As our third conference comes to an end, we reflect on the days lectures and workshops in this review.
The day sprang into action around 8:30 am on Saturday 4th March 2017, as students from up and down the country, began to arrive at the venue at The University of Manchester. In attendance were dental students, including therapy and technology students of all years. Including all the sponsors, speakers and students, the conference saw almost 350 guests in attendance which makes it our biggest yet, and the largest nationally. Refreshments were available as people waited to be registered and receive their goody-bag full of chewing gum and toothpaste before being directed to the lecture theatre, for the commencement of the morning talks.
The morning talks commenced with an introduction from Ismail Khalil, 4th year BDS and president of the society, he spoke about the society and all that has been achieved in the last year. A warm and cheery welcome was provided by none other than the Dean of Manchester Dental School, Professor Coulthard himself, who spoke about Manchester University. The first talk titled “Why Dental Research Needs You” was by Professor Jan Clarkson, who travelled from Dundee University to be with us on the day. This talk provided a perfect start to the day, setting the scene for rest of the speakers to follow and hopefully inspired future academics. Next, Professor Simon Rogers of Edge Hill University gave us an eye-opening talk on “How patient reported outcomes shape oral cancer care”. And last but not least, Dr. Michael Donaldson spoke to us about “Policy Development and Research” triggering a lot of thoughts within the audience.
We then had a buffet lunch in the foyer, which was enjoyed greatly by all the students and staff, with hardly any food left over to spare! Our sponsors were very busy at this time too, with students gathering around each and every stall. We had a range of exciting stalls on the day – from charity raffle run by Oral Health Africa to loupes and equipment for placing implants and restorative dentistry.
The afternoon was jam-packed with workshops which students were able to book onto prior to arriving on the day – this posed to be the most successful workshop afternoon we have had yet with over 8 brand new workshops and 10 in total. The following workshops were available:
- BDS and Beyond
- Hands-On Restorative: All Ceramic Anterior Crown Preps
- Hands-On Implants
- Hands-On Restorative: Restoring the Class II Cavity
- Paediatrics: Whats the Fuss – They’re just baby teeth?
- Suturing
- The Dental Practice Journey
- Wax Carving
- Dental Trauma
- Forensic Odontology
The workshops are always the students’ favourite part of the day and this year certainly did not disappoint this year! With such a huge variety to attend and the high calibre, tutors are highly commended for delivering such great, and varied workshops. This year certainly out-shined all previous years due to the sheer number of workshops on offer (all of which were fully booked) and the fact that many were hands-on. Excellent feedback was received from these workshops, notably implant placement using the latest equipment and all-ceramic crown preparations – all done in a classroom!
The day came to an end with a charity raffle back in the lecture theatre, with prizes ranging from revision guides, all the way to Oral-B’s latest electric brush. At 5pm, the day came to a close with students happy and content with both knowledge and freebies gained from such an inspiring day!
Here are some comments shared by students from the day:
“It was informative and interesting”
“very informative; good tips from starting a practice from scratch; good delivery of info”
“very informative & useful, would definitely recommend to a friend. Thanks, I really did learn a lot =)”
“great advice to all, inspiring”
“really really enjoyed this though I’m still far from qualifying it motivated me”
“Wax Carving – definitely an aspect we need to implement into the curriculum”
“learnt new techniques and best equipment available to get the nicest possible restoration”
“Implants – Amazing workshop! – As we don’t get that opportunity in uni, it was very useful to get hands on experience”
For more photos, visit the gallery or out Facebook page.