July 2014

Message from the Dean

For many of our students, July sig-nals a break before the school year resumes in August. But some pro-grams are still in full swing. Last month, we hosted a visit from Irish dental students, who arrived to learn about dentistry in the U.S. I spent time overseas, attending an international research conference in Africa, where I was excited to ex-plore the potential for RSDM to col-laborate with students and educa-tors abroad. Although we‟re based in New Jersey, we have much to learn from our far-flung colleagues, and also much to share.

Global Exchange At the International Dental Research Association conference in Cape Town, South Africa last month, Dean Cecile A. Feld-man found that some challenges facing oral health education are universal. “They deal with some of the same issues, particularly in South Africa. They struggle with the dilemma of how do you provide care to low-income, underserved popula-tions and do it in a way that enables the school to be finan-cially sound,‟‟ she said. Dean Feldman gave a well-received presentation on the cost of dental education at a time when state appropriations have been reduced and patient costs have increased, along with the expense of maintaining faculty. “I‟m a very strong believer that because there are limited funds available to subsidize dental care, a huge financial bur-den is placed on the school,” she said. “There was a lot of interest in the subject.” Even in countries with socialized medicine “the government isn‟t adequately subsidizing dental schools to provide the cost of teaching and training,‟‟ she said. At the conference, Dean Feldman began a dialogue about potential RSDM collaborations with dental schools in South Africa. “There are a lot of similarities,‟‟ she said. “Those schools have a very strong public health mission, just like we do.‟‟ The conference also provided evidence that dentists share many common traits. “Dentists like to create. They tend to be artistic but scientific. And they also tend to be microfocused,‟‟ she said. “They pay attention to detail.‟‟

Calendar of Events

Freshman Orientation

August 11 –14 Oral Health Pavilion

Pre-Week

August 18-22 Oral Health Pavilion

White Coat Ceremony

August 20 6 p.m.

Oral Health Pavilion

Start of Fall Semester August 25

The conference center in Cape Town South Africa,

where the IDRA conference was held.

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Elephant Molars During her trip to Africa, Dean Feldman had a chance to check out some wildlife, including ele-phants. Naturally, she was interested in their teeth. Elephant molars weigh more then ten pounds and the animals normally change molars six times during the course of their lives, she said. When older mo-lars get worn down, they‟re replaced by new ones. When the last set of molars is done, elephants often die of starvation, usually at the ripe old age of 60 or 70. Happily, the dean saw elephants under better circumstances. She shot video of them nurturing their young and swimming in a nearby river, their trunks poking out of the water like snorkels. Dublin Dental Ambassadors In Ireland, dentists are busier than they used to be, according to two Irish students from Dublin Den-tal School and Hospital, who visited RSDM last month as part of an exchange program. “A lot more people are going to the dentist now,‟‟ said Mohammed Hania, who grew up in Dublin, where the dental school is part of Trinity College. “At one time, no one really cared but now there are more public aware-ness programs in schools and there‟s more awareness of dental problems and how they can affect your health.‟‟ The students were part of a small group who arrived as part of an annual exchange program between RSDM and the Dublin dental school that began in 2006. After their first few days, the Irish students noticed some differences between RSDM and their own school. The relationship between professors and stu-dents is more informal, they said, and in Dublin, they don‟t use the term “student doctor.‟‟ “We‟re just students. You don‟t dare say „doctor‟ unless you don‟t become a doctor in the end,‟‟ said Irish student Mustafa Al Mohsen. Because Ireland has a socialized healthcare system, dental care is accessible, but options can be limited. For most, there is an annual allotment for treatment -- for instance, only one cleaning, one extraction and two fillings a year. Beyond that, patients must pay privately. At RSDM, the Irish students spent time observing clinical work as they rotated through each depart-ment. Although there are some cultural differences between Irish and American dental schools, and the Irish spell “pediatric” with an extra “a‟‟ (“paediatric”), in both countries, the dentistry itself has a lot in common. “It‟s not much different,‟‟ said Hania.

Irish dental students including Mohammed Hania, first

row, left, and Mustafa Al Mohsen, right, with RSDM’s

Herminio Perez, Director of Student and Multicultural

Affairs, second row, far right.

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All About Implants What is a dental implant? Dr. Pamela Alberto, a Clinical Associate Professor in the De-partment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, answered the question for Colgate‟s Oral and Dental Health Resource Center recently. Her informative essay was published in Colgate‟s “Oral Health Buzz.‟‟ Here‟s an excerpt: “Dental implants have revolutionized the replacement of teeth. Before the development of dental implants, people with dentures were unable to chew many kinds of food. This has all changed with widespread use of dental implants. When I was in dental school, dental implants were being developed in Sweden by Dr. Per-Ingvar Branemark, an or-thopedic surgeon and research professor. I wasn‟t the only student at the time asking, “What is a dental implant?” so I followed Dr. Branemark‟s work and realized that his research would transform dentistry. Once dental implants became available in the Unit-ed States, I started placing them, beginning in 1983. Since that time, the market for dental implants has exploded. According to the Dental Tribune, the market for dental implants is estimated to be worth $9.1 billion by 2018.”

What Comes Around... A teacher‟s influence can have a ripple effect. That‟s the case with RSDM professor Dr. Robert Flinton, a professor of Clinical Prosthodontics, whose former prosthodontic resident Dr. Mahmoud Serag went on to become a clinical faculty member at East Carolina University School of Dental Medicine. Dr. Serag never forgot his mentor, and often mentioned him during lessons. It made a big impression on fourth-year East Carolina dental student Matthew Morro-ne, who recently wrote a thank you note to Dr. Flinton: “Although we have never met, I feel like I have learned so much clinical prosthodontics from you already. As you are probably aware, Dr. Serag is now one of our clinical prosthodontic faculty here at ECU. This week, he and I started on a venture to fabri-cate a complete over complete case for a patient of mine in four days, which normally takes us three to four weeks. From the beginning, he told me about you, and whether it was fabricating wax rims or having a special appointment solely for setting anterior teeth chair side, you were a common factor that would be present at each step. I am truly thankful for all that you taught him. You can tell that much of his fire and desire comes from what you taught him. This experience has really opened my eyes to pros-thodontics and how incredible it truly is. I know you might find this e-mail to be a little random, and a slight surprise, but none-theless I just wanted to let you know that you‟re not only impacting your residents, but you‟re also impacting dental students through your residents. Thanks again...‟‟

Save the Date

White Coat Ceremony August 20

6 p.m. Oral Health Pavilion