Imagine Ozzy Osbourne in a dazed out confused stupor after a bad trip! “I don’t know where I am, I don’t know where I’ve been, I don’t know where I’m going,” he mumbles. Ozzy might be able to survive and succeed in a purple haze but can we?
Dentistry is a really tough profession (at least I think so)! As dental practitioners, we are faced with many clinical, psychological and business challenges. We must always evolve and improve as new techniques and standards of care are established.
We are living in an age of easily accessible information. However, sometimes we are bombarded with many mixed messages causing confusion to occur. Are we going in the proper direction? Is it right for my practice? Am I being sold something I do not need?
Often, we are so mixed up and intimidated that we choose to do nothing and so we wait and wait and wait. We come to a point where we fall so far behind that we never grow at all, losing sight of where the profession is at and where it is heading.
As an educator and speaker I am constantly approached by dentists who are bewildered by the different messages they receive in their continuing education. Which philosophy and direction should they pursue? I would like to share with you some tools that you may find helpful.
1. Several years ago, I was approached by the University of Toronto to establish a Restorative Esthetic Continuum for their new Center for Continuing Dental Education. The program is now in its second year.
The goal of the University of Toronto Restorative Esthetic Continuum is to provide participants with a logical and insightful perDr.
ception as to how to examine, treatment plan, and deliver dentistry to their patients that is functional, esthetic and optimally maintainable. Participants who successfully complete seven sessions of the Continuum in a period not exceeding three years receive a certificate from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Dentistry Continuing Dental Education. Each session consists of lecture and hands on training. The University has built a new Continuing Education Centre with state of the art audiovisual lecture facilities and the ability to accommodate 32 dentists for hands-on training. Each hands-on station is equipped with electric hand pieces and many of the latest dental technologies. Dental auxiliaries are encouraged to attend to be able to train alongside their doctor.
The continuum has chosen educators that are well known in the dental community for their communication skills, approachability and their willingness to fully share and interact with course participants. They include, Drs. Robert Margeas, Robert Lowe, Marcos Vargas, Robert Miler, Ross Nash, Gary Radz, Tony Soileau, Damon Adams and several others that will be added in the coming months. Clinicians have been selected who practice with the same philosophy and goals in order to point course participants in a consistent path.
The continuum is designed to be a program for all Canadian dentists. Tuition is extremely reasonable, Toronto is easily accessible from everywhere, moderately priced deluxe hotel accommodations are just two blocks away, and breakfast and lunch are included at the CE centre. How can you beat it? Information and dates for the Continuum can be found at www.utoronto.ca/dentistry/continuinged.
2. The Canadian Academy for Esthetic Dentistry (CAED) is now in its sixth year. Over the past year, courses were presented in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax, Thunder Bay, Toronto, Montreal and Joliette. The academy is a member of the International Federation of Esthetic Dentistry (IFED) and is an affiliate of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) and the European Society of Cosmetic Dentistry (ESCD).
CAED members are able to attend meetings sponsored by IFED, ESCD, and the American Society for Dental Aesthetics (ASDA). Many CAED members are attending this summer’s IFED Extravaganza in Las Vegas and the ASDA’s annual meeting in Florida in October. The goal of the CAED is to provide Canadian dentists with accessible low cost education in our own country. You should be a member! For further information, please go to www.caed.ca
3. A new book has just been released that is a must have! The book is called the Esthetic and Restorative Dentistry and it is authored by Drs. Douglas Terry, Karl Leinfelder, master technician Willi Geller et al. At 770 pages, it is a spectacular showcase of current dental procedures. The book is logically laid out, simple to follow and the print and photography quality is absolutely breathtaking. The book includes every facet of restorative dentistry from principles of tooth preparation, photography, composite layering techniques, developing anatomical contours and periodontal plastic surgery. The list goes on and on.
For further information, please contact 1 (877) 662-2374 or online at www.ecdentalsolutions.com
Dentists have never had so much easily accessible information and education. The tools I have described I believe will help point you in the direction you want, or confirm to you that what you are currently doing is correct. I hope that everyone enjoys this esthetic issue of Oral Health. Let me know what you think.
Open your mind, open your eyes, be creative, have fun and ROCK ON.
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“I don’t know where I am, I don’t know where I’ve been, I don’t know where I’m going”
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The continuum is designed to be a program for all Canadian dentists
