Click photo to enlarge
University of Otago dental school facilities and clinical
services associate dean Dr Warwick Duncan with one of the
old plastic training heads about to be replaced with 73
state-of-the-art mannequins. Behind him, construction is
under way on the computerised dental simulation laboratory
which will house the mannequins and other equipment. Photo
by Craig Baxter.
Students at the University of Otago dental school will
soon have the latest high-technology "ultimate patients" to
practise on - 73 dental mannequins which always open wide and
never complain.
The German-made mannequins come with removable jaws and
realistic sets of plastic teeth in both adults' and
children's sizes so dental students and trainee hygienists
can practise their drilling, shaping, filling and cleaning
skills.
Each mannequin head and partial torso has its own bench and
computer screen so students can watch and replicate
techniques demonstrated by their teacher.
Sets of teeth with individual teeth missing will enable
students to learn to build bridges and dentures.
The laboratory will have a digital X-ray machine to give
students experience of the computerised diagnostic and
patient filing systems widely used in modern dental clinics.
The German mannequins were not quite as realistic as some
produced in Japan which screamed and spouted blood when
drilled in the wrong places, facilities and clinical services
associate dean Dr Warwick Duncan said this week.
"I couldn't see the point of those. Real patients don't
scream and spout blood," he said.
At present, dental students and hygienists practised on
plastic heads which are attached to the school's clinical
chairs.
But that meant when the plastic heads were being used, no
real patients could be seen, he said.
The laboratory would ease that situation by enabling the
simulation laboratory and the dental clinics to be used at
the same time.
The main advantage of the mannequins and plastic heads was
they allowed students to make mistakes, he said.
"I am sure our real patients will be pleased to know students
are not allowed to work on them until they have got it
right."
The new equipment, expected to arrive in January in time for
the new academic year, will be installed in a dental
simulation laboratory being built at the Great King St dental
school.
The project, which also involved shifting the dental library
into a lecture theatre and "half a staff tearoom" on another
floor to create space for the laboratory, was costing $3.75
million in total, Dr Duncan said.
The 48-year-old dental school - the only one in New Zealand -
was bursting at the seams, catering for more than 500
students and researchers in a building designed for 250, he
said.
The university was seeking government financial assistance to
build a new wing on a car park behind the existing building,
but no funding had been received so far.
"There seems to be a reluctance to deal with the problems we
have with lack of space. I am sure something will happen
eventually, but in the meantime, it is a case of managing as
best we can and maximising the space we've got," Dr Duncan
said.
allison.rudd@odt.co.nz
