Dental Science Newsletter 2015-16 Trinity College Dublin

ISSUE

newsletter

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2015/16 Inside...

Retiring Academics - Pg 2

TRINITY SCHOOL OF

Dental Science

Around the World with our Alumni - Pg 3 Alumni Evening with George Hook - Pg 4 Awards - Pg 6 Reflections - Pg 8

Following the theme of last year’s alumni event A Look Forward, A Look Back I would like to introduce myself to those of you who do not already know me and to give a brief overview of my vision for the Dublin University Dental Hospital in 2016.

Professor Brian O’Connell, Dean of Dental Science

As the new Dean and someone who has been a dentist for a long time, I hope to provide both students and staff with the opportunity to continue to grow and develop in their chosen career and to remind everyone that dentistry is not only a great career but is also a very rewarding profession.

Teaching at Dublin University Dental Hospital is becoming more student-centred and there is an ever increasing amount of work to cover. The students and staff involved with some of the newer programmes are incredibly enthusiastic and the dental team now comprises dental nurses, hygienists, clinical dental technologists and orthodontic therapists. Integrating these disciplines is a major part of our training. This integrated approach equips students with the skills required to meet the challenges and demands of dental practice today and into the future. There are now more opportunities than ever before for students to travel abroad and continue to develop their careers through specialist training.

The next few years will see the introduction of a new dental act, as well as a new oral health policy. This will inevitably mean changes to our curriculum and more integration with primary care and increased teamwork.

This year’s newsletter celebrates the many achievements of our alumni, staff and students. It also highlights the depth and variety of research activities in the School. We hope you enjoy reading it and that it encourages you to stay in touch and possibly share your story in a future issue. I believe that today’s graduates are better equipped than ever before and their prospects are very good.

Professor Brian O’Connell Brian is a professor of Restorative Dentistry and Director of Postgraduate Prosthodontics at Trinity College Dublin.

Brian received his undergraduate degree from NUI Cork and postgraduate training in Prosthodontics and Biochemistry at the Eastman Dental Centre, New York.

Brian is a fellow of the RCSI and a diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics.

Newsletter 2015 2014 – 2016 2015

Retiring Academics Discover Research Dublin @ DDUH Discover Research Dublin is a joint TCD/ RCSI event to raise the profile of research activities. The DDUH hosted “The Oral Microbiome” in September 2015 an interactive event in the Hospital Foyer, where members of the public could take plaque from their teeth and view the microbes under the microscope. This was accompanied by oral hygiene and dietary advice from nursing and hygiene students.

Dental Science students also presented their research on the oral microbiome.

Dr Frank Quinn

Dr Frank Quinn retired on 26 March 2015.

As predicted, it has proved impossible to replace Frank and whilst there are other staff involved in covering Frank’s many roles, a substantive appointment has yet to be made.

Professor June Nunn

At the end of October 2015, Professor June Nunn retired as both Dean and Professor/Consultant in Special Care Dentistry. It is anticipated that a replacement appointment in this specialty will be made in the Summer of 2016.

Sadly, Dr Alan Kelly, whose appointment was shared with the Medical School, died in September 2015 after a long illness. The School have been fortunate to be able to find a replacement and to fund the position full-time from a generous bequest from one of our alumni, Dr Jones. Dr Erica DonnellySwift has joined the School as a Biostatistician and has already made her mark on grant applications and research proposals.

Dr Jacinta McLoughlin

Dr Jacinta McLoughlin retired from her post as Associate Professor in Public Dental Health, at the end of July 2015. After an appointment in the DDUH spanning nearly two decades, Dr McLoughlin will be especially remembered by many students as the Director of Teaching and Learning. In September, Dr Brett Duane joined the DDUH as Associate Professor in Public Dental Health.

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Fluoridation research makes the NY Times An article by Professor Brian O’Connell and co-authors was the subject of an opinion piece by Donald G. McNeil Jr. in the New York Times in March 2015, “Fluoridated Water Helps Older Adults Keep Teeth”. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/31/ health/fluoridated-water-helps-olderadults-keep-teeth-study-says.html?_r=0

DDUH launches Intelligent Mouthguard to Record our Daily Grind Professor Brian O’Connell and Dr Padraig McAuliffe from the DDUH, along with their collaborators in Trinity’s institute for nanotechnology, CRANN and the Trinity Centre for Bioengineering have launched a new medical device (SmartSplint) that measures tooth grinding during sleep. SmartSplint will be able to deliver up-to-date, personalised information about bruxism to a patient’s phone to help them to understand their condition.

Detailed data is also relayed to the care provider who can customise treatment for the individual. The project has raised over €700,000 in grant funding to date from EI, SFI and HRB. This has resulted in the formation of a spin-out company, SelfSense Technologies, which has secured an initial €100k investment from NDRC.

SCHOOL OF

Dental Science

Around the World with our Alumni

Charlotte McCarra, Class of 2014

From Singapore to Baltimore Charlotte McCarra “In October 2014 I travelled to Singapore - to be honest, it was never my first choice to move so far from home. I had just graduated a few months earlier, vocational training in England was no longer an option and I wasn’t very sure what path to take. In September 2014 I learned that two of my close friends were travelling to Singapore to work in private practice and an opportunity arose from this. Working in Singapore is not for the faint hearted. It is a country that prides itself on its strong work ethic and this is very much applicable to the dental field where a six day working week is the norm.

Dentistry in Singapore is very progressive and while working I had the opportunity to experience this and get an insight into new treatment approaches. Whilst there I made the most of Singapore’s location and travelled to parts of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, but I eventually decided to return to Ireland to be closer to my family. There is no place like home and having lived abroad for over a year and a half I have come to realise just how special our country is.”

Nawaf Pervez, Class of 2013

Nawaf Pervez “I am about to embark upon my final year of training in the US, as Chief Resident in Oral and Maxillofacial surgery at the world renowned University of Maryland Medical Center and R Adam Shock Trauma hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. My daily routine includes waking up before dawn, thankfully my wife and three children have become accustomed to my early mornings so I can see them before I head off for rounds. During morning rounds, we visit all of our patients that are admitted or have been consulted by our service, which includes cancer patients, infants and children with craniofacial defects and victims of facial trauma. Every consult from the previous 24 hours is reviewed to ensure it was triaged or treated appropriately.

Preliminary surgical plans are formulated in conjunction with staff present and junior residents are frequently the target of focused questions regarding management as part of their on-going education.

Our typical day in the operating room can include a resection of an oral cancer and reconstructing the defect with a vascularised free flap from the lower leg, performing a facial reconstruction for a genetic abnormality, removing a salivary gland tumor for benign disease, fixing a pan-facial fracture caused by a highway motor vehicle accident, and managing challenging gunshot trauma.

I end up coming home around 6-7pm and thankfully my children (now 9,7, and 5 years respectively) are still delighted to see me when I arrive. My wife, family, close friends have been very supportive of my career — without them it would have been impossible.

I strongly believe my time and training at Trinity College provided me with the clinical knowledge, acumen and training that is on a par with many prestigious institutions in the US. I look upon my time spent at the Dublin Dental Hospital very fondly, building great relationships and lasting friendships with phenomenal staff and students alike My transition from Ireland to the US was difficult. I longed for Irish bread, butter, tea and Taytos. My wife and children miss our friends, neighbours, and their school, St. Conleth’s College. For me the medical system was completely different, trying to get familiar with a completely alien system took time. But what helped give me an edge over my counterparts was my medical and dental training that I underwent in Ireland.

Oral & Maxillofacial surgery is a hugely rewarding and exciting specialty that combines head and neck oncology, craniofacial reconstruction and dento-alveolar surgery into one. It has been quite a journey so far. Exciting, daunting, intimidating, tiring and humbling.”

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Newsletter 2015 2014 – 2016 2015

Alumni Evening Alumni Evening with George Hook The Alumni Evening which took place on in October 2015 was our third annual alumni event. The evening was well attended by our ever-growing alumni community and the School of Dental Science and Dublin Dental Hospital were delighted to welcome George Hook as the special guest speaker. Famous as an Irish broadcaster, journalist, author and rugby pundit, George gave a very individual and highly entertaining talk on Work, Life and All That. The evening included presentations by Drs Abigail Moore and Eimear Norton on “Contemporary Approaches to Management of Dental Trauma”, the presentation of the of the annual teaching awards ceremony, and concluded with a wine reception. To ensure you are kept informed of future events, please email alumni@dental.tcd.ie

Dr Paul Dowling (Chair, Alumni Committee) , Dr Eilis DeLap, Dr Claire Healy & Dr Harry Kearns

George Hook

Dr Eimear Norton and Dr Abigail Moore – Contemporary Approaches to Management of Dental Trauma

Dental School Perpetual Teaching Award 2015 Winner: Professor David Ryan Professor David Ryan was educated at that great rugby academy (aka St Mary’s) that won the Schools Cup against Clongowes in 1994, but sadly he was a bit too old to compete for a place! He qualified in Dentistry from UCD in 1971 and in Medicine from UCD in 1977 and in 1981 he obtained the Diploma in Child Health from UCD in 1981 and Fellowships from RCSI in both Oral Surgery and General Surgery in 1983. After completing higher training in London 1988, Professor Ryan was appointed as Consultant Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon to both the Dental and Mater Hospitals in Dublin 1989 and he retired in 2011. During his consultant tenure he also served on the Dental Council for 10 years and the Faculty of Dentistry for 20 years. He married his wife Mary in 1982 and interrupted the honeymoon by studying for FRCSI on a beach in Crete — this has not been forgotten! After 30 years with the Dental Hospital and its exceptional staff and

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Professor David Ryan receiving his award from Professor Leo Stassen

students he retired in 2011, but couldn’t resist the temptation to stay a bit longer. It is with the greatest pleasure that the School of Dental

Science and Dublin Dental University Hospital presented Professor David Ryan with the Dental School Perpetual Teaching Award, 2015.

SCHOOL OF

Dental Science

Ena Brooks Outstanding Part-Time Teacher Award 2015 Winner: Dr Conor McAlister Dr Conor McAlister receiving his award from Dr Denise MacCarthy

Dr Conor McAlister graduated from Trinity College in 1979 and worked in England until 1984 in general practice. While there he spent a year at the Eastman Institute, where he gained a Masters degree in Conservative Dentistry. On his return to Ireland, he joined his father, John, in his practice in Walkinstown, Dublin. John had set up the practice in 1954 and retired in 2005. Conor continues to practice there and has lectured at the Dublin Dental School since 1985. Conor was President of the Irish Dental

Professor Derry Shanley and Professor Brian O’Connell - Deans past and present enjoying the Alumni Evening

Association in 2011/2012 and mouth cancer awareness was the central focus of his year as president. He continues to serve on the committee of Mouth, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Ireland (MHNCAI). He is married to Gervaise Corbet and together they have four children.

It is with the greatest pleasure that the School of Dental Science and Dublin Dental University Hospital presented Dr Conor McAlister with the Ena Brooks Outstanding Part-Time Teacher Award 2015.

Dr Conor McAlister

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Newsletter 2015 2014 – 2016 2015

Awards Faculty of Health Sciences Research Initiatives Fund

In 2015-16 the Faculty of Health Sciences launched its inaugural Research Initiatives Fund, which is specifically designed to support new and innovative research that will enhance Trinity College’s and the Faculty of Health Sciences’ ability to compete for large-scale, interdisciplinary, single- and multi-investigator extramural awards.

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Dr Anna Shore received an award from this new fund for her project “Tracking the Emergence and Spread of a Community – associated MRSA Clone in Irish Hospitals Using Whole-genome Sequencing.”

Congratulations to Dr Anna Shore, one of the recipients of the Faculty of Health Sciences Research Initiative Awards

Professor David Coleman is elected Member of the Royal Irish Academy

The Rodney Dockrell Bursary Fund for Staff Professional Development

Professor David Coleman, Professor and Chair of Oral and Applied Microbiology at the Dublin Dental University Hospital and School’s Microbiology Research Unit, was elected as a Member of the Royal Irish Academy in March 2015, in recognition of his outstanding academic achievements.

David is the first academic staff member of the Dublin Dental University Hospital and School to be awarded this honour. The Royal Irish Academy was founded in 1785 for the advancement of learning and scholarship in Ireland and one of its principal roles is to identify and recognise Ireland’s world-class researchers.

Professor David Coleman winner of the Perpetual Teaching Award

The Dockrell Bursary was awarded to Daniel Mulcare to support his travel as part of an MSc in maxillofacial prosthetic rehabilitation.

Mr Mulcare is the Dental Laboratory Manager in DDUH and this degree is aimed at developing an understanding of, and advanced skills in, the treatment of patients who require prosthetic facial rehabilitation.

Daniel Mulcare, Dental Laboratory Manager

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SCHOOL OF

Dental Science

Obituaries

(L-R): Gerry O’Meara, Dinah O’Meara, Brendan Joyce, Michael Maguire, Oola Maguire and John McAlister.

John McAlister John McAlister came from Athlone to Dublin in 1947 to study dentistry and graduated BDS from UCD in 1952. Among his classmates and lifelong friends were Brendan Joyce, Michael Collins and the late Michael Maguire and Philip Galligan. He worked in Gloucester and in Ballymena before setting up a practice in Walkinstown in 1954. John worked for 50 years in practice before retirement in 2004. In the late 1950’s and early 60’s he was a part-time staff member at the Dental Hospital. During his long career, he served on various committees and as Honorary Secretary of the Irish Dental Association. He was elected to the Dental Council in 1985 and served for two terms. In his second term, he was chairman of the Fitness to Practice Committee. He was also a member of the Board of the Dublin Dental Hospital. John married Nuala O’Dowd in 1955 and they had five children, two of whom (Conor -1979 and Triona -1983) followed him into the dental profession. His granddaughter Aisling Cant (2015) is currently a House Officer in the Dental Hospital.

Known as Johnny to his family and friends, he lived life to the full despite failing eyesight

Professor Norman P. Butler

in his latter years. A man of varied interests, he attended and enjoyed many alumni events over the years. He died on 6 June 2015 - coincidentally his 60th wedding anniversary.

He returned to Cork where he was appointed Professor of Dental Surgery at the University.

In 1964, Professor Butler was appointed Professor/Consultant in Conservative Dentistry at The Dublin Dental Hospital.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.

Norman was a confident man with a commanding presence. He spoke with eloquence and was never at loss for a word. This may account for the large number of committees and representative bodies he served on. During his professional career he was Dean, Faculty of Dentistry at the RCSI; President Irish Dental Association; Chairman, Specialist Advisory Committee on Community Dental Health as well as some twenty other similar committees or Office held.

Professor Norman P. Butler Professor Norman P. Butler recently deceased, was Professor of Conservative Dentistry at the University Dental School and Hospital Dublin, 1964-1989.

Professor Butler studied Dentistry at University College Cork, obtaining his dental degree in 1956. Following graduation, Professor Butler travelled to London to The Eastman Dental Clinic and The Royal Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead, for post graduate training.

Professor Butler obtained his Fellowship of The Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1958, a Masters in Dental Surgery from UCC in 1959 and a Foundation Fellowship from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1964.

Professor Butler spent four years in Saudi Arabia when he left the Dental School; he was Professor at the King Abdulla University, and Chief of Dental Surgery at The Armed Forces Hospital.

Away from Dentistry his sporting activities were innumerable in his youth, but later in life were “reduced to communicating with nature while attempting to play golf.”

Dr Joseph Creavin

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Reflections “In the career that we have chosen, we are so often consumed by the urgent. Involvement in the Alumni Association has afforded me a welcome opportunity to engage in the important things such as sharing time with friends, having fun and most significantly, availing the opportunity to say thank you. In many cases, this expression of gratitude comes long after when it ought to have been said, but significantly, it is never too late. Those who taught all of us, often gave way beyond the call of duty in helping us along our journey and it is gratifying to take the opportunity to say thanks. This year’s recipients of the Dental School Perpetual Teaching Award, Professors Dave Ryan and Conor McAllister, are shining examples of inspirational teachers and mentors and it was our pleasure to acknowledge their contributions.

On behalf of all alumni, I would like to extend my gratitude to all involved in the current Dublin Dental University Hospital for accommodating and welcoming our Alumni Association. In particular I would like to acknowledge the enormous contribution made by Professor June Nunn in enthusiastically promoting and supporting alumni. I wish her all the best in her retirement and I also congratulate Professor Brian O’Connell on his appointment to Dean and wish him every success in his tenure.

Finally, I would invite all suggestions regarding future nominations for awards.

I am looking forward to our alumni evening next autumn and hope that as many as possible will make the effort to attend I am certain it will be enjoyed by all.”

George Hook and Paul Dowling, Alumni Evening 2015

Paul Dowling Chair, DU Alumni Committee paul@dowlingortho.com

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