down, literally! It was a lovely, cool night in Sydney city and the majority of the class was able to gather at the Opera Bar. We then took a short stroll past the stunning Circular Quay to Sydney’s oldest cobblestone laneway, Kendall Lane in The Rocks. There we took our seats at the stunning communal dining table on the outside deck of Pony Restaurant. Over a three-course meal we were able to spend some time together without the stresses of uni life weighing on our minds. The food was absolutely delicious, as were the drinks. The oysters were fresh, the steak succulent, the spatchcock juicy, and the double chocolate ganache tart was absolutely delectable. We spent the night talking and laughing with great company. The night was completed with a few speeches and cakepops in the shape of teeth. It’s been a tough 18 months and we are all so happy to finally be on the homestretch. Having now completed the bulk of the theory, we are all looking forward to the next half of our course that will be filled with more clinical experience. It is an exciting prospect to be seeing more hygiene patients, and now applying our knowledge to the care of real paediatric patients, rather than on our mannequin friends.
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Women in Dentistry cocktail evening , Chair, Women in Dentistry committee
On the 15th of August the Sydney University Dental Association and the Alumni Society of The University of Sydney (DASUS) partnered with the Recent Graduates Committee of the Australian Dental Associations NSW Branch to host the 2014 Women in Dentistry Cocktail Evening. Alumni, Faculty staff, students and dental professionals attended to hear Associate Professor Elizabeth Martin speak about her career choices and accomplishments upon leaving dental school. It was lovely to see such a highly regarded member of the faculty in a more personal light - and realise that she too, has faced challenges and road blocks to get to where she is today. Associate Professor Martin encouraged everyone to follow their interests and develop a career that provides you with lifelong learning. The Women in Dentistry Committee would
like to thank A/Prof Martin for giving up her time to speak at this event. We had over 120 guests attend the evening, with the third year of the Women in Dentistry Cocktail Evening being our biggest yet. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback form the night, with students, alumni and staff relishing the opportunity to chat with one another in a less formal setting and share their stories and experiences. I’d like to give a huge thank you to our sponsors the BOQ Specialists, who are specialist provider of financial solutions for dental professionals. Please visit their website at www.boqspecialist.com.au for more information and financial advice. We’d also like to thank our partners, the Recent Graduates Committee of the Australian Dental Association (NSW Branch) and whose continued support assured the success of this function.
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Please visit www.adansw.com.au for more information on how they can support you. A big thank you to all who helped make the night a success, especially the Women in Dentistry Committee members; Aylin Savran (BOH2), Dharini Ravindra (DMD2), Dr Owen, Dr Yashin, and Dr Walsh. If you would like to be on the Women in Dentistry Committee next year please email Audrey at airi3760@uni.sydney.edu.au. Thank you to SUDA, DASUS, and the Dentistry
Faculty for their continued support of this event. We look forward to seeing you next year!
Rural placement reports During 3rd year, Dentistry students have the opportunity to travel to regional NSW and experience dentistry in different communities. Here are 3 students who have volunteered to share their experiences with you!
Eujen Pillay Dubbo ~ 450km northwest of Sydney. From Dubbo we flew out to some tiny towns (Bourke, Collarenebri, Goodooga) with the Royal Flying Doctors Service. We did this 6 times.
Mainly working class families and elderly. Dubbo clinic was run by the local health district. People would come in with vouchers obtained from a private dentist and we would do the work they needed. We would treatment plan these patients and roster them onto our sessions similar to how Westmead and SDH is run. With the RFDS there were 7-8 patients booked in per day. These were mostly acute care cases with some patients having been rebooked from a prior session
Aboriginal oral health . Extent of treatment required and having to make to do with limited equipment and materials .9.
The complex restorations and extractions I got to do. I would have liked to have gotten more experience in endo as well. Different views of country practicing dentists. Yeh, there's a great need for dentistry out in the country not just for work to be done but for oral health awareness. As we know oral disease is entirely preventable so its shame to see such devastation in these people’s mouths.
Garret Cunningham Bowral is small town located in the Southern Highland, and is roughly an hour and a half drive south of Sydney. The town itself has a great atmosphere about it, with beautiful trees along the walkways and lots of little cafes to get your caffeine buzz going throughout the day. There is also an award winning patisserie, and no one will judge you if you have one of their pies for lunch every day. During your day off from clinic, it’s nice to go wine tasting at the many wineries in the surrounding area or take the beautiful drive to Shellharbour beach. The rotations to Bowral are made up of four students and you all stay in the same house/cottage over the 4-week period. A thing to remember about Bowral is that it gets a little chilly at night and early in the mornings, so remember to bring your jumpers! The clinic has two surgeries and the students work in pairs, switching from being DA to operator. You also see both acute care and returning patients. As far as requirements go, you should get much of your restorative work done here, your basic endo, and hopefully your molar endo. In addition, you will get lots of extraction experience and be able to manage facial swellings. The best part about Bowral is the clinical supervisor, Dr. Sally Clark. Under her supervision you get to learn a lot of new techniques to quickly diagnose problems and manage acute patients. Then after a long day of clinic she loves to have the group over for dinner and drinks to meet her family and socialize. Sally really makes you feel welcome during your stay in Bowral and this really adds to the experience. Overall, I would highly recommend “The Bowral Experience”. It has definitely encouraged me to work outside the busy cities, and see what regional areas have to offer.
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Julia Le Cessnock; approximately 3 hrs from Sydney
Families of lower socioeconomic background Usually 1 chair per person with your own DA, who always very helpful. Occasionally we had to share a chair and had DA to help us if we needed extra help. We had 1 supervisor among 2 students. This was really helpful as the tutor was able to give consistent feedback throughout the clinical sessions. There was also minimal waiting time between checks. If one student had a UTA or FTA, the tutor was around throughout the entire procedure to guide us.
At Cessnock, full mouth clearances with the provision of immediate dentures were quite common. As the clinic had close associations with dental labs, we had the opportunity to also issue acrylic dentures. Cobalt chrome dentures however, were not available. It was observed during my time there that generally, caries risk in this population was quite high. The main treatment provided were therefore restorations and extraction. I enjoyed the one-to-one tutoring we got at Cessnock. The tutor was exceptionally helpful and knowledgeable, and we learnt many clinical tricks throughout our time there. We had a lot of assistance and help from the dental assistants, and all the staff were lovely to work with. The accommodation was a close 4 minute drive to the clinic, and only a 20 minute drive from the wineries and restaurants at Hunter Valley! Although we gained a lot of experience with acrylic dentures, there was limited if no opportunity to do cobalt chrome dentures, endodontic procedures and fixed prosthodontic procedures. Other than that, I enjoyed everything about Cessnock. Yes definitely! I loved the relaxed vibe at Cessnock and the lack of traffic! The people are really friendly and there's everything you need within a 5 minute drive. - -
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Through the Loupes: Recent Graduate profile
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Pure ridiculousness I assure you. I really enjoyed the medical component of the dental course and I knew I wanted to go on and specialise at some point. 'Dental' specialties (Pros/Endo etc) never really got me going but I was really interested in the oral surgical component of the course. It was honestly a very hard decision, I was accepted for a VDGYP (Voluntary Dental Graduate Year Program) spot at SDH and was also accepted into the MBBS/BDent combined accelerated program. I swung both ways for different periods and in the end decided on Medicine as it would give me the most career options long term.
Initially I wanted to go for maxillofacial surgery (of course) but the longer I've been in medicine I've come to realise two things. Firstly, surgery rocks (Dentistry is part surgery too), and secondly that you can't limit yourself too much. At the moment I'm thinking ENT, Plastics or Maxfacs.
Dentistry's clinical years are really well organised and you're forced to learn through the responsibility you have to take for each patient. The opposite is true in Medicine. You are not directly responsible for any of the patients and really you need to be extremely motivated to get as much as you can out of the clinical years in Medicine. The social life in Dentistry is definitely better but this is maybe due to my late arrival into the medical course. I was definitely closer to everyone in dentistry! I miss them! .12.
honestly don't see why dentists should be any different to any other career in Australia. I worked my first year up in Lake Macquarie and there was absolutely no shortage of patients there (and I had the absolute best dental team with me - shout out to Swansea Dental Practice and Dr. Scott Spiers). Everyone I've talked to who've gone out of the major centres have done pretty well, very well even. My suggestion to all dental students is to not stop after you graduate. You want to be a specialist in dentistry. That means courses, courses, courses. Soft tissue, Perio Surgery, Oral Surgery, Endodontics, Prosthodontics. Invest into your skills as a physician and a surgeon and you will definitely be rewarded greatly in the long run. Don't be that old fuddy dentist that still does things that was ok 20 years ago and don't be that dentist that might as well be a hygienist (and that's not a slur on hygienists who do an amazing job)!
Medicine's workload is much more on your own shoulders. There is a core curriculum and random lectures here and there but really you have to do the bulk of the learning yourself. Even though the dental course at times seems all over the place, everything you need to know is (pretty much) presented to you. I would place the hours required as quite similar, but you can get away with more in Medicine because (again) you're not responsible for a patient.
Being a dentist helps in many ways. Being a good clinician means being a good communicator and good physician first. Many of the frameworks put in place in dentistry have helped me in medicine. Ultimately if you have a good framework, you'll be a pretty good physician. Being a good clinician also means being a good surgeon and let me tell you that dentists are great surgeons. Having this dual background has helped me hugely in medicine.
"You're a dentist? You're already a doctor so what are you doing this for?" - Are the two main questions slung at me. My response is usually "Because I'm an idiot", or something like that. The truth is if you're happy being a dentist or working towards a dental specialty then Medicine isn't going to be for you. Dentistry is a ridiculously good lifestyle for anyone who's in it and if you deny that then you're DOING IT WRONG!
I'm going to answer this one more generally. My honest opinion about 'dentist over supply' differs greatly from most of the dental profession. We have a marked shortage of dentists rurally and I
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Last year I was lucky enough to work 4 days a week between two practices and this gave me a huge amount of experience. This was because I was lucky enough to be employed by the best principal dentist (and mentor) and dental practice team this side of the black stump. They honestly nurtured every want/wish/craving I had dentally and I was able to do pretty much the whole scope of dentistry. I recommend all new graduates find a practice that's going to nurture and grow your skills in the first instance. This year the medicine has ramped up and I can only work Saturdays but this is a good opportunity to get the scalpel out on occasion and keep my 'eye in'. It also keeps me up to date with all the new practices and keeps my eyes open to online discussion, research and new technologies.
research it yourself and back it up with REAL DATA. Also, don't be rigid in your beliefs, you must be willing to argue but also be willing to BE WRONG and change your practice where necessary! 2. Dentistry is a universe. There is so much to learn and so much to be able to do, you will never learn it all. It is ok to not know. Know your limits! Refer when necessary!!! 3. Things aren't always as they seem. I suppose this should be an obvious one, but the truth is that we focus heavily on our area and often forget what is outside of it. Don't forget all that medicine that you've learnt! In my near two years out we've had two 'lives saved' at my clinic! A lymphoma and a meningioma!! Keep your eyes open and you'll probably save someone's life!!
1. There are a million ways to skin a cat. Sorry to all the cat lovers out there but this is true! Keep your eyes open to the different ways of getting the same (or better) result. Just because Prof. told you that you're a bad person if you don't take an IWL radiograph, or use CR in a posterior sextant doesn't mean it's 100% true!! Don't practice certain techniques in the real world and back it up with "because prof told me or because that's what I was taught" -
I don't think anyone would know them, but we had a tutor in our first and second year that helped us with our Basic Sciences (Lee Liao). She was a force of nature and helped so many of us, going out of her way to give us extra tutorials and handouts. She summarised each block for us! Absolutely amazing - yet she had to quit. The second was a professor from South Africa (Prof. Elaine Blignaut), I dealt a lot with faculty and beyond doubt she was possibly the best thing that 'would' have happened to dentistry (outside Prof. Peck
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of course). It's a real shame she had to leave. I've already ranted about the importance of continued learning and doing courses and being the best dentist you can so I'll leave it at that. I'm happy to give (possibly) sound advice to any dentist, dental student or oral hygiene student! I can be contacted by e-mail anytime. OH also! JOIN our alumni and keep up with your fellow graduates!!! JOIN DASUS!!! (at least like us on Facebook)
I did alright.
Precariously. I loved dentistry and I loved our students, most of the staff and the profession. It was this that motivated me to do more when it came to the extra stuff. I don't do any of that in medicine!!
I'd be a hermit in a lab somewhere wondering day in and day out what the point of my sad sad life was!
Australian Dental Students Association (ADSA) news , ADSA Liaison Officer Convention Re-Cap To all the USyd delegates at Convention 2014, hope you had a fantastic time! To everyone else, you missed out on one awesome week of learning, networking, and partying! But don’t fret, Convention will be back in 2015 in sunny Cairns.
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Convention saw 300+ students from across Australia coming together on the sunny shores of Gold Coast to hear from some renowned speakers about the latest in dental research, technology, clinical practices, surgical techniques, learning how to start your own practice and more at the Griffith University Dental School. Talks ranged from lectures to small-group electives where each student was able to choose specific areas of interest. Heads brimming with knowledge, each day following the packed academic schedule students headed back to their 5 star accommodation at Hilton Surfer’s Paradise to rest up before heading to the amazing social events. The ‘Tropicana’ themed meet & greet boat cruise boasted 2 great DJs, one for each level of the boat, pumping R&B and EDM tunes to the breathtaking scenery of the Nerang River, along with free flowing drinks and canapes. The ‘ThriftShop’ Pub Crawl allowed delegates to experience some of Surfers Paradise’s swankiest clubs. Students donned their new Nike inspired floss (Just Do It) T shirts for an Inter-Uni volleyball comp/chill out sesh at Broadbach where you would never have guessed it was the middle of winter. Dreamworld opened at night exclusively for ADSA with the 3 biggest and craziest rides which delegates could go on over & over again with virtually no waiting lines, capped off with a laser show just for us. The Toys & Stories party at East Nightclub & Platinum Nightclub Broadbeach had students dancing the night away in their craziest costumes in a throwback to their childhood. Finally, the Casino Royale Cocktail Ball at the top floor (Level 77) of the Q1 Tower (the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere) was an absolutely classy end to a hectic week with spectacular views of the Surfers Paradise coastline and beyond. For other news regarding ADSA including volunteer opportunities, Dental Health Week, the new Committee, and a more detailed recap on Convention, check out the latest edition of the Articulate Magazine via this link: http://issuu.com/australiandentalstudentsassociation/docs/articulate_2014_aug__aug_ 29_/0 All the best for the rest of the year!
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