News
News from the School
Shalin Desai, Professor Robert Love, Lara Friedlander, Artika Patel, Poonam Verma and Abdul Aziz
after their presentations at the ESE Conference in Edinburgh.
Professor Robert Love became Discipline Head in Endodontics in late 2009. We currently have eight DClinDent postgraduate students studying endodontics.
The three students who graduated in 2009 have returned to Australia. Abdul Aziz and Artika Soma (née Patel) are working in Melbourne and Shalin Desai is in Sydney.
Their thesis titles were:
Abdul – Disinfection of the root-end cavity; a confocal microscope bacterial viability study
Artika – Effect of laser light on the root-end cavity and MTA root-end filling: a SEM and dye leakage study
Shali – Expression of Toll-like receptor-2 in periapical lesions of endodontic origin
The external examiner for the clinical components of the doctorate was Dr Stephen Harlamb of Sydney.
Three staff members and four postgraduate students from the School of Dentistry attended the 14th Biennial Congress of the European Society of Endodontology in Edinburgh, Scotland in September 2009. Their presentations were:
A.Aziz, C.H.J. Hauman, G.R.Tompkins & N.P. Chandler
Infection at the root apex: a confocal microscope study of bacterial viability
N.P. Chandler, A. Patel, C.H.J. Hauman & J.W. Leichter
Effectiveness of MTA root-end fillings following cavity lasing
L.T. Friedlander, N.P. Chandler, C.H.J. Hauman, A. Heays, L. Grierson, & R. Loomans
Surface roughness of resected root-ends using recommended burs; an operating microscope study
C.H.J. Hauman, A. Aziz, G.R. Tompkins, N.P. Chandler & J.W. Leichter
Root-end cavity disinfection with chlorhexidine and laser
S.V. Desai, R.M. Love, A.M. Rich, G.J. Seymour
Expression of Toll-like receptor-2 in periapical lesions of endodontic origin
R. M. Love, K. Beconsall
Analysis of radiolucent inflammatory jaw lesions in New Zealand
A. Soma, C.H.J. Hauman, N.P. Chandler & J.W. Leichter
Scanning electron microscopy study of root-end cavities following laser irradiation
P. Verma, R.M. Love
Micro computed tomographic study of the mesiobuccal root canal morphology of the
maxillary first molar
Keynote speakers included big names such as Dr Frances Andreasen, Professor Markus Haapasalo, Professor Kishor Gulabivala, Professor Thomas von Arx and many more.
Some of the more current topics included the role of biofilms in endodontic infections, cone-beam imaging and its potential uses in endodontics, and the design features and clinical advantages of “Twisted Files”. Adhesive post endodontic restorations with indirect ceramic and composite restorations were discussed as exciting alternatives to metal ceramic crowns.
Edinburgh was everything I hoped for, with much better weather (at least while the conference was going) than Dunedin and the familiarity of being home when walking down Great King Street, George Street, Hanover Street or many of the other streets with familiar names. The history of the city is enchanting with visits to the Royal Mile and Edinburgh castle being the highpoints for me during my short stay there.
The 2011 congress will be held in Rome, Italy for those of you want to plan ahead of time for a conference well worth attending while having the opportunity to visit Rome at the same time!
Tina Hauman
Welcome to the three new endodontic postgraduates who commenced their three year clinical doctorate programme in January
Varayini Yoganathan graduated from Otago in December 2007 and moved to general dental practice in Sydney. Her father will be known to many readers as ‘Yoga’, a long-serving teacher especially on the final year clinics.
Anna Kim graduated from Otago in December 2002. She worked first for two years as a dental officer in Newcastle and then in private practice in Sydney before returning to Otago to embark on postgraduate studies.
Langley Tasmania comes to us from Niue. He graduated from the Fiji school in 2004 and then started work for the Government of Niue. He plans on returning to Government service in his country, where he will certainly be the only endodontist among a population of about 1,400.