From the President Welcome to the first issue of Facebow, the newsletter of the Sydney University Dental Association (SUDA). Hi again to all of those returning to us in 2014, but a special welcome to the new DMD and BOH 1 year groups. The year has already kicked off with some exciting events such as the First Year Camp and the SUDA Welcome Drinks, but rest assured, there is plenty more to come!
addressed as quickly as possible. If you have any suggestions or great ideas for events, please let us know! As you may have read in the ADSA newsletter, there is a Twitter night coming up to try and draw attention to what has been dubbed the "workforce crisis" currently hitting employment prospects for both dental and BOH graduates. If you have Twitter, please get involved on the night! There will be updates and reminders to come closer to the date.
With the 90's themed Harbour Cruise just around the corner, I would encourage anyone who hasn't yet bought a ticket to quickly jump on one because space is limited and you don't want to miss out! It is also great to see the teams for the upcoming Roland Bryant Cup beginning to train and it would be great to see as many people getting involved as possible, regardless of your sporting prowess. We've lost to CSU 5 years in a row so let's show them who's boss on our home turf!
Well that's enough from me, I hope you all have a successful year without too much stress! Speaking from the 4th year perspective, time flies so remember to enjoy yourself and make friends as you go! These are colleagues you will have for life. I hope to see you all at the cruise!
Keep an eye on the notice boards, emails and Facebook posts of our talented Social team as they keep you updated about all of the upcoming events. On another note, SUDA is here to represent you to the Faculty and wider community, so feel free to approach your Year Reps with any queries or concerns so that they can be
Cheers, Charlie Thompson
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This issue From the President .................................................................................................................................................................... 1 SUDA Welcome Drinks report ............................................................................................................................................. 3 DMD1 First Year Camp report .............................................................................................................................................. 4 Sports News ............................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Tzu Chi Medical Association Dental Fair ........................................................................................................................... 8 Canadian Dental Board Exams update ............................................................................................................................... 9 Through the Loupes: Recent Graduate profile .................................................................................................................. 9 Caroline's Courageous Cut for Cancer Cure .................................................................................................................... 12 Australian Dental Students Association (ADSA) News ...............................................................................................14
So WHOOMP! THERE IT IS! BRING IT HOMIES 2.
SUDA Welcome Drinks report February 21, 2014 Dentistry Vice-President The SUDA calendar was kicked off by the annual SUDA Welcome Drinks on Friday 21st Feb. GT's hotel welcomed Sydney's excited dental students to welcome in the New Year with a bang. After a long, tiring week there was no way we would keep our students from enjoying a few drinks and nibbles on a beautiful Sydney evening. We had an impressive turnout of 150-200 students across all 7 years of dentistry as well as some of our beloved tutors dropping by for a drink. Special thanks to Professor Iven Klineberg for excusing himself from drinks with the faculty, to instead spend the evening with his students. It was a memorable evening to start off 2014, making new friends and catching up with old friends. Next stop on SUDA's calendar‌..90's themed boat cruise here we come!
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DMD1 First Year Camp report February 14 – 16, 2014
This year’s First Year Camp was a resounding success. 150 students from DMD1, 2 and 3 made their way up to Shelly Beach to celebrate making it through the first fortnight back (and for DMD3, the first month. Respect.) Friday night’s Meet & Greet BBQ featured a dinner of sausages and Buffalo wings and games such as partnered balloon popping and Pin The Incisor On The Hobo (or if you like to be politically correct, Pin The Incisor On The Residentially-Flexible Dude). The night wrapped up with the majority of happy campers chilling on the beach. Some serious mentoring took place on Saturday, as volunteers from DMD3 and DMD2 filled the first years’ minds to the brim with advice on how to make the most of their first quarter of DMD. A brief game of balloon tag preceded dinner and the renowned Toga Party. Feeling more at home after the first night and fuelled by food and drink, the competitive nature of these future dentists emerged during Akshay’s scavenger hunt. Congratulations are in order to
Cabin 9, who were the eventual winners and went home (the following week) with brand spanking new dental coats. Sunday morning saw a chill breakfast of muffins and croissants before we packed up and said goodbye to Shelly Beach, everyone no doubt eager to return to studying and rubbing camp in the faces of their friends who didn’t come. Despite almost continuous rain, the general consensus was that camp was some serious fun. Our plans went off without a hitch, (save for the vegetarian lasagna that was impossible to cook) and it could not have happened without the help of all the incredible upper years who
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shuttled people to and from Tuggerah station, spent hours cooking and cleaning, and just looking out for everyone in general. We seriously cannot appreciate you guys enough.
We hope everyone who came along had as much fun as we did, and look forward to great social year ahead! Much love, A&A
Sports News Jennings’ Shield For those unaware, the Jennings’ Shield is an annual cricket match contested between Sydney University dental students and former graduates of our prestigious university. The contest occurs in November following the final week of written exams. The 2013 match up had its ups and downs. The students claimed a wicket with the first ball of the day. The grads were able to fight out of this hole and kept the scoreboard ticking over. Some tight bowling from Akshay Sidana and Miles Somers were able to keep the grads in
check and limited their score to 142. The students started strong with James ElKhoury blasting 40 runs from the first 8 overs. Unfortunately, that would be the
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only bright spot with the students collapsing to 107 all out.
Traditionally after the game, the grads host a dinner for the students. Speaking personally from my experience it was a great time to meet future colleagues and to learn about the history of the match that is in its 78th edition this year. To anyone interested in playing, I wholeheartedly endorse this fixture. It might be one of those events overlooked at the end of the year, but those who attended can honestly say it was one of the best decisions they made all year.
Roland Bryant Cup May 3rd is coming faster than ever and this will be Sydney’s year to take home the prize in our own backyard. Last year in Orange wasn’t a pretty sight but this is the year where it all changes and you can be part of it! The sports on offer are: : Captained by Redgi Cayetano, BOH3 : Captained by Kara Everingham, DMD3 : Captained by Lyle Worrell, DMD2 : Captained by Tara Canton and Monique Petrides, BOH2 : Captained by Eujen Pillay and Ihsan Savran, BDent4
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Do you want to be part of the historic squad that takes home the prize? Talk to one of these guys. If you’re not then come down and watch, it will be a great day. Afterwards CSU and USYD students will be gathering together at GT’s (TBC) to hang out so you can be merry with your country colleagues.
INDOOR SOCCER 7 PM, FRIDAY MARCH 28
2014
SYDNEY UNI SPORTS & AQUATIC CENTRE
ANNUAL DASUS (ALUMNI) VS DENTAL STUDENTS GAME It’s time for the 2nd annual DASUS vs. Dental Students Indoor Soccer Game (5 v 5). The Alumni were resounding winners in the inaugural game; can the students fight back and take the title? There will also be a repeat of the Juniors vs. Seniors match ups that were contested in 2013. The juniors won the first match in thrilling a shoot-out but the seniors were able to hit back strongly in the second game. Come and show your support! Questions? Email Ihsan isav5686@uni.sydney.edu.au
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Tzu Chi Medical Association Dental Fair Hi, My name is Ken Kwong (BDent4 Year Rep). I am reporting back about the Tzu Chi Medical Association Dental Fair held on the 14th and 15th of December 2013 at Blacktown Youth College. Tzu Chi Medical Association Dental Fair is a volunteer-run event, aimed at providing free dental care to those who are unable to access regular dental care, such as refugees who are not able to access the public health system, or patients of poor socioeconomic status. After a quick breakfast and orientation, 30-odd dental and oral hygiene students swung into action. Junior students from DMD1 rotated amongst the autoclaves, radiography and OHI booths. More senior students from DMD2 and BDent3 acted as assistants to the graduating class of 2013, who were operating under the supervision of Dr George Tsai. Other dentists such as Dr Stephen Pak and Dr Joe Wang also provided supervision and advice. Many of those present said they picked up a lot of clinical experience, participating in and observing the various dental procedures being performed. Over the two days, with 6 portable dental chairs operating and the 7th chair as triage, volunteers at the dental fair performed 45 Examinations, 27 Scales & Clean, 34 Radiographs, 68 Restorations, 41 Extractions, over 80 appointments. At its conclusion, the volunteers were happy that we had given our time and skills to the community, many of whom would otherwise be stuck with pain and poor oral health over the Christmas period. There will be two dental fairs this year, one in Mount Druitt on the 5th & 6th July, and another one in Eastwood, tentatively set for the 27th and 28th of September. The target group for this clinic is single parents, domestic/alcohol abuse family, young unemployed adult with alcohol or drugs abused. Some of these patients have not been to dentist for the past 5 years! If you would like to volunteer, please contact myself or my fellow BDent4 Rep/main Tzu Chi Student Organiser Jo-Yao Cheng at kkwo4479@uni.sydney.edu.au or jche2568@uni.sydney.edu.au
Dr George Tsai (Periodontist / Clinic Tutor), Ken Kwong, Michael Skilbeck
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Canadian Dental Board Exams update Until this year, Usyd students were allowed to take the Canadian Board Exams in November. From this year this is no longer an option. The Board's official policy is that exams may be taken up to three months before graduation. Our graduation ceremony is in March, and Exams are in November. From last year the Boards became aware of our graduation date and have ruled from this year our university may only take the exams in March. This means that for any Canadian who graduates from Usyd, you'll either have to go home and wait until April before you start working (repayment date for Can. student loans is unchanged) or stay in Australia and try and find employment, staying for a year. The ADA is aware of this problem and has lent their support. I'm also discussing the situation with our faculty in helping resolve this situation. What can you do to help? Once I've gotten the proper support, I'll be asking anyone who is interested to petition the Board to let us take the exam as it has be done in the past, in November. Please do not contact the faculty directly, nor the Canadian Boards. If you have any questions, or suggestions, please take them to your year rep, who will contact me (Ryan Bigelow, Bdent 4) directly. I will continue to update as this situation resolves.
Through the Loupes: Recent Graduate profile
. - large number of people to chat with: enjoy it while it lasts!
Being surrounded by a bunch of people who are going through the same thing as you every day is something that I didn’t appreciate until it was gone. Being able to bounce ideas and problems off colleagues, all while having a
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many cases it’s very straightforward, however there are some tricky ones that stump you, and you don’t have the wealth of specialists available at your fingertips to answer every situation you come up against.
at uni one afternoon, I had a brief chat with him and then applied. He remembered me from the conversation, so the interview was actually job offer, not an interview. That being said, I think I’m a minority in that regard, and you need to get yourself out there to meet people. The ADA guide was next to useless for me, and the vast majority of people from my year had similar experiences (unless you are bilingual: put that in your description, as it really seemed to help others), so unlike 3-5 years ago, the jobs aren’t going to find you- go out and get them.
I think as a young graduate you need solid training and the opportunity to get as much experience as possible. The Sydney market is pretty saturated: not to say that there aren’t jobs out there, but full time work in a busy practice where you’re doing more than 114s is hard to find. If you can, more power to you, but there is a huge gap in rural dentistry, so it is beneficial for both the patients and you.
Quote before you work. In uni, if a patient needs treatment, you just go ahead and do it. Outside, people have financial factors and dentistry isn’t cheap: I haven’t been burned yet, but I’ve come close… Remember to tell them what it will cost (including radiographs!) before you start. There are plenty of different ways to achieve clinically sound results. Although I value the methodology and respect the way we were taught at Sydney, it isn’t the only way. Have an open mind and be ready for things that are so left field at first you think they’re insane. Don’t automatically accept them, but don’t reject them just because they are different. Beware of taking over other people’s treatment plans. Although you get exposed to this at uni, it’s not until you’re out there that it matters. Other dentists are from very different schools, and may not be as conservative as you’d like them to be. Some are treatment planning for the cash. There is nothing wrong with making money from dentistry, but don’t do it at a patient’s biological cost.
I’m working at a small practice as part of a corporation. The focus is on comprehensive dentistry, which is refreshing. Although we deal with a number of acute patients every week, the practice has a strong slant towards full mouth rehabilitation, trying to solve the cause of the problems, not just the result. I’m a long way from knowing anything, but some of the work other clinicians have done here is very inspiring. I’m based in Mount Isa, so if anyone is out this way, come find me for a beer. Schedule is 8:305pm Monday to Friday. When staff members tell you that you’ll see more patients in your first week that you did all of 4th year, they aren’t kidding. It’s fast, frantic but a whole bunch of fun.
This one was pretty easy: the clinical director gave a speech
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graduate dentists, so try and take what you can from it. I think these two highlight Sydney’s strengths: detailed training and holding you to a high standard, even if you can’t reach it initially.
Once you’re in the clinic it’s very quick, but the administration that leads up to getting registered is a royal pain: especially if you’re moving to Queensland. Get on top of it early, expect to make plenty of copies of identification and so on. It’s a miserable experience, but you have to do it.
Coaching football overseas or running a strength and conditioning program for athletes: need to stick with what gets you going, or you’ll burn out.
I’ve quickly come to the realisation that you are taught things for a reason, and it’s (usually) not just to take up time. Early feedback from graduates is that amalgam is barely used anymore, so get as deep an understanding of resin:dentine bonding as possible, as it will make up a majority of your early work. You learn a bunch of techniques and just execute them in sim clinic, but get a strong sense of why moisture isolation, ferrule, FWL and all those other parts matter.
Get as much experience with composite resin as possible. Posterior contacts can be a pain to achieve, and you’re not given enough exposure in school. Hound staff (especially those who work outside and do posterior composites all day) on techniques and get as much done as possible. Annoy the oral surgery to teach you how to use a Warwick James to take out 8s. In the brief time I’ve been out 8s are by far the most I’ve extracted, and if I wasn’t lucky enough to be shown how to use a WJ, I would have been screwed. Get involved with as much as you can in school. Don’t be a loner, find other loners and make friends. You’ll struggle to get through school solo, and then when you’re out in the real world you need contacts. Someone always knows which CPD courses are held in Las Vegas, or when Jason Smithson is coming to town: it’s tricky by yourself, embrace the group around you. Make friends with people in other years, and don’t be afraid to contact them for advice, help or just a chat. I was lucky that people in the years above me helped me through, and if anyone needs anything I always do my best to help out. It’s a small community, but passionate: make the most out of it.
Without sounding like a suck up, we’re lucky that there are so many passionate people to choose from. Two that spring to mind are Dr Heffernan and Dr Hupalo for differing reasons. Although I hate doing endo with a passion, Dr Heffernan explains everything in detail, step by step and gives you the gold standard. Hang onto your endo manual as it is a reference tome for sure. On the other end Dr Hupalo’s (Friday 8am lectures… always a battle) are so intense, and it’s not until much later that you realise how much information is there. It’s overwhelming at first, doesn’t make a lick of sense, but it’s what he would teach to
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Caroline's Courageous Cut for Cancer Cure Hi All! I’m Caroline Nguyen of BOH 3 and I’ve had long hair for 9 years now however this year, that’s all going to change. I am partaking in the ‘Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths’ program which involves cutting and donating your hair. “Fighting cancer is already difficult enough. Looking into the mirror each day and witnessing the loss of hair and decline in self confidence is even harder.” Wigs, let alone wigs made of real hair, are expensive - a luxury that few can afford. Cancer patients are going through more than enough hardships so why must they pay a ridiculous price for a wig just so they can look and feel normal again? The Pantene Beautiful Lengths program is amazing in that they seek to restore beauty and confidence to women battling cancer and losing hair from treatment by making free real hair wigs so women can feel like themselves again. In conjunction to this, I have decided to cut my hair as part of the Leukaemia Foundation’s ‘World’s Greatest Shave 2014’ event in an attempt to raise money to further research and progress the fight against cancer. Pantene aims to collect 10,000 ponytail donations and the Leukaemia Foundation aims to raise $20,500,000. Both these organisation are helping Leukaemia patients fight cancer through research and emotional support. I have pledged to raise at least $300 so your donations, however little, will be greatly appreciated and will truly help out this wonderful cause. Donations can be made at the BOH reception desk at 1 Mons Road or straight to me if you see me walking around the building or hospitals. Donations above $2 are tax deductable and receipts will be given for your kind-hearted generosity. To donate online, track my progress, view photos and videos, visit my charity page at: http://my.leukaemiafoundation.org.au/carolinenguyen Interested in joining my mission? Want more info? Here are the links to the Pantene Program and World’s Greatest Shave event: http://www.beautifullengths.com.au/, http://www.worldsgreatestshave.com/ Join me and let’s help fight cancer together! Warm regards, Caroline
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SYDNEY DENTISTRY HOODIES! Crest and ‘Sydney Dentistry’ embroidered. Cotton and polyester blend. Very thick texture. Great for winter! Unisex sizes ranging from XSmall to XXXLarge. Cost: $50 Deadline: Friday, 11th April For enquiries or to order, contact Elie Rizk, BDent4: Eliejrizk@gmail.com
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Australian Dental Students Association (ADSA) News ADSA Convention With the success of Adelaide 2013, this year awaits the arrival of another exciting dental convention. Convention 2014 will be hosted by Griffith University on the Gold Coast in Australia’s sunshine state. Against a backdrop of stunning beaches and a spectacular nightlife, Gold Coast promises to bring a myriad of activities to meet and mingle with fellow dental students from all over Australia. This will be a valuable educational experience, in a state-of-the-art facility, ranging from lectures by world-class academics to enriching interactive workshops. Tickets go on sale in April and include meals, and accommodation at the Hilton, Surfers Paradise. Weekend packages are also available for those who cannot make it during the week. Dental Convention on the Gold Coast promises to provide an exceptional fun-filled experience. It will be held from 8th-13th July 2014!! Don't miss out!
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The Dental Crisis - Twitter night Did you know that there are currently too many dentists and oral health therapists in Australia? Since 2010, the employment rate for dentistry has dropped by 10% and it’s predicted that this will only get worse with the increase in the number of student enrolments. To address this issue, ADSA is organising a Twitter Night to voice your concerns and to influence the decision makers. We are trying to get as many people as possible to tweet about the #dentalcrisis and the lack of jobs in dentistry to become trending and gain the attention of media and Government including the key Ministers for Health, Immigration and Education to ask them what they are doing about the #dentalcrisis. When? 8.00-9.00pm AEDT on the 26th of March What do I have to do? Log in to twitter and tweet anything to do with the #dentalcrisis (Make sure you use the hashtag) What if I don't have twitter? Then sign up! It only takes 5 minutes, which is 5 minutes towards your future. It’s worth the effort. Go to: twitter.com For more info, follow us on twitter @ADSA_media and like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AusDSA
Becoming an ADSA member To become a member of ADSA, complete the membership form here: http://bit.ly/NinE9g As a member you will be kept up to date on important dates including when Convention tickets go on sale as well as updated on crucial issues regarding the state of dentistry and oral health in Australia. Next Facebow Issue out in early June! 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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