Dr. R.E. McDermott Clinical Simulation Facility Opens

Posted April 30, 1998


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 29, 1998
98-04-11-DE

Grand Opening of the
Dr. R.E. McDermott
Clinical Simulation Facility

The College of Dentistry at the University of Saskatchewan
has a new state of the art simulation clinic which will allow
students to learn dental techniques using a simulated
patient with artificial teeth and jaws. Although the facility
may resemble something out of science fiction, it was
designed to make dental teaching more realistic. Because
the simulation more closely resembles a real patient
treatment situation, students will be better prepared to
make the transition to live practice. The simulation clinic
was officially opened today with a ribbon cutting ceremony,
demonstrations, and tours.

The facility was constructed to replace a temporary
preclinic laboratory built in 1970. The old laboratory no
longer met modern teaching needs and the equipment was
old and outdated. It used a bench model with an artificial
head mounted on a post. The facility also lacked
refinements such as water, suction and fibre optic
handpieces. Last February, the Commission on Dental
Accreditation of Canada indicated that continued
accreditation was unlikely if a new laboratory was not
constructed.

The new simulation clinic allows for most of the
techniques used in a regular dental chair, says Dr. David
Tyler, Associate Professor, College of Dentistry. We no
longer call this a laboratory because we want students to
think of it as a clinic. He calls it a working place, where
the organization, the dress code, the infection control
procedures, and the intra-oral restrictions are all very
much like they would be in a real working environment.

The facility also features the latest in audio visual
equipment to facilitate instruction and demonstration. With
the intra-oral and extra-oral cameras, a technique can be
demonstrated and projected onto the four high resolution
television monitors placed strategically around the room so
that an individual tooth is as large as the entire screen.
Tyler notes that this is a big improvement over having 20 or
more students gathered around one demonstration site.

The facility also integrates the usual teaching aids, such as
overhead and slide projectors, which are all centrally
controlled and displayed on the television screens. This
audio visual system is capable of preparing and editing
videos which can be used in teaching and research, as well
as for satellite transmission for remote teaching purposes.

Construction was completed in December, 1997, and
students began using the facility in January of this year.
The total cost of the facility was approximately $310,000.
Because it was made possible by Dean R.E. McDermott?s
skillful management of the College of Dentistry through
years of budgetary uncertainty, the clinic will be named in
his honour. McDermott will be retiring in June, 1998.

With this considerable achievement in place, the College of
Dentistry now looks forward to new challenges, namely
international recruitment and the revitalization of their
curriculum, both of which will be facilitated by the new
clinic.

We are preparing dental practitioners who will be
practicing in the new millennium, says Tyler, so we need
state of the art teaching facilities, particularly now that we
are looking at internationalizing our program. Tyler says
the only way to maintain the dental program is by
marketing the expertise and the facilities of the college
outside of Saskatchewan. Education, research, and dental
health programs transcend provincial boundaries. We must
participate in the global community. In order for the College
of Dentistry to be sustained, we have to recruit students
for direct cost recovery.

Presently, Tyler says there are only a handful of clinics like
this in North America, and it will definitely improve the
University of Saskatchewan?s chances of recruiting top
international students.

The new clinic can accommodate up to 26 students, five
more than are presently accepted each year. A significant
number of spaces are expected be filled by international
students who will pay a cost recovery tuition of about
$30,000 per year.

Tyler says the future of the college will also depend on its
emphasis on excellence in teaching, patient care, research,
and continuing education for the dentists in the province.
The College of Dentistry, and the faculty in the college, are
important resources to the province of Saskatchewan
because we have people who are national, and in some
cases international, experts in dentistry. The new facility
will be used for hands on workshops where dental
personnel can learn new techniques. Tyler expects the
facility will also be used by Manufacturers of dental
products to demonstrate materials and techniques to
dentists as part of continuing education programs.

Because the clinic is still so new, Tyler says the faculty are
really just exploring the potential of the facility,
developing teaching aids and essentially ironing out any
little kinks in the equipment and how it operates.

For more information please contact:

Dr. David Tyler, Associate Professor
College of Dentistry
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-5135