Dental school getting 73 new mannequins

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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.

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