Topics at a glance: Art Institute students help UTDB get animated ...2009 Faculty Retreat: Texting, tweeting, talking among the generations...Summer Medical, Dental Education Program ends this week...Foundation of Pierre Fauchard Academy presents scholarship...Melchor earns master’s degree from UH...UTDB alum is president of American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry.....

Dr. Kamal Busaidy (center) and Dr. Arthur Jeske of the Dental Branch went to The Art Institute of Houston in June to see the final presentation of two animated teaching videos produced by Art Institute students, in collaboration with the Dental Branch. Photo by Rhonda Moran.

Art Institute students create
dental teaching videos with UTDB

Senior animation students from The Art Institute of Houston, under Instructor Jonathan Nelson, have created two animated simulations to help second- and third-year dental students at The University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston.

Dental Branch Associate Professor Kamal F. Busaidy, B.D.S., of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, and Professor Arthur H. Jeske, Ph.D., D.M.D., of the Department of Restorative Dentistry, led the collaborative and teaching project. The two dentists provided all the technical information and helped guide the students in providing accurate depictions of how to do an injection of local anesthesia and how to extract a tooth. FULL STORY.

The annual Faculty Retreat, held this year at the United Way Center, focused on new communication technologies in dental education.

2009 Faculty Retreat:
Texting, tweeting, talking among the generations

"'Communication Technologies in Dental Education” was the theme of the 2009 UT Dental Branch Faculty Retreat June 19 at the United Way Center, where seasoned educators gathered to discuss social media, virtual worlds, “Web 2.0” and students of the “Millennial” generation — those born between 1980 and 2000 – including most of the current UTDB student population.

As generations before them were shaped by the Great Depression, World War II, the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal, the Millennial generation (sometimes known as “Generation Y”) has been influenced by the Oklahoma City bombing, Columbine school shootings and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. “Understandably, they are very worried about safety,” said one of the featured speakers, Ray Koeppen, D.D.S.,associate professor and chair of the Department of Prosthodontics. FULL STORY.

SMDEP students Paris Sanders (left) of Fairfield, Ala. and NiaMira Payne of Chicago, Ill. learned about oral exams in the Clinical Simulation Center. Photo by Brian Schnupp.”

Summer Medical, Dental Education Program ends this week

The six-week Summer Medical and Dental Education Program at the UT Dental Branch and Medical School concludes this week. The program brought 80 undergraduate college students to UT to learn about careers in the health professions, including dentistry. A grant from the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation funded the program.

The students lived in dormitories at Rice University, ate with a Hermann Hospital meal ticket and traveled by foot or train to classes in the Texas Medical Center. They attended programs on a variety of science topics, as well as classes on financial management, study skills and the art of communication. Field trips to NASA, several Houston museums and an Astros game were planned, along with a variety of on-campus social activities.

Philip Pierpont, D.D.S., associate dean for student and alumni affairs, directed the dental portion of the program. Dental Branch faculty members Douglas Simmons, D.D.S.; Sudarat Kiat-amnuay, D.D.S.; Veronique Delattre, D.D.S.; and Joe Ontiveros, D.D.S., gave presentations to all 80 scholars to enhance their knowledge about dentistry. Paula O’Neill, Ed.D., associate dean for academic research and professional development at the Dental Branch, was principal investigator for the project.

Foundation of Pierre Fauchard Academy presents scholarship

Dr. Phil Nauert (left) of the Foundation of the Pierre Fauchard Academy presents a scholarship check to third-year dental student Steven Chumbley (center), pictured with Interim Dean John A. Valenza, D.D.S. Photo by Brian Schnupp.

Third-year dental student Steven Chumbley is this year’s recipient of a scholarship from the Foundation of the Pierre Fauchard Academy. The Academy, founded in 1936, was named for French dentist Pierre Fauchard (1678-1761) who is widely regarded as the father of modern dentistry. His ideas, published in his famous book, The Surgeon Dentist, helped identify dentistry as a scientifically based profession separate from general medicine. The Foundation of the Pierre Fauchard Academy was established to provide monetary grants to support projects that will benefit the dental profession and the public it serves. The foundation is funded through donations received from fellows and friends of the Pierre Fauchard Academy and through bequests, donations, planned giving, memorials and tributes, as well as other public and private sources.

Margo Y. Melchor, R.D.H.

Melchor earns master’s degree from UH

Clinical Assistant Professor Margo Y. Melchor, R.D.H., has been awarded a master of education in teaching degree, with emphasis in the health sciences, from The University of Houston. She recently completed a two-year program designed to meet the needs of professionals involved in dental and medical education. The course content emphasized applications in the dental and health science setting. The instructors assigned academic activities the graduate students could use in their professional lives as they explored best practices in teaching, learned to design and conduct research, and investigated the uses of instructional technology in an educational environment.

UTDB alum is president of American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry

William C. “Bill” Berlocher of Corpus Christi has been installed as the new president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. The ceremony took place during the 62nd Annual Session in Honolulu in May. An AAPD member for nearly 30 years, Berlocher is a 1975 graduate of The University of Texas Dental Branch and earned his pediatric dental certificate and a master’s degree at the UT Dental School at San Antonio.

Berlocher is a past president of the Texas Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, past secretary-treasurer of the AAPD, and director and chairman of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. He also served as the director of South Texas Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies Team, and he is a fellow of the American College of Dentists and a diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. He and his wife, Alma, live in Corpus Christi with their three children and one grandchild. His presidential agenda includes promoting the importance of the dental home, advocating for access to care and advancing the field of pediatric dentistry.