Charlie Steward shares his experience so far as a dental therapy student, including the new skills he has learned.
My acceptance letter arrived within one week of starting at the University of Suffolk. In what little time I had, I quit my job, applied for student finance, and moved to Ipswich to begin my education.
Our induction day took place on 5 February. Here, I was able to meet my new peers, lecturers and teaching facilities. As it was the first cohort of the degree, a celebration was arranged. Non-alcoholic prosecco and cake were served for all 24 students and the faculty to enjoy.
This important day left me with a feeling of extreme gratitude to all who have supported me on my journey to this point, and proud of all my hard work that got me there.
Alongside receiving class information and timetables, we were also introduced to the first two modules. Foundations of professional practice looked at academic writing and establishing ethical concepts into our thoughts and decisions. The introduction to clinical practice explored infection control, anatomical features of the head and neck region as well as some clinical skills, ergonomics, periodontal assessments and extra-oral examinations.
New experiences
In March, a media day was held celebrating us as the first cohort of the course at the university. As the class representative, it was my responsibility to introduce the course and its impact on the NHS through a radio interview, newspaper article and a feature on the local televised news.
It was an honour to speak on behalf of the course, and I found it insightful as I had never appeared in public print before.
During the spring break, I returned to my role as a dental nurse. It was pretty strange going back to my previous position, but being around amazing colleagues and patients always makes you realise how appreciated you are.
In this time, I also was featured in an article authored by Cat Edney which explored what dental therapists look for when searching for a new role.
Making connections
Exam week came shortly after. This consisted of group presentations and clinical skills tests. In the presentation, my group was tasked with investigating a solution to the ethical dilemma from the perspective of a hygienist for increasing the levels of fluoride in the local community’s water supply.
Our next term built on the knowledge from our introduction to clinical practice module, when we learnt to identify and use a variety of periodontal instruments as well as the piezo and cavitron. We were also taught to place fissure sealants and PRR (protective restorative resin).
On 18 May, a small group of my course attended the dental show in Birmingham. A week before the event, we test drove a minibus – going from a small Suzuki to a minibus was quite a wild experience.
This was an extremely important networking event to connect with other professionals while being recognised as students of the recently established dental school at Suffolk.
Reflections and looking to the future
Towards the end of the semester and a week before our exams took place, myself and another student took part in a podcast for the university. During the talk, we reflected on our time at the university so far and gave our perspective for future students who will either be joining us in the next year or who are looking to study at the university.
One question posed to us was: ‘We know it’s early days, but do you have any plans for your dissertation?’
I’ve always been personally interested in sustainability, and from this I’ve been researching into different chemicals used in healthcare environments. As a result, I have been experimenting with a hypochlorous acid generator for the past six months.
Although it isn’t yet widely used in the UK, I would like to promote its use by publishing more research into its benefits and use cases. Understanding its multi-purpose use could eliminate the need for a wide variety of cleaning products which we currently rely on.
Most recently, I volunteered at the university by helping out with an open day in July. Here, I met future students starting their hygiene and therapy education in September.
I also gave a public demonstration to the candidates on how to perform a PRR (protective restorative resin). This was my first time doing a public demonstration of a newly learned skill.
It was stressful under 35 sets of eyes, but as a result of my training and experiences, it was a great success.
Connect with Charlie on Instagram @studentdentaltherapist.
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