ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Technology is transforming dental education at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry and is helping students prepare for a profession that is becoming more technology driven.

In the School’s Dr. Roy Roberts Preclinical Laboratory, or the “sim lab” as it’s called, first-year students get a fast start to their dental education…beginning, literally, their first day of class.

Blending Innovation and Legacy Media

The Internet, World Wide Web, DVDs, CD-ROMs bring dental education directly to each student’s desktop. So too do legacy media such as 35mm slides and videotapes that have been digitized. Computers at every lab bench provide students easy access to information and resources as they learn about important concepts of patient care.

Each of the 110 workstations in the sim lab has a dual view monitor that allows students to see information from all these sources as well as to watch instructor demonstrations of dental procedures ranging from preparing teeth for restoration to crown preparation. To emphasize an important point, instructors can use small video cameras to zoom in or zoom out, or rotate the demonstration 360 degrees.

“Contemporary and Innovative” Education

“The move to digital records and digital imaging is part of a major trend that is gaining momentum in general dentistry and dental specialties,” says Dr. Stephen Stefanac, associate dean for patient services. “The steps we have taken, and those planned for the future, are part of a comprehensive plan designed to ensure that the education of our students is both contemporary and innovative.”

The School’s innovate use of technology has impressed countless alumni who return to Ann Arbor each fall for Homecoming Weekend.

Dr. Charles McGary of Tucson, who earned his dental degree from U-M in 1957, toured the clinic with former classmates during the group’s Emeritus Reunion and offered some important perspective on how technology is enhancing dental education at Michigan.

"With video cameras and monitors, students get to see, close-up, what an instructor is doing. But in the 1950s, we had 94 guys who would crowd around an instructor, which made it difficult for those in the back to see what was going on," he said. "Some of the guys in front would observe and then turn around to their classmates in the back and describe what the instructor was doing."

A generous gift from the late Dr. Roberts, who earned his dental degree from U-M during the Great Depression in 1932, and his wife, Natalie, enabled the School to completely renovate what previous U-M dental students knew as the West Preclinic. The 3,300 square foot clinic reopened and was renamed in 2004.