Lysha Selvarajah (Second Year) is the Chairperson for the Biomaterials Society and writes: “"A brilliant social event, showing yet again that Biomaterialists know how to work hard and play hard. There may be a limited number of us, but we do know how have a good time!"

 
 

March 2008

No updates on the Blog, I hear you say no more news on Space 41 and the area of ground where my puddle is has been repaired. 

It goes without saying that it has been very busy on the run up to Easter.  The fourth year have had BASHD exams and are now out of hibernation (they have been busy so busy revising they have not been seen for a long time).  Staff have been away at different conferences including Denplan, BSSPD, BASCD and others.

The School also had a quality inspection on the teaching and learning.  This was led by Dr Deborah White and involved many people within the School.

So everyone is looking forward to the Easter break.  There might even be snow over Easter!

It only remains for the School of Dentistry to wish everyone a happy and peaceful Easter. 

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Professor John Davenport writes "I have attached a photo of 3 ex-staff and one current member, plus other halves, all having a very good time recently. Greetings from us all to all of you and thanks for the blog which is a nice way for us to keep in touch with the old place!"

In the picture we have (L to R) John and Liz Davenport, Linda and Jeremy Shaw, Jude and Richard Caddick.

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British Endodontic Society Spring Scientific Meeting
- report by Phil Tomson

Birmingham had a strong representation at this year’s British Endodontic Society Spring Scientific Meeting which was held at the Institute of Civil Engineers in London on Saturday 9th March. The school presented the most posters out of all the UK undergraduate institutions in a broad range of subject areas within the field of Endodontology which included Nick Adams (Dental Education), Stephane Simon (Pulp Biology) and Sara Tabiat-Pour (Ultrasonics). Professor Phillip Lumley concluded his year as the president of the BES by passing on the presidency to Andrew Powell-Cullingford.





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If you thought it was cold here then spare a thought for people living in Helsinki. 

 
 

Your Blogger was in the capital of Finland for the executive meeting of the Association of Dental Education in Europe.  The meeting was held in the Dental School at Helsinki University and it was the first opportunity to see the venue for the ADEE conference which will be held there in 2009.  Finland has had a mild winter but had just experienced a fall of snow as the pictures show.  It will be a good venue for a meeting and it will take place in the warmer time of summer.  The Executive received a presentation from the Council of European Dentists and discussed various future initiatives and activities.  We were also guests of Planmeca and were provided with the opportunity of visiting their factory.

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It is the first Monday in March and this is part of the occasional series of alternative views of the Dental School.  This is Space 41 early on a sunny but cold morning in Birmingham.  This is arguably the most important car park space that is rented by the University.  It has seen many important people use it whilst visiting the School of Dentistry.  The list includes Vice Chancellors, Chief Dental Officers and Presidents of the General Dental Council.  You know you have made it in Dentistry if you have parked your car in Space 41.

February 2008

Welcome to the Blog on the 29th February 2008.  There is not much news about but just had to say something on this special day.  Happy Birthday if today is the day or congratulations if you are doing something special.  To everyone else have a nice day!

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Podcast: Meeting the winners of the Times Higher ICT award...

The School of Dentistry won the JISC sponsored Times Higher Awards - for Outstanding ICT Initiative of the Year.  JISC have released a Podcast where Philip Pothen interviews the team and looks to find out what makes dentistry at Birmingham a winner.

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Friday was another good day at the BDSA conference and there were lectures from Phillip Tomson on ‘Magic MTA’, and Prof Edwina Kidd on “Understanding Caries” both lectures were well received.  After lunch ex-student Justin Glaister gave a talk on “Cosmetic Dentistry, How do we go about it and Who is it for?’” The final lectures of the day were “Seeing is Believing” by  Prof. Philip Lumley and “E-Learning in Dentistry” jointly given by Prof. Damien Walmsley, & Giles Perryer (DDU Teacher of the Year 2007). Then everyone departed (in fancy dress) for Stratford-upon-Avon for a tour of the drinking establishments.  Listening to those that went, it was a great success with everyone having a great time.  The following Saturday included a trade show in the Dental School followed by the BDSA AGM 2008.



However the highlight of the conference was the BDSA Casino Royale Themed Ball which took place at the National Motorcycle Museum. Guests were greeted by the display of a 007 Aston Martin whilst Mr Perryer arrived in the real thing.  There was an ice sculpture of a 007 gun, a Shirley Bassey look-a-like and Casino tables for after dinner entertainment.  The evening was a great success and the Dental Student society must be congratulated on being such fantastic hosts.  Suchi Vaidya and her team were awesome in the attention to detail in their organisation of the whole event.  The School was proud to have Neal Raval as President of the Society.  Well done to everyone concerned!

  

 

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The British Dental Students’ Association conference is in full swing.  Yesterday the conference was opened by Neal C. Raval, BDSA President & Suchi Vaidya, Conference Organiser in the Alexander MacGregor lecture theatre and delegates were welcomed by Professor Philip Lumley, Director and Head of Birmingham University School of Dentistry. The lectures in the afternoon covered many different topics.  The first was on the gory subject of Gun Shot Wounds in the Head and Neck given by Mr Martin Consultant in Maxillofacial Surgery.  Next Dr Prem Shemi from the Academy of Clinical Excellence delivered a highly entertaining lecture on Dentistry as a Business.  Prem made an impressive entrance in his bright orange suit and was in his usual ebullient and flamboyant self.  He caught the mood of the conference and everyone enjoyed his talk. The final talk of the afternoon was by Peter Ward – Chief Executive of the British Dental Association who talked on what does the future hold? This was crystal ball gazing at dentistry and got people thinking.  There then followed speed dating and games in the common room and canteen.  That evening everyone met at "At Around the World in 80 Dishes on Broad Street" for food and talk. 

 
 

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The Dean of Lyon Dental School, Olivier Robin and Gilbert Viguié (Relations Internationales, Lyon University) are visiting Birmingham with a view to setting up an Erasmus agreement between the two Institutions.  They met with the School officers for lunch and were then given a guided tour of the building by Owen Addison and Stephane Simon.  They were entertained at San Carlos restaurant in the evening.  Tomorrow they will visit the University campus and meet with officials at the International Office before returning to Lyon.  Stephane is from Paris 7 and is studying for his PhD as well as teaching on the Special Study Module in Endodontics.  He was around to help with the translation although the Lyon delegation did meet some of our Dental students who have a French Connection.

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It's the birthday season at Birmingham! At a lunch following staff development day, three members of staff were presented with gifts to celebrate their birthdays. The Birmingham Blogger has reached a very special age, and was delighted with his guitar-shaped birthday cake. Roger Mosedale and Donald Spence were the other birthday boys - Philip Lumley, the Head of School, acknowledged the significant contribution that all three make to the School, and staff joined him in wishing them a very happy birthday.

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For all those out there that enjoy our Podcasts, the School has released two new ones.  They are Orthodontics: Podcast. Classification of Malocclusion and Periodontology: Podcast. Classification of Periodontal Diseases.  These written by Emily Hall and Martin Ling including new intro and outro music by our final year student Adam Joy.  Both are also available on our space on iTunes.  Please enjoy and look out for more being released in the coming months.

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The Sheraton Park Lane Hotel was the setting for the BDA/Dentsply Student Clinician Research Programme.  The entry from Birmingham was Sunny Kotecha who presented his work "In vitro study: Comparisons of retentive force and peri-implant load transfer characteristics with magnetic and low-profile anchor type attachments for implant overdentures".  Sunny is shown here with Dr Owen Addison and Shaila Vasant.  The winner was from King's Dental School and Birmingham send their congratulations.  The event was co-sponsored by the BDA and Dentsply and the organisation of the evening was excellent.  There was a large contingent from Birmingham and further pictures of the evening may be found here.

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BDSA Conference 2008

Hi all,
 
I would like to invite you all to the 2008 BDSA Conference, which this year is being held in Birmingham over the 21st - 23rd February 2008. Over the three days, lectures will be given by many distnguished speakers, including, Edwina Kidd, Peter Ward, Tim Martin and Sat Parmar. In the line up, we will also have talks from Professor Lumley and the winners of the THES award, Mr. Perryer and Prof. Walmsley! We would love you to come and show your support to the university!
 
The conference ends with the grand finale BDSA Ball, being held this year at the National Motorcycle Museum. We have invited students and guest speakers from across the country, to get a taste of Birmingham's entertainment! The theme of the ball is Casino Royale, so come dressed your smartest, to this magnificent ball, which every year fails to disappoint!

Arrive on the red carpet, to a martini reception, a display of the some of the featured Bond super cars and bikes, ice sculptures, poker and roulette tables, giant playing cards, and a great singer who will sing some of the classic bond themes, such as 'Diamonds are Forever' and 'Goldeneye' just to add to the Bond spirit! Expect a delicious 4 course meal, complimentary wine, and a string quartet to set the mood.
 
The date of the ball is Saturday 23rd February 2008, and the price of the ticket is £50. We would love to see you there in the midst of many lecturers and clinicians like yourselves who will be coming to the Ball from different schools across the country.
 
If you are interested, please give your cheque and name to myself, Neal Raval, Dr. Hill, or the school office by the  Friday 15th 2008.
 
For more information on the events, please visit www.bdsaconference2008.com, which has an extended itenerary and more information on the lectures taking place.
 
We hope to see you there!
 
Kind Regards
 
Suchita Vaidya

Final Year Dental Student, The University of Birmingham
BDSA Conference Organiser

Neal C Raval
Final Year Dental Student
BDSA President

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The Elective day was held yesterday and the students presented their work to their peers.  Jusdging the event was our local GDP Eddie Crouch who has been active in discussing with the Government the new contract.  He is a very busy man and we were grateful he attended.  As you can see from the programme below the subjects were varied and different.  Everyone presented well and the school is proud of the winners. It was a great day and thanks go to all the judges and students who took part especially the Elective Co-ordintators Dr Paul Cooper, Dr Kirsty Hill, Dr Simon Lea, Dr Will Palin, Dr Mike Hoffman and Dr Owen Addison. 

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Professors Iain Chapple and Damien Walmsley are locked away in a Swiss Monastry.  Yes it is true! Both are taking part in the 6th European workshop on Periodontology.  This was organised by the European Federation Of Periodontology (EFP) and European Academy of Periodontology.  The title of the Workshop is Contemporary Periodontics.  Prof Chapple is on the executive of the EFP.  Professor Walmsley is presenting a systematic review on "Advances in Power Driven Instrumentation" which is part of his research work on ultrasonics.  The conference is being held in a picturesque location called the Charterhouse at Ittingen, in the Canton of Thurgau, Switzerland.  More pictures of the conference may be found here.







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A new month and a new member of staff.  Upen Patel joins the Prosthetic Dentistry unit as Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry.  He has done VT in the Eastern Deanary followed by an SHO position at Ipswich General Hospital.  Welcome Upen and we hope you enjoy your time with us.



January 2008

Some staff were able to get away to far away places. Deborah White and Giles Perryer were relaxing in the sun in Kerala, India.  The picture is really good to remind you of summer on a cold morning in Birmingham.

Damien Walmsley took time out to watch Man city play the Villa (1-1) and then up to the Eastlands stadium to see them take on Liverpool (0-0).  He dragged along Man Utd supporter David Attrill to both games!

The best picture of the New Year is supplied by Phil Tomson who writes

"I hope you have had a nice break. I just thought I would send you this, New Year outside the Rathaus in Vienna at New Year (12.05am). Might be one for the blog. I know you like this sort of stuff! Not easy to take photo’s of fireworks…."

Well done Phil it is a nice photo and looks a great start to 2008.