The Return of Dr. G: 1 Year later and the Future of Jamaica is Shining Brighter

This past February, 2013, I returned to Jamaica to teach endodontics to the 2nd year class at UTech in Kingston. This will be the graduating class of 2016. It was great to temporarily escape this year's harsh winter in Toronto and be back in Kingston where I was greeted by both new and familiar faces. I was also pleased that there were very no technical issues this year and everything was smooth sailing. Here is a picture of the class of 2016 and myself. They are a warm, energetic and highly motivated group of students. Their eagerness and good nature justify why this is all worthwhile for me. 

On my last day in Kingston, I was fortunate enough to attend a conference for the launch of the Diabetes and Oral Health program. This is organized by the University Diabetes Outreach Programme (UDOP) in collaboration with The University of West Indies and University of Technology Jamaica.  At the last minute I was also asked to speak at the conference and give my insights on this topic. Since I did not have a lot of time to prepare, I quickly gathered any background knowledge I already had, mixed with some internet research. I ended up giving a lecture on the relationship between diabetes and oral care and vice versa. During my talk, I also made reference to the incredible things Dr. McKenzie has done and how the UTech dental school has set their sights on adopting the best standards for dental education in the world. I made it clear that it is also my own personal goal to contribute to that same objective.

Below you will see a picture of myself in between the Minister of Health, Dr. Fenton Ferguson and Dr. Irving MacKenzie, Dean of the UTech School of Dentistry and Jamaica's Chief Dental Officer.  Below that,  one of myself with the President of The University of Technology, Jamaica, Professor the Honourable Errol Morrison. Fig. 2

                       

I look forward to returning to returning next month, in May, to not only continue with the second year grogramme but also to attend and speak at the Jamaica Dental Association Annual meeting in Montego Bay.



Dear Readers: Dr. G can now be found on Twitter. Look for his daily tweets of interesting facts, funny jokes and lots of inspiration. follow @doctorg007       .....license to drill!

Dr. G is Honored With a Distinguished Fellowship!

This past weekend I was back in Kingston Jamaica where I spoke about Endodontic Irrigation at the Rosalie Warpeha Caribbean Institute For Strategic Planning And Research In Oral Health.

I was also  honored with a Distinguished Fellowship from the University Of Technology. Here is a video of me receiving this award. 

It was great to be back to see old friends and faculty as well as being able to see the progression of my students. Things are really improving in Jamaica and I am so proud to be a part of it. Special thanks to Dr. Irving Mackenzie and Dr. Winston Grey for helping to make this all possible. 

The Learning Continues........

I returned to Jamaica at the beginning of April to continue with the didactic portion of the course that I had started in February. Luckily this time I was able to bring with me all the technological equipment that customs had not let through before. It was such a relief that it went smoothly this time around so that we could complete the laboratory section of this course. The first day, Sunday, I spent the majority of the time doing a review of cleaning and shaping the root canal system, as well as obturation using warm vertical condensation of gutta percha. The students were not able to afford to purchase nickel titanium files that are necessary to create the necessary shapes of the root canals, so customs allowed me to bring down a generous, personal supply of the files from my own office in Toronto. The students spent the day doing the laboratory exercises and becoming familiar with all the various techniques that were taught.  Everyone passed the laboratory component with flying colors.

(Lauren writes her final exam...and passes!!)

(Me giving a private tutorial to some students!!)

On Monday Dr. Brynne Reece, who is a visiting dentist enrolled in the endodontic program at the University of Maryland, came down for an externship program at U Tech. I spent one full day “up close and personal” giving her a crash course on how to do endodontics predictably and painlessly. The day wrapped up by performing a live patient demonstration to reinforce the concepts and techniques taught in the morning.

(The students at work on their final exam! )

On Tuesday morning I administered the final exam to the second year dental students. I am happy and proud to report that they all passed with flying colors. I am looking forward to maintaining ongoing communication with the students and faculty to make sure the learning continues in the most efficient way. I will be returning in the fall when this class enters 3^rd year dentistry and they start working with live patients. I will be able to supervise them along with the other faculty members. I can not stress enough how special of an experience this has been for me and how good it feels to be a part of helping Jamaica improve its dental care for those in need.

(Dr. Benjie Cooperband, from Guelph, Ontario, teaching the fine art of Exodontia!!)

Last Day of School: Raising a Glass to a Brighter Future in Jamaica

Today we had an incredible last day of class. Unfortunately, due to a technical customs issue, the main supplies that we needed for treatment did not arrive from Miami. However, we were able to make due with the only supplies we did have available for us to do the root canal treatment in the morning, which were the hand files. In fact, this turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it allowed me to get down to bare bone basics with regards to teaching how to internally sculpt the root canal system. Each and every student not only understood the concepts taught, but were reinforced by actually watching how the root canal automatically was shaped by employing the techniques discussed.

By pushing up our sleeves and actually using the basics, it has created a foundation for more advanced techniques to be used as the year goes on.

A special thanks goes out to Steve Jones from Sybron Endo for the generous donation of equipment and supplies which has saved the University of Technology, Jamaica in excess of $50,000 US!! Also thanks goes out to Alba Campusano from Denca iDental Supply in the Dominican Republic for facilitating the delivery of the Endo Kits for the students.

It was such a great week for the students of the new dental school and I am touched by how grateful they were as the final class ended. For me, as I make my way back home to snowy Toronto, I realize how much of an   incredible learning and rewarding experience this was. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this and I am looking forward to returning to Kingston over the next couple of months to see the students' progress and to continue to empower the future dental students of Jamaica! I thank you for all the support I have received during this adventure and I hope you will continue to follow my journey.

In the above photo from left to right is: Dr. Irving McKenzie, Myself, Alba Campusano form Denca Dental Supply Company, Steve Jones from Sybron Endo and Dr. Winston Grey

Fourth Day of School: Today Endodontics...Tomorrow the Grammys

Monday was a very long session, which included a full day of lectures.  These intensive sessions included discussions on Instrumentation,  Irrigation and Obturation. Luckily the students' interest was held all day and they enjoyed it whole heartedly as did I. There was a lot of information to take in an Dr. Garth Officer, a medical doctor and now a dental student, gave me a tip. He recited to me that "Repetition deepens the impression!" From then on I made sure to constantly repeat and review the material in order for the students to retain the information. This would be helpful for the hands on workshop scheduled for tomorrow. Mnemonics also often help with the retention of material so the students rapped to remember. As you can tell from the picture above the students had a great time as they rapped to Obturation.
I am looking forward to tomorrow's workshop but getting anxious because the equipment that is to be used is being held up in Miami due to some technical issues regarding entering the country. However I am told "don't worry about a thing, cuz every little thing's gonna be alright!"
Stay tuned tomorrow as my jaunt in Jamaica continues.

Third Day of School: Strength in Numbers

We began today at 8 am Island time (9 am). the students accessed teeth all morning long and I wouldn't let them leave until they got it down perfectly and had the chance to attempt each tooth group. Once again they were helpful to each other and the camaraderie was contagious. The microscope you see above was generously donated by Global Microscopes and facilitated by Mr. Steve Newfield from Toronto. Halfway through the morning I was joined by Dr. Wallace and Dr. Gray who took parts of the class for me as it was difficult for me to give all thirty students the personal attention they deserved. 

Picture in the photo to the right is: Dr. Mackenzie, Chief Dental Officer of Jamaica and Acting Dean of the Dental College; Dr. Gray, Regional head of Dental Services in Southern Jamaica and Adjunct Associate Professor, Dr. Wallace; Myself, and Honourable John Junior, Former Minister of Health.
Since the day grew hotter and more humid, class was dismissed before 1 pm. We will reconvene tomorrow in the classroom where Cleaning, Shaping and Obturation lectures will make up most of Day 4 in sunny Jamaica. 

Second Day of School: Teaching Together

After a quick trip back home to work for a few days, I arrived back in Jamaica to continue teaching the endodontics course. The students were prepared and once again anxiously awaiting my return. We started at 8 am, which on island time translates to 8:45 am. This is something that I'm learning to adapt to. We immediately started going through rubber dam and its application then followed it up with tooth morphology and access opening. From there we went straight to clinic.  Unfortunately not all the students had their own rubber dams, clamps, punches or forceps. So as they say, we made lemonade out of lemons by improvising and making due with what was available for us. A quick show of hands let me know only two students had a full complement of supplies and so based on that, we split off into two groups where each of the students had an opportunity to apply rubber dam on their mannequin heads under my supervision. As the morning progressed, it was incredible for me to observe how the students actually became the teachers! They were able to help each other out with appropriate guidance and they had a great time doing it!!

This afternoon we are going to go on a hunt for burs and tomorrow we will start accessing the teeth that they collected over the last week. Stay tuned as this fantastic adventure continues.