#griffith dentistry

Griffith dental students to receive more practical experience

Griffith University provides high-quality education to improve health outcomes for local communities. As such, the university is increasing the clinic’s provision of affordable and accessible dental care at the Gold Coast campus with the launch of a state-of-the-art dental clinic expansion, which means dental students will have more opportunity to put their theory into practice.

What this means for Griffith dental students The new clinic delivers cost-effective dental treatment and care is overseen by registered dental practitioners, and Griffith dental students working in the clinic will obtain essential skills and confidence by working closely with Griffith’s qualified oral health professionals. The initiative will expand the provision of essential practical experience for fourth- and fifth-year dental students with on-campus, supervised placement and training.

How to make the most of “Winter” break in Australia

My name is Brittani and I study at Griffith University Dental School. If you are thinking of coming to Queensland for your schooling (whenever borders open!), then allow me to convince you why you should!

Queensland is a beautiful state with a million things to see and do, one of which is the trendy beach town, Noosa. Considering the average winter temperature in Noosa is about 20–22 Celsius, I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to spend your semester break anywhere else.

So, here’s my mini road trip to this beautiful place!

Day 1: Sunshine Coast, Noosa National Park, Noosa Leaving from Brisbane at the wonderful time of 5:30 a.m. was not as fun as I anticipated it might be—but it was worth it! Not only did I get to watch the sunrise as we drove, but weeks before I set out on my mini road trip, I came across a little café that sells the most delicious looking muffins ever, located in Sunshine Coast. Naturally, I decided I had to have one—even though they open at 7 a.m., are an hour and half from Brisbane, and sell out very quickly. Hence my early wake-up time! Their muffin flavours change daily and I was praying that the day I went, it would be a delicious flavor. I was not disappointed. Behold, the beauty of my butterscotch brownie raspberry muffin from The Velo Project Café.

After this delicious pitstop, I headed north up to Noosa Heads. First stop: Noosa National Park! This is a must-do for anyone visiting Noosa. The scenic nature walk has breathtaking views of glittering ocean, white sand beaches, and beautiful rock formations. A few kilometers in, you can stop by the famous Noosa fairy pools! These are small pools located in the rock formations that have become very popular for their picturesque waters. Between the fairy pools, beaches, and nature hiking paths, you can spend the entire day at Noosa National Park and feel like you didn’t see it all. 10/10 would recommend.

Once the sun goes down, it gets dark very quickly. This is the perfect time to have dinner on Hastings Street, Noosa’s main drag! Filled with tons of restaurants and cafes, clothing boutiques, gelaterias, and hotels, this street is always full of life. All the trees are lit up at nighttime as well, making it a beautiful evening activity!

Day 2: Whales, Laguna Lookout I had pre-booked an excursion for this day: Swimming with humpback whales! I can’t believe that’s even a thing, but it is! Unfortunately, I didn’t get to swim with the whales due to various circumstances (like the whales displaying aggressive behaviour that day), but I did get to see some beautiful humpbacks breaching off the coast of Mooloolaba (about a 30-minute drive from Noosa) and it was an unforgettable experience. Also, unfortunately, I did not manage to get any photos of these giant whales because I apparently am not fast enough with my camera… but I highly recommend this trip for anyone wanting a bit of an adventure!

After a long day of driving and seafaring, I thought it would be nice to wind down by watching the sunset. A popular place to do this is Laguna Lookout. You lookout over the waters of Noosa to see the sun set behind the mountains in the background. It was beautiful!

Day 3: Noosa Botanical Gardens, Beaches, Tinbeerwah I love picnics, so of course I had to find a good picnic spot to attend while in Noosa. I came across the Noosa Botanical Gardens located on Lake Macdonald, complete with a Greek-style amphitheater that looked like the perfect place for a picnic. And it was! I went in the morning around 9 a.m. and the sun was glistening off the lake. The amphitheater was empty and all you could hear was the birds chirping. I enjoyed my croissants and jam by the lake, and I don’t think life gets much better than that!

After that, the sun was starting to warm up, so I thought the obvious choice was to go to the beach. There are many beaches to choose from including Noosa Main Beach, Tea Tree Bay, and Alexandria Bay. If you want a beach close by with lots of amenities and restaurants, Noosa Main Beach is your best bet (although it can get a bit busy). Tea Tree Bay is quieter and more secluded, but even more beautiful in my opinion than Noosa Main Beach. You do have to do a short hike into the national park to get there though, but it is free! Alexandria Bay is much further to walk to than Tea Tree Bay, but it has very calm waters and is also beautiful. There really isn’t a bad beach you can go to in Noosa! The only thing that could have made the beaches better here is a nice cold Iced Capp from Tim Hortons.

Due to the previous night’s beautiful sunset, I wanted to see another. I had overheard some locals talking about Tinbeerwah lookout as being the place to go to watch it, so that’s where I headed! A little further off the main drag than Laguna Lookout, Tinbeerwah lookout is situated atop a mountain in Noosa which means a short hike is included in your sunset viewing! But the view is worth it. You get a complete 360-degree view of Noosa and its surrounding land and you can watch the sunset uninterrupted by any trees or hills.

So that pretty much sums up my trip! There were other things I wanted to do in Noosa such as strawberry picking and the Eumundi markets, but unfortunately due to COVID-19, these attractions were still closed.

That really just means I have to go back! If this hasn’t convinced you to come to Queensland I really am not sure what will… but, enjoy the summer while it lasts in Canada!

Follow Brittani on Instagram!

Studying at Griffith Dental School

Griffith Dental School has state-of-the-art, special-purpose dental facilities and modern laboratories, including a commercial dental lab in a new $150-million purpose-built Griffith Health Centre.

As a Griffith dentistry student, you’ll have the opportunity to undertake community placements in state schools, rural and remote communities and in Indigenous and aged care. Completing Griffith’s Bachelor of Dental Health Science and the two-year Master of Dentistry program provides the education and skills you need to apply for registration as a dentist!

Program: Bachelor of Dental Health Science/Master of Dentistry Location: Gold Coast, Queensland Duration: 3 years & 2 years

Entry Requirements for the Griffith University Dentistry Program

Entry into Griffith Dental School’s Bachelor of Dental Health Science (and Master of Dentistry) program is directly from high school. Students may also apply to the program during or at the completion of their undergraduate degree.

1. From high school

Average of 94+% from top Grade 12 subjects required. Grade 12 (or equivalent) English is required. Biological science, chemistry, physics, and maths B are strongly recommended as they are considered assumed knowledge.

2. From university

Griffith dentistry researcher Karan Gulati (Photo credit: Griffith University)

Griffith dentistry researcher leads nano-engineered dental implants study

Our outstanding Australian dental schools are at it again.

The complications and high costs associated with dental implants could be a thing of the past as Griffith dentistry research aims to reduce the associated risks of infection using cutting-edge nanotechnology.

The study is being led by post-doctoral researcher Dr Karan Gulati from the Griffith School of Dentistry and Oral Health/Menzies Health Institute Queensland, who is presenting his research at this week’s Gold Coast Health and Medical Research Conference at the QT Hotel, Surfers Paradise (Dec. 1–2).

Hundreds of thousands of Australians need dental implants each year but the risks of infection and poor stability can be high, particularly if the patient has a condition such as osteoporosis or diabetes, which may compromise the dental healing process.

However early stage nanotechnology techniques in animal studies are now showing promise in allowing faster integration of an implant in order to prevent bacteria from setting in.

Research at Griffith School of Dentistry

Students of Griffith Dentistry have access to world-class facilities within the new $150 million purpose-built Griffith Health Centre on the Gold Coast Campus. These include a 96-chair dental clinic, commercial dental and clinical skills laboratories, high-level IT facilities, and research facilities. Along with teaching the dentists of the future, the Griffith School of Dentistry seeks to

enhance the quality, relevance and satisfaction of the educational experience for all our staff and students;

contribute to the development of a research culture across the university, and the professions in the wider practicing community;

become a recognised first port of call for industrial partners seeking research collaborations to advance health care and oral sciences.

Five active Research Groups have been developed within the school:

The Dental Education Research Action Group

As the first new dental school in Australasia for 57 years the school regards it as a moral responsibility to be active in education research. The school has a unique opportunity to be avant garde in interprofessionalism (the major conceptual innovation of the School), in curriculum structure (a major opportunity provided by Griffith’s modular course structure across all disciplines), in pedagogy and evaluation. This research group has set as a first priority the creation of a comprehensive database of demography, psychosocial profile, knowledge attitudes and behaviour toward a range of health and social issues for all its student cohorts. This is an essential baseline against which to measure trends over time and the impact of their educational experiences.

The Centre of Excellence in Oral, Head, Neck and Thyroid Diseases

This is a major collaboration between the Griffith School of Dentistry and Oral Health, School of Medicine and Queensland Health Pathology Services. This aims to create the most modern and expert service, teaching and research centre in Australasia and the Pacific which has a high disease burden, especially of upper aero-digestive tract cancers.

The founding members of the Group have international reputations in the epidemiology, prevention, and pathology of these diseases. They are well connected to, and respected by, major relevant international scientific organisations, including the World Health Organisation. The members are regular contributors to the Head and Neck Oncology Multidisciplinary Team meetings at Princess Alexandra Hospital in collaboration with Professor William Coman and are developing laboratory collaborations with other QHPS laboratories, with UQ, QIMR, Mater Hospital and elsewhere at present. Activity ranges from the specialist consultancy service in oral medicine within the School of Dentistry and Oral Health, innovative diagnostic services, including telepathology to remote and off-shore locations, field epidemiology and prevention and laboratory research on diagnostic and prognostic markers, including modern molecular science.

The Osseointegrated Implant Research Group

The replacement of missing hard tissues in the human by or through metallic fixtures which are not only biocompatible but also integrate with bone, is a major surgical advance: whilst applicable to many parts of the body the science is led, globally, by dental implantology and often dental scientists. There is enormous commercial and professional activity which is tending to run ahead of the science. This highly expert group with skills ranging from cell and tissue biology, computing and engineering science, microbiology and surgical expertise and clinical trials and are already addressing questions of implant design in a collaboration between the School of Dentistry and Oral Health and the School of Engineering.

Public Health Research: The National Institute for Rural, Remote and Indigenous Oral Health

This research group has existing projects with local communities, with modest grant funding already, and the collaboration of Queensland Health, dealing with oral health promotion, and a joint PhD student between the School of Dentistry and Oral Health and Public Health at Griffith University on indigenous oral health needs and the barriers to care. A major proposal is being considered by industry for the creation of the NIRROH Australia wide. Discussions are in progress with the World Health Organisation, through the Western Pacific Regional Office, for World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre Status.

The Oral Microbiology and Immunology Group

On Monday, Sept. 28, 2015 in Toronto and Monday, Oct. 5, 2015 in Vancouver, Griffith Medical School Dean Prof Simon Broadley, Griffith Dental School Dean Prof Ward Massey will be holding information sessions for anyone interested in learning more about studying medicine and dentistry at Griffith University.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Griffith MD and the Griffith dentistry program are welcome to attend this free event!

At the information sessions, the Griffith University Deans will speak about their respective faculties and about the medicine and dentistry programs offered. The Deans will be available for a question-and-answer period following the sessions. This is a great opportunity for future students to find out more about

Griffith University;

the medical school and dental school;

admissions requirements;

program structure;

application deadlines;

accreditation;

life on campus;

and much more!

Toronto

Date: Monday, Sept. 28, 2015 Time: 6 – 8 p.m. Location: Sheraton Toronto Centre

Vancouver

Date: Monday, Oct. 5, 2015 Time: 6 – 8 p.m. Location: Sheraton Wall Centre, Granville Room

RSVP at

On Monday, Sept. 28, 2015 in Toronto and Monday, Oct. 5, 2015 in Vancouver, Griffith Medical School Dean Prof Simon Broadley, Griffith Dental School Dean Prof Ward Massey will be holding information sessions for anyone interested in learning more about studying medicine and dentistry at Griffith University.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Griffith MD and the Griffith dentistry program are welcome to attend this free event!

At the information sessions, the Griffith University Deans will speak about their respective faculties and about the medicine and dentistry programs offered. The Deans will be available for a question-and-answer period following the sessions. This is a great opportunity for future students to find out more about

Griffith University;

the medical school and dental school;

admissions requirements;

program structure;

application deadlines;

accreditation;

life on campus;

and much more!

Toronto

Date: Monday, Sept. 28, 2015 Time: 6 – 8 p.m. Location: Sheraton Toronto Centre

Vancouver

Date: Monday, Oct. 5, 2015 Time: 6 – 8 p.m. Location: Sheraton Wall Centre, Granville Room

RSVP at