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Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

page 14DT EDUCATION TRIBUNE pages 13-14 Oliver Harman discusses the MSc Expanding horizons Education Tribune Ken Nicholson discusses implant training Clicks n’ Bricks Education Tribune Henry Clover looks at the issues Safeguarding the vulnerable Education Tribune The training facility at LonDEC State of the art Education Tribune pages 15-17 pages 18-20 pages 21-22 I n the dental industry to- day, there are many in- terpretations of the term “cosmetic dentistry”. Some practitioners would define it as a branch of dentistry that focuses solely on the appear- ance of the smile, as opposed to the health of the teeth. However these are not two mutually exclusive entities. In an attempt to reconcile “aesthetics” with “cosmet- ics”, many practitioners are now enrolling in educational courses to help develop their knowledge and understanding within the area of “cosmetic” dentistry. In today’s society, there is a high demand for aesthetically pleasing smiles amongst the general public. As this demand increases, it is important that clinicians en- hance their skills within this field, and produce the results expected by patients. Innovative Smile-on is currently working with the University of Man- chester to provide the inno- vative MSc in Restorative and Aesthetic Dentistry. The dis- tance-learning course is de- signed to enhance clinicians’ existing knowledge and skills, providing a combination of both instructor-led units and self-paced eLearning mod- ules. The aim of the MSc is to develop practitioners’ confi- dence and ability to offer the highest standard of aesthetic restorative dentistry to their patients. Dr Oliver Harman from The Harman Dental Clinic in Royal Tunbridge Wells, is one of the two dentists in the UK to pass the BACD Fellowship Examination, and began the MSc course at the beginning of the year. Excellent “I have just completed the in- troduction to the MSc course, and have so far found it to be an excellent grounding in 21st century dentistry,” he says. “For someone who has been practising for 29 years it has been extremely useful, and it gives a really good overall picture. Technology has de- veloped dramatically in the past few years, and the course offers a very up-to-date and progressive set of lectures, at the cutting-edge of the dental industry.” Webinars When discussing what fea- tures of the course he found most beneficial, Dr Harman is finding the eLearning ap- proach to be very positive. “I definitely prefer the webinars live, as I feel it adds some- thing to the lecture. Generally the format works very well and is a realistic method of learning for busy dental pro- fessionals. The online aspect provides the fantastic privi- lege of allowing me to con- tinue working while studying. This is particularly relevant to dental professionals fairly ad- vanced in their careers, as it is more challenging to attend traditional courses regularly with great commitments to their families and practices. The online format allows for more mature clinicians to re- visit mainstream education and training without making too many sacrifices. “The speakers are also very good, and include some of the leading names in the field. I like that the lecturers aren’t limited to Manchester University, enabling the pres- entations to provide brilliant exposure to a wider faculty than you would normally have access to.” Passionate When talking about why he wanted to take the MSc in Restorative and Aesthetic Dentistry, Dr Harman is very passionate about the contro- versies surrounding the con- cept of ‘cosmetic dentistry’. “Within the dental industry at the moment, there are some very conflicting views about what the term ‘cosmetic den- tistry’ covers. Unfortunately, I think many practitioners have formed their opinions based on some of the pretty terrible examples of so-called ‘cos- metic’ work in the past. “As far as I’m concerned, ‘cosmetic dentistry’ is not a separate entity in practice. In all my work I aim to complete Expand your “Cosmetic” Dentistry Oliver Harman discusses expanding horizons with an MSC in Restorative and Aesthetic Dentistry from The University of Manchester and Smile-on ‘Technology has developed dramatically in the past few years, and the course offers a very up-to-date and progressive set of lectures, at the cutting-edge of the dental industry’ Students of the MSc attending a hands-on session at one of the residential modules of the course