News

Around 80 dentistry students gathered together on the evening of a rainy November 3 to glean wisdom from a panel of practising dentists about ethical and professional issues and dilemmas.

The Student Professional and Ethics Association (SPEA) in Dentistry hosted the event, in affiliation with the Dentistry Mentorship Program.  Dalhousie is just one of three Canadian dental schools to have a SPEA chapter.

Amanda Suh (DDS4), who organized the panel discussion together with fellow student Thomas Raddall, describes the evening as a huge success, with students and panel members talking and examining cases for well over an hour.

The panel members included Nova Scotia Dental Board registrar Dr. Martin Gillis, endodontist Dr. Wayne Maillet, periodontist Dr. Terrie Logue, general dentist Dr. Rick Raftus, and oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. James Brady.

Communication and complaints

“The main theme of the evening was patient communication and record keeping,” says Suh. Dr. Maillet stressed the importance of telling the patient what you are doing and always respecting another dentist’s work. Dr. Raftus talked about the importance of good communication when making referrals and also explained that good record keeping is vital, particularly when there are complaints.  

“Our students are all taught how to take good notes and maintain detailed patient charts,” says Raftus. “I tell them that it’s important that they continue to do that when they leave dental school and go into practice. It’s the best way to protect themselves and the public, too.”

Dr. Gillis and Dr. Raftus outlined how the complaints and discipline boards work and explained how complaints are processed. “Most new dentists do not understand what the Nova Scotia Dental Board is and what it does,” says Raftus. “So if the board contacts them, they worry. I think it helps if new dentists understand the board and its role. It is all about protecting the public interest.”

Suh says that students particularly enjoyed the opportunity to talk about the ethical dilemmas posed by the real-life cases that Dr. Logue and Dr. Brady presented for discussion, including carrying out extractions under sedation and dealing with tricky referrals.

“We examine a lot of ethical situations in our textbooks,” says Suh, “but it was so different hearing from practising dentists about real-life situations. The students really appreciated their insights and the opportunity to ask questions.”

“This was a great event with a topic that interested many students,” says Raftus. “I’d like to see more of these panel discussions.” Another SPEA event is being planned for the spring. Thomas Raddall will be the senior representative for SPEA at Dalhousie next year.