2023 Probe #2

PROBE

VOLUME 2

JULY, 2023

2ND QUARTER

HIGHLIGHTS

DENT V POD BADMINTON TABLE TENNIS COMP ICE SKATING JOURNAL CLUB HBF MARATHON

P R O B E

CONTENTS 11 Ice Skating

14 HBF Run For A Reason

15 UDSS Education: Journal Club

3 Message from UDSS Media 5 President's Address 6 2023 Committee 7 2023 Committee (Cont.)

8 2023 Committee (Cont.)

11 Ice Skating 12 UDSS Sport 13 UDSS Sport (Cont.)

14 HBF Run for A Reason 15 UDSS Education

Dear readers, A very warm welcome to the second instalment of Probe 2023.

Since the release of the last edition of Probe, we have collectively experienced the stress of exams, the breath of short-but-sweet inter semester break and the bitter-sweet excitement of returning to the Dental School for yet another semester. Over the break, we have used our precious time off to…rejuvenate and spend time with friends and family.

We know for a fact that the UDSS 2023 Committee has been busy at work promoting the social, educational and extra-curricular aspects of life during our time here at the UWA Dental School. From Journal Club, Ice Skating and new merchandise, activities at UDSS have been in full swing, and we hope this edition of Probe has done a good job of capturing the colour and diversity of UDSS thus far this year.

As always, if you have any ideas or want to be involved in UDSS social media or Probe, we would appreciate hearing your thoughts. We appreciate your ongoing support to Probe and hope you enjoy flicking through this new edition.

Jewel Ajimon and Kavindi Nawarathne Harischandrage UDSS Media Reps

Hello readers and welcome to the second issue of the Probe magazine for 2023! Before you read on, I highly recommend a warm beverage and grabbing a biscuit to enjoy before we share with you the amazing experiences by our busy dental students throughout semester 1 throughout this edition. Semester 1 has continued to fare smoothly into the academic year and I’m yet again impressed with the amount of extracurricular activities that our students dedicate themselves to in addition to their heavy study/workloads. Here at the Oral Health Centre of Western Australia, we are as driven to succeed in the clinic as much as we are to serving our communities out of it; to both metropolitan and regional/remote communities!

This has been reflected in the recent visits to communities as far north and remote as Balgo in the Kimberly regions as well as far south as Ravensthorpe in the Wheatbelt region. In particular, I would like to recognise the generous volunteering efforts from Carly Pintaudi (DMD3) Edric Kwok (DMD2) and Monisha Arora (DMD1) who generously dedicated 2 days out of their midyear break to pioneer the first visit to the Eastern Great Southern region of Ravensthorpe to expand our Healthy Mouths Brighter Smiles program to remote primary school kids. The community at large welcomed the team with open arms and hope to continue receiving visits by dental students well into the future!

Furthermore, I would also like to congratulate all of the Kimberly dental team volunteer students and those who joined the newly established rural/regional placements throughout Western Australia. These efforts continue to bridge the much needed healthcare gap that exists beyond the metropolitan services currently available to our disadvantaged communities.

As you read on, you will become more familiar of the variety of opportunities that are self-created and student-led to ensure our students have a memorable student experience while also giving back to our communities. These are promising signs of a new generation of dental professionals that are just as dedicated to academic excellence as well as making a positive difference to our societies.

Jim Rae UDSS President 2023

2023 Committee President Jim Rae

Secretary Josephine Santoso

Vice President Peter Nguyen

Treasurer Laurence Vu

ADSA Rep Jadelynn Hiew

Immediate Past President Thomas Mahoney

Webmaster Kaylee Wong

Research Rep Ismail Siddiqui

2023 Committee DMD 1 Rep Kavin Maharaj

DMD 1 Rep Monisha Arora

DMD 2 Rep Jovan Loh

DMD 2 Rep Shreyash Nigam

DMD 3 Rep Carly Pintaudi

DMD 4 Rep Joshua Ding

DMD 3 Rep Liam Meinema

DMD 4 Rep Christopher Lee

2023 Committee Media Rep Kavindi Nawarathne Harischandrage

Media Rep Jewel Ajimon

Education Rep Benny Sheriff

Education Rep Amy Zhang

Sports Rep Reeta Joe

Sports Rep Ashton Foo

Junior Social Rep Shivangi Sharma

Senior Social Rep Belinda Luu

Junior Social Rep Becca Ngyuen

Not Pictured: Ben Lundberg (Senior Social Rep)

The first semester of 2023 was an absolute blast for us when it came to sports—full of non-stop fun, excitement, and unforgettable moments. We started with our 2 netball teams competing in the UWA social sports. Both teams had outstanding performances and enjoyed great success in their respective competitions. We can't wait to see what the social sports teams can offer us in the upcoming semester. Additionally, we ran our yearly badminton match against podiatry students, which dentistry won convincingly. With more than 40 players, it was the biggest badminton match yet! We were extremely proud of our badminton players since they gave it their all for more than two hours. Table tennis was the other competition we had, and there were both singles and doubles divisions.

Participants eagerly gathered, paddles in hand, to engage in exhilarating matches whiles their peers cheered them on. The competition was intense, especially with the presence of the returning champion, Michael Karam. He remains undefeated in the singles tournament. Kavin Maharaj and Shaun Yap took home the big win in the double’s competition. Our sports events are free, and prizes will be awarded to the winners! We hope to see more of you guys join us in this coming semester. The HBF Run, a renowned running event promoting health and fitness, provided an excellent opportunity for dental students to participate in a great cause.

Reeta Joe and Ashton Foo UDSS Sports Representative 2023

Table Tennis Social Sports Badminton

The dental students, known for their unwavering dedication to oral health and well-being, embraced the HBF Run as a chance to extend their passion for making a positive impact beyond the confines of their profession, as they raised money for lifeline WA by taking part. It was a well anticipated event as it was the first time it has been organised since COVID-19.

The Dentistry Society members, driven by an unwavering resolve, charged forward, overcoming fatigue with each stride. Fuelled by the cheers of their peers and their own inner fire, they pushed through the demanding course, crossing the finish line as symbols of resilience and determination. Our ice-skating event marked the conclusion of the semester, and it was great to see so many of our students having fun after such a challenging semester. With graceful movements and joyful camaraderie, the dentistry cohorts showcased their adventurous spirit, building lasting bonds and fostering a sense of unity. We were very proud of you guys for enjoying and participating the events we provided and will be bringing you more events in this coming semester. Good luck with your studies!

HBF Run For a Reason The HBF Run For A Reason was held on Sunday 21st May on a cold morning with a persistent threat of rain overhead. With the event kicking off with the half marathon at 6:45am, others followed by pounding the pavement in the 12km and 4km distances. In between the periods of rain, I’m sure all runners enjoyed a beautiful morning of running for a good cause.

Congratulations to Kavin Maharaj, Matilda Baker and Meg Micallef who all completed the half marathon as a part of the UDSS team!

This year, the UDSS was fundraising for Lifeline WA. Thanks to our generous donors we raised a total of $629 to help Lifeline WA answer the next call, text or chat message from someone who is struggling or experiencing crisis. If you or someone you know is struggling, Lifeline can be called on 13 11 14.

Thomas Mahoney

HBF

RUN FOR A REASON

U

u d cati E S S o n D

On April 4, we were honoured to have the lovely Dr Amanda Phoon-Nguyen present a UDSS Journal Club about the investigation and management of Bruxism. It was fascinating to learn about how to identify bruxism in a patient, some of the potential causes of bruxism and differential diagnoses. As Dr Phoon-Nguyen wisely put, “bruxism is a spectrum of behaviours”, not a diagnosis in and of itself.

Patients who display signs of bruxism require a thorough diagnostic workup including detailing of their medical history, medications, alcohol and cigarette smoking behaviours, recreational drug use, psychiatric conditions, sleep disorders and psychosocial factors. An interesting point of discussion was the influence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in the management of bruxism and the use of “STOP BANG”, OSA 50 and the Epworth Sleepiness Score to evaluate whether a patient might need a sleep study. I think many of us students would identify as at a risk for OSA, just purely due to our Epworth sleepiness levels, thanks to dental school! Many thanks to Dr Phoon-Nguyen for presenting! Stay tuned for more updates regarding the next UDSS Journal Club!

Benny Sheriff and Amy Zhang Your friendly neighbourhood Education Reps

Sponsors

Get in touch! @udssuwa UDSS - University Dental Students' Society UWA Dental Students Society http://www.udss.online 17 Monash Ave, Nedlands, WA 6009