Dunedin is now home to the most modern university dental teaching complex in the southern hemisphere, after yesterday’s opening of the final part of the $130million redevelopment.
An $85million Clinical Services Building, where patients are treated at New Zealand’s main dentistry teaching hospital, was earlier opened in 1989.
The more than $40million, 10-year heritage Walsh Building project was formally opened yesterday.
The opening also signals the completion of the national centre for dentistry’s five-year expansion project.
The building includes the much-prized dental school, and houses, on the top floor, the Sir John Walsh Research Institute, where the faculty’s main research is undertaken.Also accommodated in the building are research laboratories, academic offices, student support spaces, and flexible learning spaces.
The welcome speech was given by Emeritus Prof John Broughton, himself an Otago dentistry graduate, and was followed by addresses by Otago health scien ces pro-vice-chancellor PaulBrunton, Faculty of Dentistry dean Mike Morgan and chancellor Dr Royden Somerville QC, who unveiled a plaque.
Prof Brunton said the Walsh Building was gutted for its refurbishment and was gradually being reoccupied, bringing together dispersed staff, students, and laboratories from around the Dunedin campus creating a single home for the faculty that should enable more collaboration between academics, clinicians, and students.
The building is named after the dentistry faculty’s third dean, Australian-born Sir John Walsh, who strengthened its scientific and clinical base by providing modern research facilities and introduced post graduate programmes in the early 1960s.
Prof Brunton hoped the new buildings would help get the Faculty back into the top 10 globally, based on QS World University Rankings by subject.
At present, it is in the top 50.
He urged the New Zealand dental profession to work closely with the Government to over come problems which had resulted in New Zealand slipping behind other developed countries, such as the United Kingdom and Australia in adult dental health.
Free dental care was provided to New Zealanders till the age of 18, but many adults lacked good quality dental care because they could not afford to pay for it.
