Dental Simulation Lab

By Dr. Linda Niessen -- Baylor College of Dentistry
Monday, December 02, 2002

STORY:  SIM LAB

SCRIPT #488 SHOOT:  11/12/02

AIRDATE:  Monday, Dec. 2, 2002

Daybreak-6am & Midday

DHC Master #17  Timecode: SOVT 1:39

Dental students at Baylor College of Dentistry are NOT yet prepared to treat real patients.
But in a year, they'll be ready, because they've studied with the next best thing: a mannequin that simulates the movement of a person.

"They are not going to develop bad habits because the patient's head can only be positioned like a real patient's.  And these mannequins have head rests just like the dental chairs so we learn to adjust those for the comfort of the  patient," says BCD Professor Tom McKinney

From the very beginning of a dental student's training, they learn that they are caring for patients not teeth.

Dental Student Todd Williams explains, "The simulator, has everything that you have in the actual clinic.  It's every single feature with hand pieces, with aspiration, water, air, everything. So it is absolutely state of the art." Williams will be the fourth generation in his family to practice dentistry.

"There's going to be a transition in dental students learning what hurts the patient, how to react when they say it hurts, and how to manipulate their tissues so we don't hurt them."

This state of the art teaching lab, funded by the Hillcrest and Baylor Oral Health Foundations, also uses computer graphics.

Dr. McKinney adds, "I think it will be a natural transition into the clinic because of the experience they have in this lab."
 
Dentistry today can be virtually pain free because dentists are trained to provide a high level of care that above all keeps the patient comfortable.  For Baylor College of Dentistry Texas A & M System, I'm Dr. Linda Niessen.         

Dr. Linda Niessen, clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and  the Office of Communications and Development at Baylor College of Dentistry, hosts Dental Health Check, the only weekly dental feature shot on location in the nation.

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