The NobleDentist Blog

This is an article by Michelle Webster that was recently published in The Daily Advertiser – Australia.

YOU won’t hear any bad “tooth hurty” jokes around this building Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) new dentistry and oral health therapy teaching building is a serious facility.

Yesterday The Daily Advertiser was given a sneak peek inside the $19 million building, which will be officially opened at the Wagga campus on December 16 by parliamentary secretary for health Mark Butler.

Head of the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, Professor Ward Massey said the impressive CSU facility was unlike any other in Australia, providing students with a unique opportunity to become familiar with the latest in dental technology.

With the Wagga campus’s first 20 oral health students already setting up base in the new building, Prof Massey said they would be well on their way to coping with the real thing by early next year.

“The simulation area provides students with the opportunity to practice in a risk-free environment,” he said.

“We’re exposing them to the technology used in practice and they will also graduate having used some of the equipment they will use on a daily basis in the future.

“The simulation area has phantom heads which have plastic teeth with similar consistency to real teeth and you can buy teeth that have simulated tooth decay and other problems.”

Once students have built up their confidence in the simulation room, they can move on to real patients in the 16-chair dental clinic.

While students will reap great benefits from the facility, members of the public will also have an opportunity to check out the school from the dentist’s chair.

Although the Wagga school does not train dentists, residents seeking the services of a dental therapist or dental hygienist will be more than welcome from early next year.

“There will be a fee for the service but it will be competitive, we are also in discussions with NSW Health about possibly seeing healthcare card holders.

“The consultation will be longer than a normal dental clinic visit, all patients will be screened by academic staff and some procedures can be carried out by students or academic staff who will also work from here.”