High Tech workshop UQ students

High Tech Laser recently sponsored a one-day workshop for final year dentistry students at the University of Queensland. The students had the opportunity to use a complete range of hard and soft tissue lasers and evaluate for themselves the benefits of the technology.

The workshop was presented by Professor Laurie Walsh, Dean of the UQ Dental School and the students received information in a format similar to the "Minimally-invasive Dentistry" workshops that High Tech Laser conducts for the entire dental industry Australia-wide. As with High Tech Laser's upcoming courses, existing laser dentists were also on hand to answer questions and give attendees a perspective on how the lasers perform in practice.

The workshop involved a morning session where the students learnt about different laser wavelengths used in dentistry and their interaction characteristics with various soft and hard tissues. In the afternoon, they had the opportunity to use a range of equipment, from hard-tissue cutting lasers to soft-tissue procedures, such as non-invasive clinical disinfection for caries and endodontics with PAD (Photo-activated disinfection) lasers.

High Tech Laser Managing Director, Matt Moncrieff, said High Tech Laser was always keen to contribute to improving the education of the industry and these courses allowed the company to assist the learning process for the students by putting them in a practical setting, and it ensured they had a balanced range of knowledge when they entered the workforce.

"Once the students get out into workplace, the day to day workload is not going to allow them many opportunities to update themselves with the changes in research and technology that occur every year," Mr Moncrieff said. "In these one-day workshops, the students can get a good balance of the latest research and also have plenty of time to get in and try the equipment in both hard and soft tissue.

"In this way, the students know the theory and when they get into a clinical setting, they also have a knowledge base of practical applications to draw from and they are going to know if there is easier and more effective ways to achieve the result that they want for the patient."