Page 7 - PlanWorld_2011_en_high
P. 7
COPY GARY HACK IMAGES GARY HACK
NEW TEACHING CONCEPTS
IN DENTAL UNIVERSITIES
Room D (Dream Room): a Senior Dental Student training Room D (Dream Room) with clinical students performing
two pre-clinical students on the proper use of the Planmeca Sovereign chair CAD/CAM restorations on patients.
in preparation for their upcoming experience in Cecil County.
7
The world’s first school of dentistry, the University of Maryland The Dental School is a widely-recognized leader in teaching
Dental School, was founded in Baltimore, Maryland, on March computer-aided technologies for the design, analysis and production
6, 1840. Today, the Dental School remains a pioneer and is leading of dental restorations. The dental CAD/CAM system (computer-
dentistry into the future. aided design and computer-aided manufacturing) designs, analyzes
and mills tooth crowns. The entire procedure, from tooth preparation
“Our students represent a link, a conduit to the future, due to the to delivery, can be accomplished in an hour.
school’s innovations in teaching digital dentistry,” explains Gary D.
Hack, DDS, director of clinical simulation. Dr. Hack believes it is This year, all 130 second-year dental students will have hands-on
essential that dental students learn new treatment modalities to stay experience with chair-side CAD/CAM. They will acquire digital
current, and that they continually keep abreast of the latest impressions, design their restorations on the computer and send this
innovations and knowledge. digital information to a milling machine.
“I believe that the University of Maryland Dental School is one of The University of Maryland Dental School is the only dental
the most high-tech, digitally-advanced dental schools in the world,” school in the U.S. that exclusively uses digital radiography in its
says Dr. Hack. Many technological innovations have been preclinical simulation programs. This allows students to seamlessly
implemented by Dean Christians S. Stohler, DMD, DrMedDent, transition to working with live patients, since dental clinics also utilize
since the new Dental School building was completed six years ago. digital radiography.
Dr. Stohler’s vision is to teach students to use both existing In September, 2006, the University of Maryland Dental School
techniques and cutting-edge technology. For example, all of the dental moved into its state-of-the-art building, which was designed with the
chairs and preclinical simulation units (over 500) are wired for most advanced dental technologies available. The facility features
monitoring from anywhere in the building. Instructors can monitor digital dental units, electric hand pieces, digital radiography, intra-oral
each student, each procedure and even each instrument that is being cameras, rotary endodontics, implant simulation, virtual dental
used. Every dental chair also sends e-mail warnings of impending school environments, haptic technologies, CAD/CAM, virtual
malfunctions. keyboards, virtual patients, electronic patient records and remote
Room C (Clinical Simulation): year 1 dental students
performing operative procedures on a simulated patient.
