Christopher Black - Dental Student
Christopher Black, Dental Student
A 10 week spell working in a dental outreach centre has given dental student Christopher Black the opportunity to gain more experience than he ever imagined. It has also delivered real benefits to patients who have been given treatments they might have had to wait a long time for, or may not have been able to afford.
NES has helped to establish a series of such centres across Scotland which are helping to train the dentists of tomorrow by treating the patients of today.
"It was an amazing experience for a final year dental student," said Christopher, who worked in one of the latest centres at Langlees in Falkirk. "Outreach centres allow you to benefit from a real life experience - it was just like being a general dental practitioner and I learned so much."
While dental hospitals provide students with experience of treating patients, outreach centres offer so much more, said Christopher. "By having this block of time in the outreach centre, you get your own patient list and can take a treatment plan right through from start to finish.
"The way this is funded we are able to gain experience in everything. If a patient needs a bridge or a crown, we are able to give it. I was doing everything from basic check ups to denture work, root canal treatment and crowns."
He also said it provides real benefits for patients, many of whom are elderly. "This is meeting a real need and it is very satisfying knowing the amount of good you are doing."
