Dentistry Week: Amazing Dental School Facilities Part 1

Dentistry Week: Amazing Dental School Facilities Part 1

Just finishing high school? Partially finished an undergraduate degree? You’ve got options!

Undergraduate dentistry degrees like the Bachelor of Dental Science and Bachelor of Dental Surgery don’t require the DAT as part of their admissions requirements and allow students direct entry from high school and those with partially or fully completed one or more post-secondary degrees. These programs are generally five years in length.

Here, former OzTREKK students and OzTREKK staff share their thoughts about the amazing dental school facilities!

Charles Stuart University – Bachelor of Dental Science

You will hone your knowledge and develop patient communication skills in Charles Sturt University’s Dental and Oral Health Clinics in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga, which include private and specialist practice areas. You will also observe specialists treating patients via video conference with the assistance of dental tools equipped with cameras.

Charles Sturt is one of our newer partners, so our team hasn’t had the luxury of visiting yet, but this is what one of our students has to say:

“Simulation clinic begins in the second semester of the first year, with clinical practice coming up the next year; small class size; additional assessments are often provided if you fail any material; the cost was cheaper than other Australian universities.” Devon

Griffith University – Bachelor of Dental Health Science / Master of Dentistry

Griffith University has world-class facilities within the new $150-million purpose-built Griffith Health Centre on the Gold Coast Campus. This includes a 96-chair dental clinic, commercial dental and clinical skills laboratories, high-level IT facilities, and research facilities. Get of glimpse of the facilities, or take a virtual tour!

Our team loves the vibe and it’s a struggle to leave every time we visit. Asking them for comments only prompted them requests to our directors to get sent back:

“Awesome campus. Students out playing Hacky Sack, chilling on blankets in the grass, studying under a tree. Very relaxed yet vibrant vibe. Worth noting that Griffith has its own dental clinic. Everything is state of the art, and has a fresh, clean, shiny new feel.” Krista McVeigh

“Smiles. Everywhere. We had a tour through all dental facilities and both faculty and students were in very cheerful moods; it put us at ease. One area that really stood out is the children’s treatment room that was bright and full of fun colours to make the young patients feel comfortable.” Amanda Rollich

“I loved how the Griffith dental facilities had a real dental office open to the public in the same building. We learned that students get to work on real patients at a real dental clinic (with supervision) very early on in the program. The one classroom I saw had all equipment that looked exactly the same as a dental office/dental chair set up. Everyone was close together and the professor moved around to each student and worked with them one on one. It was a great facility for both individual work, but close enough students could collaborate.” Sarah O’Shea

James Cook University – Bachelor of Dental Surgery

JCU’s dentistry establishment was funded by a grant of $52.5 million from the federal government and includes a new building on the Smithfield (Cairns) Campus of JCU with state-of-the-art facilities, including an 80-seat dental simulation laboratory, prosthodontics and science laboratories, and student home-group rooms. Go on a virtual tour of the JCU dental school!

It usually takes a team to remove OzTREKK staff from the premises as they cannot get over the facilities:

“Could not get over being able to look out into rain forests from the clinics.” Chris Nolan

“Before visiting the JCU dentistry facilities I had heard great things and had high expectations. I was not disappointed. The facilities at JCU Cairns blew me away. My first thoughts were that it looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. It is incredibly modern. Everything is clean, shiny, and white, with lots of natural light coming through the large windows that surrounding building. There was so much space! It seemed like there were endless stations, most of which were occupied by a student and patient, with a supervisor nearby. Although it was a large facility, it didn’t seem cold. It felt welcoming and you could see people working together throughout. Really and truly, I was impressed, and it made me incredibly proud to be able to send students into this program.” Shannon Tilston

“The clinic is breathtaking! Patients are surrounded by expansive windows with views of the Cairns rain forest. It is very serene and instills a certain peacefulness, which I bet is especially important for both students and patients. While we were touring the facilities, one of the academic leads was approached to help a student with a patient. He immediately put on his scrubs and left us (politely!) to assist. You could feel that the attention and one-on-one care for students was important to the academic!” Amanda Rollich

University of Queensland – Bachelor of Dental Science

The $134-million facility at the University of Queensland School of Dentistry is recognized nationally and internationally for providing leading-edge dental education and for its contributions to dental research, which have been independently rated as “above world class.”

The school is within the UQ Oral Health Centre (UQOHC), located on the UQ Herston campus in Brisbane, alongside the UQ Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR) and Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital. Have a look at the UQ School of Dentistry!

What does our team say about UQ dentistry?

“The training rooms and clinic are stunning. It’s a mix of warm, welcoming wood accents and fresh clean spaces.” Amanda Rollich

“I love the building. It’s just very my style… it’s modern, has beautiful indoor / outdoor space and is brand spankin’ new. Shiny and all that stuff.” Jaime Notman

“Award winning, purpose-built building. They really thought of everything—even left-handed students in their clinical chairs. It’s like Architectural Digest meets dental training from the future.” Chris Nolan

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Would you like more information about Australian dental schools? Contact OzTREKK’s dentistry admissions officer at dentistry@oztrekk.com or call toll free in Canada at 1-866-698-7355.