Dear alumni and friends,

Living during a pandemic may never become ‘normal’ or easy, but I think we are all doing our utmost to adapt to our current circumstances. It is heartening to see the good work occurring within our Faculty and in our broader community – some of it in direct response to the pandemic, and some as part of our everyday service to our communities.

Students

I am delighted to share that our students are checking in on one another and doing their best to support each other. We understand this is a difficult time for many Dalhousie students, including some in our Faculty. In response, the university has launched a Student Emergency Relief crowdfunding campaign on ProjectDALto support these students. I invite you to explore the ways you can support a student in need and, if you are able, consider contributing.

I would like to assure you that all students in the Faculty of Dentistry who are recommended for graduation will have met the standards of competence needed for successful completion of their respective programs. This includes students in our DDS4, DDH2, BDH, MSc (perio) and MD/MSc OMFS programs. Those recommended for graduation will do so on May 21, 2020 (May 31 for our OMFS resident), unfortunately without a convocation ceremony and traditional celebrations.

Our dentistry students completed their Canadian NDBE exam at the beginning of March; the American board exams will be re-scheduled for a later date. The dental hygiene licensing exam has been re-scheduled for July 7-8, 2020. Fellowship exams for the Royal College of Dentists of Canada are tentatively planned for June. The NDEB specialty examinations are scheduled for September.

We are working closely with our senior classes to plan the best graduation celebrations we can, given the circumstances. If you would like to share a positive message with our graduating students, please reach out to Melanie Bremner at alumni.dentistry@dal.ca.

Staff and Faculty

As you may have seen, Faculty of Dentistry faculty and staff have created infection control protocols for treating dental emergencies during the COVID-19 pandemic, which have been shared across the country. You can view the protocols and additional resources on our website here.

Our staff have been as busy as ever while working from home. Many are attending online courses, advancing their skills and even researching new products for our clinic. Although operating in different ways, their ability to keep our Faculty running smoothly is greatly appreciated.

Notably, Richard Redhead from our dental lab has been doing his part to respond to the pandemic. He contacted a local dental lab, Hallmark Dental, to collaborate on the development and 3D creation of face shields to be used as PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drs. Terry Ackles and Chris Lee are now assessing the prototypes.

I would also like to acknowledge the important recent contributions made by our faculty members.

• Reg Goodday is part of a multi-centre team that has been selected to receive the 2019 Daniel Laskin Award for Best Paper in the 77th volume of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery for their paper, “Maxillomandibular advancement improves multiple health-related and functional outcomes in patients with obstructive sleep apnea: A multicenter study”.
• JC Doucet recently won the 2020 Samuel Berkowitz Long-Term Outcomes Study Award for his paper, “Facial Growth of Patients With Complete Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Treated With Alveolar Bone Grafting at 6 Years”, which was published in the May 2019 issue of The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal.
• Mary McNally and Prof. Shauna Hachey served as stakeholder reviewers on behalf of the Association of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry (ACFD) and completed a review of the final version of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario – Oral Health Best Guideline. It was their recommendation that the ACFD endorse this document on behalf of Canadian Faculties of Dentistry.
• Prof. Hachey has also been working with Dr. Rebecca Affoo and others at the Healthy Populations Institute on the “oral health is health” flagship snapshot, which has been posted to the HPI website.

Alumni and Friends

We’ve received some great messages from alumni in different parts of the world about how they are faring during the pandemic.

• In February, Maria Tigner (DDH‘92) gave a talk at the University of Yucatan’s Faculty of Dentistry in Merida on establishing technical dental programs. She is safely back in Ottawa.
• Sara Gordon (DDS’85), associate dean of academic affairs at the University of Washington School of Dentistry and Carol Anne Murdoch-Kinch (DDS’85), dean at Indiana University School of Dentistry have both been working hard to adapt their schools to online learning and clinic closures.
• Here in Halifax, Simar Hundal (DDS’11) is doing her best to reassure patients, look after others, and take a “forced pause” for her own personal growth.

During Oral Health Month, I encourage you to take this “forced pause” as an opportunity to spend time learning, keep in touch with patients, and to find opportunities for your own personal growth. The oral health of our patients relies to a large extent on us, and we owe it to them to remain physically and mentally healthy.

As always, I urge you all to take care of yourselves and each other.

Until next time,

Dr. Ben Davis
Dean, Faculty of Dentistry
Dalhousie University

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