Exploring Further Into The Frontiers Of Dentistry
The unanimous agreement of most experts on dentists who want to further explore the frontiers in dentistry is that they should be well accustomed with the current latest technological advancements, be more focused on excelling and that their reason for it should not be monetary.
Professor Morenike Ukpong, Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State and a keynote speaker at the Unibadan Association of Dental Students 40th Health week symposium with its theme being, “Exploring the frontiers in Dentistry: Home and Abroad”, stated that moving abroad to expand ones horizons should not be monetary.
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She stated that, “If you cannot expand your horizons here, you cannot do it outside. So, that decision about going shouldn’t be because you failed here but because you truly want more than you can find here. If it is about making money, you can make money here. If your travelling is to make money, if you cannot make it her, you are not likely to make money there.”
Dr. Adesola Odofin, the chairman of the Nigerian Dental Association, Oyo State Branch, says that funding is a challenge when it came to exploring the frontiers in Dentistry in Nigeria. According to her, if dentists were able to overcome the high cost of equipment for dental care and are able practice within their professional limits, gaining enough clients to access dental care to break even also remained a challenge.
In her opening speech, Professor Yinka Omigbodun, from the Provost College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, states that many students think that being a dentist means that employment will be easily attainable. She mentions that dental training needs to be revised to ensure that dentists are able explore new frontiers both abroad and at home.
In her words, “training has always been fashioned towards colonial masters’ pattern to train people to work for the government which is now saturated and slow in employing people. The training of the student dentists to enable them to diversify is urgent. It must incorporate other aspects of dentistry such as logistics and supply chain management for dental equipment and materials.”
