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Courtney Aube, first prize winner at the 2019 Table Clinics, with Dr. Ben Davis

The McInnes Room in the Student Union Building is buzzing. Forty-nine third-year dentistry students are explaining the results of their research to the circulating judges and groups of interested visitors, while seven groups of second year dental hygiene students give their research presentations to audiences in nearby rooms.

It’s the 49th annual Table Clinics night, January 25, 2019. Dentistry students prepared for this evening for over a year, researching their topics, creating a research poster, and preparing concise, easily understood presentations.

“A big part of what Table Clinics is all about,” says Dr. Richard Price, chair of the Table Clinics Committee, “is to prepare students for presenting information about treatment options to their patients. They need to learn to distill the facts into key points that the average person would understand. Table Clinics also gives students a great opportunity to be the experts in the room.”

Wide-ranging topics
To prepare for this event, the dental hygiene students worked in groups of four or five to select and research a topic. On the big night they give 15 to 20-minute presentations that focus on the best practice standards of care.
The range of topics covered is impressive in its breadth, showcasing what varied professions dentistry and dental hygiene are.  The dental hygiene presentations included oral cancer screening, HPV in the oral cavity, cannabis, and an examination of what is in drinking water.

The dentistry students were equally ambitious. There were posters on ergonomics, occupational hazards, anxiety management, and the applications of 3D printing in dentistry. One student explores the use of Botox to treat gummy smiles while another analyses the microbiomes associated with periodontitis and peri-implantitis. Other topics include the effects of vitamin D deficiency on the oral cavity, the opioid crisis, oral health outcomes in preterm infants, the effectiveness of charcoal toothpaste, and stress among dental students.

Stress and excitement were definitely part of the evening as the judges circulated with their clipboards, but most students admitted that giving their presentations became easier each time they did it.

It was also an evening of fun and reunions. Groups of alumni from many different grad years came to Table Clinics to get their CE points, see what this year’s students are working on, reconnect with faculty members, and meet up with their classmates for impromptu reunions at the end of the evening. Nearly 500 people attended the event.

Dental hygiene winners

The winners
Of course, the evening was also about the prizes.

Speaking at the awards presentation, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry Dr. Ben Davis said: “We are in an age of information explosion. Of pseudo experts. Of readily available information on the internet. Now, more than ever, it is vitally important for health professionals to be able to critically review the scientific, and non-scientific, literature to separate fact from fiction. The work that culminated in your table clinic presentation has taught you how to do this. Please use this skill throughout your career to educate your patients and to make evidence-based treatment decisions.”

As always, a big thank you goes out to all the judges, advisors, sponsors, and those who came out to support the students.

Dental hygiene presentation winners:

First place: What’s in your water?
Advisor Prof. Shauna Hachey
Students: Victoria Harrop, Lindsay Sibley, Jane Turpin, Elizabeth Verran

Second place: Cannabis: Newly legalized!
Advisor: Prof. Kim Haslam
Students: Brittany Burns, Lillian Cherry, Shelagh Cosman, Emily Gilice

Third place: Orofacial myofunctional therapy: One more piece of the collaborative puzzle
Advisor: Prof. Alma Wade
Students: Rachel Arbing, Mary Collins-Dionne, Anastasia Karst, Amanda Langford, Ellen Langley

Table Clinics winners:
First place: Courtney Aube
Topic: Marijuana: Mechanism of action and potential for therapeutic use in chronic neuropathic orofacial pain
Advisor: Dr. Lisa Johnson

Second place: Ellen Woodworth
Topic: An investigation into the perspectives of Nova Scotia dentists and parents/guardians on parental presence in the dental operatory
Advisor: Dr. Tracy Doyle

Third place: Jordan Bonang
Topic: Digital planning software and CAD/CAM dentistry in computer-guided implant surgery: A workflow
Advisor: Dr. Chris Lee

Fourth place: Motaz Jad
Topic: Mandibular premolar root aberrations and endodontic success: A clinician’s guide
Advisors: Dr. Blaine Cleghorn and Dr. Isabel Mello

Prize for original research: Ellen Woodworth
Topic: An investigation into the perspectives of Nova Scotia dentists and parents/guardians on parental presence in the dental operatory
Advisor: Dr. Tracy Doyle

Prize for immediate applicability: Justin Yeoh Hong Yi
Topic: Efficacy and safety of Gow-Gates mandibular block
Advisor: Dr. James Brady

Student Prize: Eric Kriss
Topic: Fabrication and in vitro evaluation of a bifunctional porous scaffold for revitalizing endodontic therapy
Advisors: Dr. Isabel Mello and Dr. Brendan Leung

Ellen Woodworth (centre), winner of the prize for original research, with Dr. Ben Davis and Dr. Mary McNally