Updates Regarding The AIMST School Of Dentistry

It’s been awhile since I last blogged about what’s been up in the school of dentistry at AIMST University. 🙂

As the (self proclaimed)unofficial spokesperson and camerawoman for the AIMST Bachelor Of Dental Surgery programme, I have been neglecting my (self proclaimed) duties for the past few months. Hehe, actually a few other coursemates’ blogs pop up on the first page too when you google ‘AIMST dentistry’. And we always get queries from interested students and possibly future juniors. If AIMST practiced a system that rewards students who refer new students to the university, according to some speculated amount, I’d be able to pay off half of my rentals for the whole five years man. But I enjoy answering questions from interested students, so keep them coming!

The academic year is drawing to an end for Year 2 and Year 1. They are currently in the midst of their finals and us, the Year 3 seniors, headed up to Cameron Highlands(pictures later!) on the first day of their exams. Some of us even sent photos of strawberries to the juniors via MMS. What assholes we are.

While they were trying to complete the dental hospital (it’s up and running! yay!), us Year 3 students were sent away for a 5 weeks break and we came back to sit for our dentistry paper and that was the last paper for our third year. Since we were supposed to do our clinicals in our third year and it’s already July(the academic year ends at the end of July), we are to stay back for another two weeks or so to work in the clinics. We’ve only started taking each others’ medical history and exploring each others’ mouth. So it was our first ever hands on experience as a dentist! We’re getting there, we’re getting there. It has also been said that there are a few hundred geriatric patients from an old folk’s home not far away from our uni who will be coming to get their dentures done. How exciting!

We’ll be opened to the public and our rates will be akin to the government clinics (RM50 for dentures, RM1 for extraction, RM0.50 for scaling, RM1 for filling etc etc). Your trip to Sungai Petani would not be pointless because Penang is just 45 minutes away! 😀

It’s hard to imagine that three out of my five years are over already. Pretty soon it will be year four and time will just whiz by. We’re really trying to make the most out of it – like planning for a Langkawi trip in October(hopefully Ah Thong will take on the duty of organizing) and a Bangkok trip in April next year(my job to organize coz I’m the one who is most excited to go. SHOPPING AND AMAZING VAGINA SKILLS WOOHOO!).

As Nien, Brenda, Zhu Zen and myself were chilling at the sofas at the library during Monday’s lunch break, a group of students approached us.

“Hello! Are you all dental students?” asked one of them.

Turns out that they are our future Batch 4 juniors who are supposed to go around to look for as many seniors’ signatures as possible. Sixteen of them are currently doing their pre-dentistry course so that they can complete their LAN and University papers before the actual term starts. As I signed their papers, I asked, “So how old are you?” <– my favourite question when talking to juniors, much to Nien’s chagrin.

Most of them are about 19 years old! I must stop deluding myself that I’m this young little girl with many many people who are older than me in university. As Cze-Yin said that day, we are one of the oldest people in the university already. All the medic seniors are now in Alor Setar for their clinicals and the oldest medic batch are Year 3 students as well.

19 years old. That’s two years younger than me! 19 is like, Mervyn’s age. And I always think of him as a kid. it’s hard to imagine people my brother’s age coming into university already. I know 19 is a normal age to attend university, I’m just not used to this whole growing old thing.

Which is why the Not So Little Girl In A Reverie blog title is so appropriate. Sigh.

Though there was an embarrassing incident where I was playing my Nintendo DS while waiting for the lecture room to open when two future juniors approached me for my signature. So much for looking every bit the super senior. Sigh. In my defense, the rest of the classmates are on a game console craze. During our half hour breaks, the two Nintendo DS(mine and Cze-Yin’s) gets passed around for many rounds of Mario Kart and Jimmy, Maxis and Brenda’s PSPs are fully utilized as well. And at one of the guys’ place, there is a PS2 marathon going on. That’s how matured we are!

We’d like to do some orientation thing for the new juniors. Like last year we played some less-traumatizing games with them at night after their messy orientation session with the Year 2 seniors. What can we do this year as their Year 4 seniors? Think, Jolene, think. Lie Yuen suggested that the Year 3 and 4 should get together and do something for them. And the following year, the Year3,4 and 5 seniors do it together. Year 2 will always be in charge of that messy afternoon affair.

Ok, enough rambling. Here are photos from the school of dentistry:

Dr. Brindha briefing us in one of the tutorial room before our clinical session.

Wave your hand there and the big wooden door slides open.

Group 3.3 posing outside the dental clinic.

Everything is so pristine and neat and bright and clean! I love how the sunlight floods the entire room, making it a very conducive environment to work in.

And the view is magnificent as always.

Each dental chair costs RM80k++. Each of us probably sponsored two chairs and a half.

To maximize infection control efforts, switches are at foot level.

Dr. Brindha teaches us how to focus the light before turning it to the patient.

Ah Thong practices adjusting the light and Maxis is the nonreactive patient.

LOL I love this shot.

This is where we view our periapical radiographs.

Strange Jimmy keeps his film packet in his lab coat pocket all the time. I’ll ask him tomorrow if he even takes it out when he puts his lab coat into the washing machine.

The clinic bay.

Chwan Horng is my current partner for the clinics. This means he is the first person in my career whose mouth that I’ve peered into and vice versa!

The futuristic looking spittoon. It’s fun! Just press two buttons on the panel, and the chair comes up as the water flows out.

The beautiful view, also, not a good idea to keep the blinds up for skirt-wearing patients.

It was my turn to be the patient.

Group 3.3 photo with staff from the faculty of dentistry.
Top l-r: Encik Mansur, Maxis, Chwan Horng, Our dean – Prof. Smales, Mr. Ravi, Dr. Brindha, Magesh, Encik Abdullah, Ah Thong, Jimmy.
Bottom l-r: Cze-Yin, Me, Narjit
When arranging us for the photo, Prof. Smales said, “Miss Jolene! You sit in the middle since you’re the biggest!” and Dr. Brindha pats me sympathetically. Huhuhuhuhu.. even my dean acknowledges my size.

And one more with Dr. Karthik.

Magesh and Narjit.

Myself and Chwan Horng. The chair is really really comfortable.

While trying to adjust the light.

The highspeed handpiece is soooooo sleek and sexy. It’s got a matte finishing and is of the right weight. You know, like how a gadget is sexy with that right amount of heaviness. It also helps that it came in very pretty packaging. (Rocks to be the pioneer at times as we get to unwrap these babies!). Black tissue wrapper, black matte cardboard box.. very chic.

Extremely ergonomic as well!

Jimmy and Cze-Yin looking like they are posing for the bds brochure.

Jimmy who is full of crap!

Something to commemorate my first time in the clinic.

From this angle, Jimmy looks like Ah Sim, our beloved simulators. With the fairer rubber lower face, he does look like the dental simulator. Hoho.

Narjit and I after class.

In the next class, it was time to learn how to take a patient’s medical history and here I am, trying to palpate Chwan Horng’s lymph nodes. The first step is to take all the demographics, medical history, social history, family history, dental history, medication history etc before proceeding with the extra oral examination. The extra oral examination includes the assessment of the symmetry of the face. Any asymmetry could indicate improper occlusion which will lead to dental problems. Then palpate the masseter to see if it is tender. Thirdly, we are to place our hands on the temporal mandibular joints (the ball like thingie that you will feel when you put your fingers at the point where your ears and jaw meets.) to see if there are any abnormalities when opening and closing the mouth. Lastly, palpate the lymph nodes along the lower border of the mandible/lower jaw to see if there are any swellings. After that, we would then proceed to the intra oral examinations. My first time with a mouth mirror and a probe in a real mouth! ZOMG.

When doing intra oral examination, great importance is placed on proper infection control. Which means that stupid piece of hair hanging down should have been pinned up. Face mask and gloves are a mask.

ignore my posture here. I was trying to avoid the lamp from blocking my face as I pose for this photo. I had fun exploring Chwan Horng’s mouth. It’s actually very therapeutic to do something like that, I found myself humming along like how a real dentist usually does! I even did something all dentists do: I made too much of small talk while examining.

Jimmy taking Cze-Yin’s medical history.

Taken while I was being examined by Chwan Horng. Maxis the dental nurse peered in as well as his partner, Ah Thong, just had a wisdom tooth extracted over the weekend and couldn’t open his mouth.

Dr. Jimmy Lie examining his patient. Fuyoh, like real!

Today, we bumped into Encik Mansur and Encik Abdullah, our dental technology lecturers. They were raving about the new dental tech lab and we demanded for a guided tour since we didn’t get to officiate it (the Year 2 juniors were the first to use the lab.) Isn’t it beautiful?! Back at the old campus, it was only a long table with minimal necessities and now they have magnifying mirrors, personal bunsen burners, suction to remove all the acrylic shavings(as they trim their dentures) and personal trays to put their completed work on. But no need to scream about injustice as we will be utilizing the lab too in our fourth year. We have to make dentures for the geriatric patients. Yay!

I’ll blame my ugly dentures from Year 2 because I was lacking this back then. Hmph.

This is only half the size of the lab. We were told that there are plans to open a Dental Technology degree or diploma course soon. The estimated fees would be about RM60k for diploma and if they decide to set up a Dental Tech degree course, it would come up to RM120k.

Our junior, Yee Wooi’s beautiful dentures.

So nice right. 🙁 Sigh.

Ahh, these are really old photos. I took this when the simulator lab was equipped with LCD screens for every single place. Our lecturer will demonstrate on a model up front and we would see it up close and personal, like totally in your face! Very awesome.

This is a really wide window sill where I used to put my bags and my junks before starting work on the simulator, till the dental sim lab assistant told me off and made me put everything on the floor. But there are lockers outside the lab now! Dr. Karthik even told me that we will have much bigger lockers(like in American high schools) soon. I asked him if I can put up photos and a mirror inside, and he was like, “Anything you want.” I is one happy girl.

This is the view of the girls’ hostel from the dental simulator lab.

And with this, I conclude my update on AIMST’s School Of Dentistry.