Fifteen BTech: Dental Technology students recently presented the results of year-long case studies at a symposium, held at CPUT’s Tygerberg Hospital Service Point from 21 to 22 October 2009.
The presentations were judged by a five-member panel that included lecturers in Dental Sciences and guests from the industry.
The audience comprised students, staff members and members of the Dental Technology industry.
The students were tasked at the beginning of the year to select a patient case and write up a case study. They were also required to do the administration and discuss the clinical environment in which a dental appliance will have to function.
This department has been hosting this kind of symposium for the past eight years. However this year, it is notable that the presentations mark the beginning of a new co-operative education partnership.
Dental Technology Head of Department Louis Steyn said: “This year’s BTech presentations are unique because we managed to secure a working deal with the Cape Society for Dental Implantology (CSDI).”
Dr Louwrens Swart, a maxillo-facial surgeon and president of the CSDI, was also in the audience.
Steyn said: “With the help of Dr Swart, and Neill Du Plessis we acquired individual patient cases that were already done by private clinical and technical practitioners.”
“We also managed to retrieve the working models with Dr Swart’s help. Our students were given a chance to reproduce these cases with the assistance of the original private practicing dental technologists.”
At the beginning of the year, each student was assigned to internal supervisors who are lecturers in the department.
The students and lecturers later formed teams and they started working on the various cases and background research.
According to Steyn, the department hopes to stimulate regional research and encourage more students to pursue MTech studies.
Following the introduction of the statutory Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme by the South African Dental Technicians’ Council, the Dental Sciences Department has for the first time opened the case study presentations to the Dental Technology profession.
The department has also applied for CPD points accreditation for the presentations.
Dr Jenny Wright, Language Coordinator at the Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences, was among the judges.
“It’s important that we also look at the language as students need to be self critical of their own writing. We have been teaching them from the first year, and by now all of them have grown tremendously in terms of public speaking and language usage,” said Dr Wright.
By Andiswa Dantile
Photograph: (top left) Dental Technology Head of Department Louis Steyn (top right, bottom left and right) BTech: Dental Technology students present their posters during the mini-symposium at the Tygerberg Hospital Service Point.
Written by CPUT News
Email: