CONTENTS

Seeing the Face of Poverty

Mission Cambodia

A Word From The Head

News in Brief

Rural Dental Program

From the Museum

Letters to the Editors

Profiles

Seeing theFace ofPoverty

By Dr Omar Breik

Class of 2006

After reading an article on the internet

during my 4th year of the Bachelor of

Dental Science entitled: ‘Cancrum Oris

among Nigerian Children’, I became

fascinated by third world dental

diseases. In cooperation with the writer

of the article, Dr Adeola Sunday Davis,

I organised a trip to Nigeria. I arrived

at the Ahmadu Bello University

Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) in Zaria on

the 10th of December 2006. ABUTH is

a relatively new hospital, built as a

referral centre for all neighbouring

villages and towns. The maxillofacial

unit is the referral centre for all

oro-facial swellings, pain, trauma and

malignancies.

Zaria is a poverty stricken city, with apopulation of approximately 40,000,of whom an estimated 60% are HIVpositive. There are no propersanitation facilities, and the electricityis not reliable. Within the doctors’

quarters where I stayed, we hadrunning water for only 1 hour a dayand electricity was often absent. Theerratic electrical supply means thatstreet lights are suddenly switchedoff. Drinking water is for the wealthyand had to be bought either in bottles(which is expensive) or in plasticsachets. Most of the populationconsumes water directly from wells.

Caries is rampant. Many people saythat there is little caries in Africa, butthey are mistaken. Many necessaryfood products contain significantsugar. Bread is gouged in sugar, milk isprovided in powder form with addedsugar, common drinks are Coca ColaTM

and other soft drinks, because theycan survive not being refrigerated forlong periods of time. There is verylittle knowledge in the communityabout dental disease and oralhygiene. A significant number ofpatients presented with grosslycarious abscessed teeth requiring fullclearances. Due to the shortage ofdentists in the community, peoplewith facial swellings or abscessedteeth go to a “chemist” who willattempt to remove the tooth withunsterilised instruments. By the timethese patients present to the hospital,they have full blown facial abscesses,or mediastinal spread of the abscess,

or necrotising fasciitis. The mortalityrate of patients with dental abscessesis depressingly high.

Due to the congestion in the streetsduring the day, and the lack of electriclighting in the streets in the night,there was a high incidence of severemaxillofacial trauma. There are noplates for the rigid internal fixation ofmidfacial fractures as they are tooexpensive for the hospital topurchase, and so intermaxillaryfixation for 6 weeks is necessary. An18 year old girl who presented to theunit had been walking for 2 days toget to the hospital and was severelyanemic and dehydrated. Shesustained a bilateral Le Fort III,bilateral Le Fort II, Palatal split, leftand right zygomatic complexfractures, nasal complex fracture anda mandibular parasymphysealfracture. We rehydrated her with IV5% dextrose solution, and prescribediron supplements and antibiotics untilshe had a PCV > 30% and then openreduction was performed and she wasplaced in IMF for 6 weeks.

Continued on next page...

8 2007

Pictured Top: Dr Breik and Dr Adeola Sunday Davis.

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Continued from page 1...

Benign and malignant tumours arecommon presenting complaints inABUTH. The incidence ofAmeloblastoma is very high. At thetime of presentation, they are largelesions which have already causedsignificant facial deformity anddisplaced the teeth labially andbuccally. Although well known riskfactors for SCC are not prevalent inthe community, the incidence ofadvanced SCC’s in patients at a youngage is high. This may be due to acommon source of caffeine andeuphoria, which is a local nut calledthe kola nut, which is chewed formultiple hours a day from a youngage.

I was able to learn and participate inthe management of children withcancrum oris. Cancrum oris is adebilitating oro-facial infectiousdisease which is almost restricted inits incidence now to West and sub-saharan Africa. It is believed to be aprogression from ANUG to themucosal surfaces of the cheek and lip,then rapidly perforates to anexternally visible gangrenous lesion.The infection is believed to bepolymicrobial, but bacteria such asFusobacterium necrophorum andPrevotella intermedia have beencommonly isolated from theselesions. Also, cancrum oris is believedto occur in children with proteinenergy deficiency and usually afterinfection with malaria or measles. It isa condition that can be controlled ifpresented early, however most ofthese patients are only brought in formedical attention at an advancedstage. Management involves oralantibiotics, debridement of necrotictissue, nutritional rehabilitation andfuture facial reconstruction. A 3 yearold boy who presented for treatmentwith this bilateral lesiondemonstrated the typicalpresentation of cancrum oris, which isa foul-smelling oral discharge, blue-black discolouration of the affectedskin and extensive destruction of softand hard tissue. The whole upper lip

and the left cheek was gangrenousand the lower lip on the left was alsobeginning to be destroyed. This childwas also anemic, had a recent bout ofmeasles before the cancrum orisappeared, and did not present againfor treatment as his family wereunable to afford the antibiotics. Nowonder cancrum oris is also known as‘the face of poverty.’

Travelling to Nigeria was a veryvaluable experience. Not just for theexperience in dentistry and oral andmaxillofacial surgery, but also tofurther understand the effects ofpoverty. It gives you a greaterunderstanding of patientmanagement and makes youappreciate all the facilities we havehere in Australia. I recommend such atrip to any clinician interested inexpanding their clinical horizons.

Editor’s Note: Dental professionals interested in

viewing images of the conditions described in

Dr Briek’s article can contact him by e-mail:

omar.breik@gmail.com

This article was kindly reproduced with the

permission from the Australian Dental Association

Victorian Branch.

Pictured above: The Kola Nut

Mission – tobring smiles toyoungCambodians

Australian and New Zealand dentists are

helping fight the rampant caries among

Cambodian children. They are doing

this by teaching a group of Cambodian

dentists who are engaging in a

postgraduate diploma in paediatric

dentistry.

Two ADAVB members – Dr Karen Kanand Dr Margarita Silva – late last yeartook part in the paediatric dentistry -training program. They lectured andprovided hands-on demonstrations atPhnom Penh’s Faculty of Dentistry tofour students. This was Dr Kan’ssecond voluntary visit to Cambodiaand Dr Silva’s first trip.

Their visit was coordinated by NewZealand paediatric dentist Dr CallumDurward, who has been running theprogram for some years. Now living inCambodia, he relies on volunteers tohelp with the program. Dr Silvaassisted Dr Durward during hisMasters program in paediatricdentistry at the University ofMelbourne in the 1980s. Dr Kan hadmet Dr Durward at various paediatricdentistry conferences.

The two Melbourne dentists arrivedin Cambodia with four suitcases ofequipment and dental consumables –they are indebted to the companiesthat provided these goods andSingapore Airlines for granting extrabaggage allowance. The hard workthen began.

Their days were long – from morningto night - but very rewarding.Overcoming the heat and humidity,insufficiently equipped and oldersurgery facilities, cultural differences,bureaucratic red tape, and the slowprocess of translation, the memberswere gratified to know that the skillsand experience they were passing onwould help fight the country’s highprevalence of oral health problems –

particularly dental caries andabscesses, especially among children.

They worked in the five-chairpaediatric dental clinic, equipped byan American non-governmentorganisation with donations fromoverseas dental companies helping tokeep it running. Drs Kan and Silvawere confronted with an array ofchallenges – often having noalternative but extraction. This clinicmainly caters for children from poorfamilies as well as Phnom Penh’sorphanages.

Dr Kan said that children fromorphanages sometimes posed aproblem, as many never had medicalor dental records. For both dentists,the body weight of some patientsmade the administration ofanaesthetics challenging.

Dr Silva said that diet, especiallyprocessed foods and sugar-ladenedmeals, confectionery and drinks -were partly responsible for the highincidence of dental caries in children.She said that it was ironic that peoplewho had endured the Khmer Rougeregime generally had better teeththan today’s Cambodian children.“Teachers are not well paid andsupplement their incomes by sellingsweets to students,” Dr Silva said.

Dr Durward said that the CambodianGovernment was taking steps toteach children oral health. He noted:“To its credit, the Ministry of Health isengaged in several oral healthpromotion projects including schoolpreventive programs, investigatingsalt fluoridation, and promotingaffordable fluoride toothpastes.However the unmet treatment needsof most Cambodian children is ofgreat concern, and the paediatricdentistry training will go some waytowards addressing this problem”.

Both Dr Kan and Dr Silva agreed thatthe rewards for their brief time inCambodia were immense They bothfelt that they were professionallymaking a small donation to astruggling nation by simply helpingto improve the oral health of a fewcitizens and aiding in the training of

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Cambodia’s dentists who treatchildren.

“Putting smiles on the little kids’ faceswas the biggest reward,” Dr Kan said.

Dr Silva and Dr Kan would like toacknowledge the followingindividuals and companies whogenerously donated dentalconsumables, equipment andeducational literature to the people ofCambodia: SDI, 3M ESPE Australia,Dentsply, Henry Schein Halas, GC,Gunz, Kodak Australia, Colgate OralCare, Oral B, Chemtronics BiomedicalEngineering Australia, CaseyPharmacy, Chesterville Day Hospital,Australian and New Zealand Societyof Paediatric Dentistry, ProfessorLouise Brearley Messer, Dr DavidManton, Dr Christopher Olsen and Dr John Sheahan.

Members interested in taking part inthis program should contactDr Durward - c.durwood@clear.net.nz

This article was kindly reproduced with the

permission from the Australian Dental Association

Victorian Branch.

Dr Karen Kan is a specialist pediatricdentist who graduated from TheUniversity of Melbourne for both herundergraduate and postgraduatedegrees. She also holds the specialstream fellowship in pediatricdentistry from the RACDS. Shelectures and provides clinical teachingin undergraduate Pediatric, Dentistryin the school.

Dr Margarita Silva is a specialistpediatric dentist who graduated fromThe University of Minnesota, USA.She also lectures in in undergraduatePediatric Dentistry and supports thePediatric postgraduate programme inthe School.

Dr Callum Durwood is a specialistpediatric dentist who completed hispostgraduate training at TheUniversity of Melbourne.He maintains close links with theSchool of Dental Science.

Pictured above:1. Dr Kan with a postgraduate student and a child patient in the Phnom Penh’s paediatric dentistry clinic.

2. Caries here we come – A school “tuck shop” laden with sugar cane drinks, soft drinks and confectionary.

3. Typical street cart

Addendum

Dentistry in Cambodia

Cambodia is located in SoutheastAsia, sharing its borders withThailand, Vietnam, and Laos. Itspopulation is about 13 million, with80% rural and 36% living belowthe poverty line. The lifeexpectancy for males and femalesis only 53 years. Between 1970 and1990 Cambodia experienced war,political turmoil, economiccollapse, genocide, radicalcommunism, and poverty. Duringthe Khmer Rouge period from 1975to 1979, more than two millionpeople died, and the country wasreduced to a primitive Maoistagrarian society. All formaleducation and health services werestopped. In recent years thesituation has improved, but

Cambodia is still one of thepoorest countries in the region.Oral health is one area that hasbeen largely neglected, eventhough many Cambodians sufferfrom dental problems, as well asoral cancer.

There is only one dental school inCambodia which is part of theUniversity of Health Sciences. TheFaculty of Dentistry was foundedin 1953 along with the Faculties ofMedicine and Pharmacy. The firstdental training program was forauxiliary dentists and followed theFrench system. In 1972, a course totrain dentists began; however,these dental students were notable to complete their course ofstudy due to the political upheavalcaused by the Khmer Rouge. Manyof the dental students andauxiliary dentists were killed ordied of hardship during that period- only 34 survived.

Oral Health Status

Caries among children inCambodia is rampant. In PhnomPenh the average five-year-old hasover 10 decayed teeth. Very fewchildren receive dental care, andwhat treatment is provided isusually just extraction. Between1990 and 2000 a school preventiveprogram supported by NGOsoperated in many schools, but thisappears to have little effect inpreventing caries. The Ministry ofHealth is hoping to reinstate aschool preventive programmeagain in the future. UnfortunatelyCambodia has no water or saltfluoridation.

Dental Workforce

Cambodia has about 350 dentists,1000 traditional dentists, and 270dental nurses. Cambodian dentalnurses are rural medical nurseswho have an additional yearstraining in basic dentistry (eg ART,LA, scaling and extractions) andoral health promotion. Dentalnurses are trained at the RegionalNursing School in Kampong Cham,and a large part of their course isspent providing dental services inthe surrounding rural villages.

Dr Callum Durward

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A Word From the Head

As many of you will have seen fromarticles in the press it is a period ofgreat change at The University ofMelbourne. At the present timehowever, these changes are notimpacting on the delivery of ourundergraduate degrees in the Schoolof Dental Science and it is largelybusiness-as-usual for us with ourcurrent course delivery. Behind thescenes however, there is a great dealof work being done, headed byProfessor Michael Burrow, to developa new curriculum for the graduate-entry dental degree and to deal withthe myriad of issues which arise fromsuch a significant change to theeducation and training of dentists inVictoria.

We will be updating our websitehttp://www.dent.unimelb.edu.au/ as information becomes availableabout the Melbourne Model andGrowing Esteem changes which willimpact on our School.

For those interested in the broaderchanges taking place at the university,The University of Melbourne GrowingEsteem websitehttp://growingesteem.unimelb.edu.au/ is a regularly updated and usefulsource of information for studentsand the wider community.

This year is a big year for our Bachelorof Oral Health students as it will seein the first graduating class from theBachelor of Oral Health (Therapy &Hygiene). These students willgraduate together with the Bachelorof Dental Science students inDecember. It is the first time oralhealth students (dental therapists anddental hygienists) have graduated at aformal university ceremony so we areexpecting a good representation ofacademic staff, particularly the BOHstaff, on the podium at the ceremonyto celebrate this major event with thestudents.

professor eric reynolds ao

Awards:: Congratulations are in order forProfessor John Clement who wasrecently awarded the Certificate ofHonorary Fellowship of the newly-formed Faculty of Forensic and LegalMedicine at the Royal College ofPhysicians of London. This is thehighest honour the Royal College ofPhysicians of London can bestow ona non-medically qualified person andonly three dentists have this awardworld-wide (one posthumously). Thisrepresents a fitting acknowledgementof John’s standing in the field ofForensic Odontology.

:: Professor Martin Tyas has beenawarded Honorary Life Membershipof the Australian Dental Associationat the recent Australian DentalCongress. The citation stated that“Professor Martin Tyas has served theprofession of dentistry in Australiaand on the world stage in anextraordinary manner. He is a mostworthy recipient of the highest awardthe Australian Dental Association canbestow, that of Honorary LifeMembership.”

:: Australian Federation of UniversityWomen – Winifred PreedyPostgraduate Bursary

The Winifred Preedy Bursary is anannual award of up to $4,000 toassist women undertake andcomplete higher degrees in Dentistryor other related fields. It is fundedfrom the bequest of Winifred E. Preedy, who was the secondwoman to graduate with a BDS fromThe University of Adelaide.

The award is given to a woman whois studying at an Australianuniversity in a Master's degree orPhD in dentistry (or related field),who is a past or present graduate atthe University of Adelaide. Selectionof the successful applicant is basedon academic merit, financial needand the importance of the purposefor which the bursary is to be used.

This Bursary has been won by Dr Jane Lee who is currently in her2nd year of the Doctor of ClinicalDentistry (Pediatrics).

Lectures

Deans Lecture Series

Professor Michael Morgan, ColgateChair of Population Oral Health,presented the Dean’s Lecture “Holesin Teeth and Puffy Gums – Preventionat the Community Level” in June thisyear. Professor Morgan’s briefsynopsis was:

“Treatment and prevention withindental care are focused on twocommon oral diseases affecting thecommunity: dental caries andperiodontal diseases. Althoughcommunity attitudes towards carehave popularly been defined by painand tooth repair, oral health careproviders have long understood thatoral diseases are mostly preventable.Together with the maintenance ofgood oral health, preventativeactivities in community programs areas fundamental to successful healthoutcomes as the more traditionalforms of oral health care. This lecturewill present an overview of oraldisease prevention at the communitylevel and the existing gaps in ourknowledge. Appropriate directionsfor community programs will bediscussed along with theopportunities that an evolving oralhealth workforce will provide. Therole of Universities in educating oralhealth practitioners on the needsand demands of the population willalso be examined”.

This lecture was well attended byuniversity staff, students, dentalpractitioners and representativesfrom various government andprofessional organisations.

The Dean's Lecture Series is designedto illustrate current research andtopics of interest in the fields ofmedicine, dentistry and the healthsciences. All newly appointedProfessors are invited to present tostudents, graduates and members ofthe public are welcome. The series isfree. Further information can beobtained at the following website:http://www.mdhs.unimelb.edu.au/news/deanslecture/n

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Make a gift online

Symposium – Oral Health ofOlder Populationsin Australia

The Cooperative Research Centre for

Oral Health Science (CRC-OHS)/Oral

Health Informatics of the University of

Melbourne, in collaboration with

Monash Research for an Ageing Society

(MonRAS), Monash University, is

organising a one-day symposium: The

Oral Health of Older Populations in

Australia, to provide an initial

assessment of needs, identification of

the key components of a general action

plan, and for the development of a

coordinated approach for oral health

care for older adults.

There will be no registration fee forthe Symposium. This event is suitablefor oral health, health and publichealth professionals, gerontologists,students and to those interested inproviding better health care to olderadults.

The symposium will be held on 21September from 9.00 am to 4.15 pmin the Jean Falkner Tahija Theatre,School of Dental Science, TheUniversity of Melbourne, 720Swanston Street, Carlton.

The School of Dental Science is anapproved Educational ActivityProvider under the Dental PracticeBoard of Victoria's Code of Practice onContinuing Professional Development(CDP). This Symposium is credited for5 hours.

To register, log ontohttp://www.crcoralhealthscience.org.au and follow the links.

For information please contact DrRodrigo Mariño by emailrmarino@unimelb.edu.au ortelephone (03) 9341 1558.

Bequests andDonations

Dr John Brownbill,

Class of 1961

In conversation with

Dr Brownbill:

Editor: I believe that you recentlygave a donation to the Henry FormanAtkinson Dental Museum.

Dr Brownbill: Yes. Professor Atkinson,Professor Harold Down and ProfessorSir Arthur Amies were the threeProfessors of the school when Istarted studying dentistry in the mid-fifties. My classmate Dr Neville Reganhelps Emeritus Professor Atkinson inthe museum on the ground floorsome Wednesdays. Neville spiedsome models in an antique shop thathe thinks were made by ProfessorDown all those years ago.The donation is to fund theauthentication and purchase of thesemodels.

Editor: I guess you have seen a fewchanges in the School of DentalScience over this length of time.

Dr Brownbill. I completed my BDSc inthe Spring Street building. Asstudents we had planning input toProfessor Atkinson who was theproject manager for the Haymarketschool. Those plans became thereality of a new dental hospitalopposite the Royal MelbourneHospital by the time I did my MDSc inthe sixties. Throughout the sixtiesand seventies I taught part time, firstof all under Professor Sir ArthurAmies in Oral Histology, OralPathology and Exodontia, and later inConservative Dentistry underProfessor Elsdon Storey. In theeighties I taught Paediatric Dentistryunder Professor Clive Wright andwhen Professor Brearley-Messer tookover I spent the nineties at a thirdMelbourne school. The School ofDental Therapy in St Kilda Road was awonderful friendly clinic.Unfortunately it closed before theturn of the century. Now we have my

fourth Melbourne school with thebest staff and infection control ofanywhere that I have seen in theworld. Things are tight space wisethough. Back at the Haymarket in thesixties I had my own parking spaceand half an office. Now I do not evenhave a locker. At least there is parkingspace for my bike.

Editor: I hear that you are a keencyclist.

Dr Brownbill: I am not sure whether Iride to get to the University orwhether I come to the University inorder to have a ride. Walking to thestation, taking a train then a tramtakes slightly longer than riding. TheGardiner’s Creek trail is a great rideinto the city. I started a campaign forbicycle parking then found that thereis bike parking already, tucked awayamongst the smokers.

Editor: Your other past-time is skiing.Tell me about the “Skiing Dentists”.

Dr Brownbill: In the seventies I was avisiting professor at the University ofMinnesota and had an opportunity toattend a dental meeting in Aspen.Capturing the dentists after hours is awonderful way of enforcingcollegiality at a conference. Mycontemporaries, Drs Neville Reganand Kevin Prowse and I set up theAustralian Central Association ofDentists (ACAD). We picked thecorrect model as ACAD has thrived forthirty odd years, meeting each year inThredbo. Over the last two years wehave each been honoured with LifeMemberships of ACAD.

Editor: You are well past retiring age,why do you keep teaching instead offishing and playing golf?

Dr Brownbill: If I have to go fishingand play golf I will keep working. Abad day at work beats a good dayfishing or playing golf! The onlyreason to keep teaching is to pass onexperience to the students. Bosseshave to be nice to people our age orwe just walk away. Co-workers knowthat we have no ambition beyond thejob in hand and are not a threat tothem. We can do as little as we like oras much as we can be persuaded todo. I used to teach pro-bono. After Iretired, I found that my expenses forbeing a dentist (around $6000.00 peryear) were not tax deductible unless Iwas paid by the University. Teachingis a year-to-year commitmentdepending on maintaining goodhealth.

Editor: Thank you for your time.Editor’s Note: Dr Brownbill was one of the first

people to complete the FRACDS when the Royal

College was newly formed in the late sixties.

Promotions

The School is pleased to announcethat Associate Professor MichaelBurrow has been promoted toProfessor effective from 1 July 2007.Professor Burrow has been with theSchool since 1995 and took over asClinical Dean (Dentistry) fromProfessor Ian Johnson in 2002. This isan outstanding achievement aspromotion to Professor at thisUniversity requires a track record thatis in the top few percentinternationally.

Dr David Manton has been promotedto Senior Lecturer which is a fittingacknowledgement of David’sexcellent contribution to teachingand research in the School andUniversity.

Pictured: Dr John Brownbill, Class of 1961.

For other Alumni who are interested in making a gift, the Online Giving link is:

ttps://alumni.unimelb.edu.au

/awc/MakeaGift.aspx.

Gifts can be directed to a particular area or purpose.

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Odontologicalpercussioninstruments –the forging of a profession

Because of its very simplicity, the

fundamental significance of an

instrument is often lost or forgotten in

later developments far removed from

the original application. An example

being seen in the expression ‘the pen is

mightier than the sword’*, but without

the hammer that forged the steel that

made the pen knife that trimmed the

quill that wrote those words, we would

still be in the dark ages. The hammer

has been fundamental in civilisation but

what part did it play in the development

of the dental profession?

Long before there were satisfactoryimpression materials and accuratecasts, dental appliances were beingmade using the age old techniques ofivory carvers, metalworkers andgoldsmiths in particular. The earliestexample of the use of some form ofhammer in dentistry is seen in theEtruscan bridge (c 300 BC), whichcontains a wire rivet that showsevidence of having been closed byhammering.

The hammer and anvil were essentialtools in the dental workroom forriveting and general small scaleswaging of wire and plate in themaking of bands or clasps fordentures and orthodontic appliances.(Fig.1). The hammer was also essentialin the remaking, after annealing, ofthe early carbon steel handinstruments.

The development of accurateimpression compounds, stable Plasterof Paris casts, followed by theapplication of sand casting to theproduction of metal dies of zinc andcounter dies of lead, meant thatdentures of gold plate could beswaged directly. (Fig.2.)

For this activity the horn hammer ormallet was essential as it did notbruise or mark the metal. The headwas made from a polished cow horn,the naturally occurring curved andpointed end being used to adapt theplate to lingual and other restrictedareas, while the broad face wasapplied in the initial swaging process.The fitting of the plate into theinterdental areas was done withspecial chasers and light taps withthe riveting hammer. Before theadvent of mechanical swagingpresses, the final adaptation wasmade by placing a ‘sandwich’ of leadcounter die, denture and zinc die on afirm bench or massive block of woodand then striking the zinc at fullswing with a 2-3kg hammer. Not aneasy task for a female dental student!

The heavy bronze flasks used in thefabrication of dentures from un-vulcanised rubber were secured usingwedges, often referred to as ‘nails’, forwhich a medium weight hammer wasrequired to drive them securely home.

Curiously enough, it is in the fieldthen known as Conservative DentalSurgery, now Restorative Dentistrythat the hammer in a variety ofdifferent forms and actions wasapplied to the filling of teeth. Theoperation of restoring a tooth wasknown as ‘plugging’; the hole in thetooth had to be filled to keep out foodand prevent pain and was therefore‘plugged’. For this procedure specialsets of instruments were made withlarge polished handles of ebony orebonised wood and curved steelpoints of various sizes to make accessto the most remote cavity possible.(Fig.3).

In the distant past there were noattempts at cavity preparation, thetooth received a minimum oftreatment before being ‘stopped’ withfragments of tin, lead or, for thewealthy, gold. The material was forcedinto the cavity and then consolidatedas much as possible with handpluggers.

Once again in the general progress ofdentistry a whole new series oftechniques and instruments were

developed. Hand pressure with thelargest handled plugger with thesmallest of points was insufficient tocondense the metal into a densecoherent mass. All metal pluggerswith associated plugging hammerswith large polished faces and woodenhandles were therefore developed.(Fig.4).

The operation using the plugginghammer involved both principle andapprentice. The former, whilesupporting the tooth with a finger,picked up a fragment of the fillingmaterial on the point of the pluggerand introduce it into the cavity, aprocess repeated many times. After apre-arranged signal the apprenticedstruck a sharp controlled blow whilesimultaneously supporting thepatient’s jaw with the other hand.Was this the first example of fourhanded dentistry? Such operativeprocedures required great fortitudeon the part of the patient andcontinuing concentration by theoperators.

Pure gold leaf, when annealed, has theproperty of self-welding. When twopieces are brought into contact theyadhere, and when pressure is applied,cannot be separated. As a result itwas considered that the use of a puregold foil would enable the idealrestoration to be produced, asuggestion that proved so successfulthat a great stimulus was given toconservative dentistry, particularly inthe areas of cavity preparation andinstrumentation.

Again a new series of instrumentswas developed including fascinating,better designed and engineered handpluggers and mechanical hammers.Some of these were highly ingeniousbut possibly frightening to thepatient as they had an exposedhammer head, which rose and fell, asthe plugger point was applied to thetooth. (Fig.5). Others were lessformidable being automatic in action.Automatic hammers relied on therelease of a spring to activate asliding mass to apply the necessaryforce when the point was pressedhome, and the whole mechanism was

enclosed in a metal tube. Automaticmallets were made available in plushlined leatherette covered cases,complete with a range ofinterchangeable points.

Electricity was applied to theoperation of mechanical hammers inwhich the action was based on thatof the electric bell with the armaturestriking the end of the plugger aseries of rapid, light blows when thecircuit was closed. (Fig6).

The treadle dental engine was alsoapplied to the problem ofcondensation by using theintermittent hammering action of arotating cam. Gingival cavities in theposterior regions were packed usingan angle mallet, operated by thedental engine, in which the appliedforce was delivered at right angles tothe cavity by a sophisticatedmechanism. (Fig.7). The Lewisautomatic mallet is a neat selfcontained instrument which hasstood the test of time, having beenincluded in the dental students’conservative dentistry clinical kit fromthe early 1900s to the 1960s; it has aspring mechanism which allows theapplied force to be varied over a widerange.

The saga of the hammer in dentistrywould not be complete withoutreference to its use in oral surgerywhere, with an appropriate chisel,dense bone could be removed fromthe area of an unerupted tooth. Theinstruments that where available forthis procedure included aminiaturised double faced hammerwith lead filled head and in a similarreduced form, the woodcarvers orstonemasons maul.

The contribution of the hammer inthe development of the dentalprofession, except possibly in the fieldof oral surgery, has passed into historybut its importance in the scheme ofthings should not go unrecorded.

* Attributed to Richelieu 1803 andBulwer-Lytton 1873.

HFA. 19, 06.07.

1. Workroom hammer and anvil a miniaturised form of the village blacksmith’s.

2. Cast zinc die, lead counter die and horn swaging hammer.

3. Hand pluggers with large ebony handles.

4. Plugging hammer with two all metal pluggers.

5. Mechanical plugger. The hammer strikes the head of the plugger when the point ispressed with sufficient force on the filling.

6. Bonwill’s electric mallet on the principal of the electric bell.

7. Moore’s Angle Mallet for use with the standard slip joint on the dental engine.

Photographer: Chris Owen

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DentalMuseumNominated forMuseumsAustraliaVictoriaAwards

On June 28th Museums Australia

(Victoria) hosted the 10th Annual

Victoria Museum Awards night at the

State Library of Victoria. The event

provided the opportunity for nominated

museum staff to participate in the

presentation of the awards and a

cocktail celebration.

The Awards recognise excellence inachievement in the museum sectorand the Henry Forman AtkinsonDental Museum was delighted to benominated for ‘’significantcommunity engagement” throughthe inaugural exhibition of the DentalMuseum: The Dental Journey; FromTusks to Teeth to the Vulcanite Age.Curators Professor Emeritus HenryAtkinson and Louise Murray attendedthe event and enjoyed theopportunity to meet with othernominees and museum colleagues.

There are 3 categories for the awardsand these are based on organisationsize. Categories cover the all volunteerrun organisation, to museums andgalleries with between 1 and 6 staff(Dental Museum), to largerinstitutions of 7 or more staff.

Museums Australia (Victoria)President, Dr Helen Light, introducedthe night and then handed over to

Andy Muirhead, comedian andpresenter of the popular ABC TV’sCollectors Program. Andy spoke of theimportance of museum collectionsand collecting, pointing out that cohost Nicole Warren previously workedat the Tasmanian Museum and ArtGallery and how much her expertiseand knowledge of that collection, lentto the show.

Awards were announced withsuitable suspense by Sarah EdwardsChair, Training & ProfessionalDevelopment Committee & Manager,Discovery Program, Museum Victoria.The category in which the DentalMuseum was nominated was won byMelbourne Living Museum of theWest for the exhibition Pobblebonkand we warmly congratulate DirectorPeter Haffenden and Associate KerryPoliness for their achievement.

Although the Dental Museum wasn’tsuccessful on the night it wassignificant that the museum wasnominated and that its achievementswere recognised by the broadermuseum community.

Museums Australia Victoria or MA(Vic) is the state chapter of theMuseums Australia; the nationalassociation representing the museumand gallery sector.

Above: L-R Louise Murray, AndyMuirhead, Henry Atkinson.

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Rural DentalProgram

School of Rural Health

Goulburn Valley Health

Rumbalara Oral Health

Centre (Wanya)

In May, staff from the School of Dental

Science together with representatives

from Whitehorse

Community Centre,

Knox Community

Centre, Banyule

Community Centre

and Doutta Galla

Community Centre,

travelled to

Shepparton to visit

the School of Rural

Health, Goulburn

Valley Health and

Rumbalara Oral

Health Centre

(Wanya) to view the facilities that are

available to our final year Bachelor of

Dental Science and Bachelor of Oral

Health students during their four week

rural rotation.

On arrival at the School of RuralHealth, Professor Bill Adam, AssistantHead of the School and ProfessorMike Morgan, Deputy Head of theSchool of Dental Science provided theintroductions following which therewere discussions and presentations ofthe objectives and benefits, as well asthe issues encountered in theimplementation of the dental studentrural rotations.

After an informal lunch the groupvisited the student accommodation,then went across the road toGoulburn Valley Health for a tour ofthe clinics by Dr David Whelan, GV

Dental Service Clinical Director andMs Helen Mathieson, PracticeManager, a highlight of which wasthe demonstration of the Sim Man.This simulation model is used fortraining the students to deal withpatient emergencies in relation toallergic reactions to local anaestheticor latex, breathing difficulties duringtreatment and the like. After this thegroup moved on to Rumbalara OralHealth Centre (Wanya) in nearbyMooroopna where they were

welcomed byMs SharonCharles,ExecutiveManager, whoexplained thehistory of thesite on whichthe centre islocated andsome of thechallengesfacing themin providing

the local aboriginal community withmedical and dental services. Adelicious afternoon tea was providedand then it was back on the bus toMelbourne.A really informative and enjoyable daywas had by all and the School wouldlike to extend its very sincere thanksto the staff at the School of RuralHealth, Goulburn Valley Health andRumbalara Oral Health Centre(Wanya) for their hospitality and tothe staff from the variousmetropolitan community centres whotook time out from their busypractices to attend.

Visitors AllSmiles

June 15 2007

Shepparton News

Shepparton’s dental services were on

show when a group of University

academics and community health staff

from Melbourne got a chance to check

out the region’s facilities on Wednesday.

The University of Melbourne's Schoolof Dental Science ClinicalOutplacement Committee meetingtook place in Shepparton and thegroup toured the Rumbalara OralHealth Centre, School of Rural Healthand the Goulburn Valley DentalService to view the facilities. Servicepractice manager Helen Mathiesonsaid the group of 20 visitors wasimpressed at what it saw.

"Because we have dental studentshere from the University ofMelbourne they came in to see thefacilities students use and work with,"Mrs Mathieson said.

Colgate population oral health chairProfessor Michael Morgan said thefacilities were "absolutelymindboggling".

"The facilities are not only new butvery up to date; they are supportingmodern educational techniques thatwe value so highly," Prof Morgan said.

"And the staff are dedicated toeducation."

Printed with permission from theShepparton News.

Above left : Staff and visitors to theSchool of Rural Health studentaccommodation.

Above right : Top notch facilities: 5th year Bachelor of Dental Sciencestudent Alexander Maer, GV DentalService Clinical Director David Whelan,University of Melbourne School of DentalScience Deputy Head, Professor MikeMorgan, GV Dental Service PracticeManager Helen Mathieson, GV HealthCommunity and Integrated Care DirectorLeigh Gibson and GV Health SeniorDentist, James Newby.

This simulation model is usedfor training the students to

deal with patient emergenciesin relation to allergic reactions

to local anaesthetic or latex,breathing difficulties during

treatment and the like.

Letters to theEditor

The following letter, dated 3rd April,

was received from Associate Professor

Geoffrey Quail, MBBS, M Med, MDSc,

DDS (Hons), DTM&H, FRACGP,

FACTM, FRACDS, Department of

Surgery, Monash Medical Centre,

Clayton, as a follow up to the article

written by Professor Atkinson on “The

Quota”. This letter has been produced

with permission from the author.

“I read with interest your publication in

Dent-al – congratulations on a well

presented update. As a sequel to an

article by Professor Atkinson, I am

enclosing some detail of Sir Arthur

Amies’ contribution to the Dental

Faculty and the University. Sir Arthur

was Dean of the Faculty for 33 years. I

would appreciate your publishing this

in your June edition.”

The Contributionof Professor SirArthur Aimes toDenstistry Professor Atkinson’s article on Sir

Arthur Amies presents his personal

view which is at variance with that of

many former students and colleagues.

As president of the Dental Students’Society and later a lecturer in hisdepartment for six years, I workedclosely with SirArthur. Whilstmany wereunhappy withhis views onfluoridation,most thoughthim anoutstandingambassadorfor the dentalprofession.

Trained inMelbourne, SirArthur gainedhis DDSc inoral pathology,then a medicaldegree inEdinburgh and was one of the firsttwo candidates to obtain the diplomain the specialty of Ear Nose andThroat by examination – quite a featfor a practicing oral surgeon.

From the date of his appointment asProfessor and Dean in 1934, Sir Arthurcommitted himself tirelessly to theadvance of dentistry. He was electedFederal President of the ADA and anhonorary life member. At theUniversity, he was appointedChairman of the professional board,senior Professor and Pro-ViceChancellor. He was Dean for 33 years.

In the dark days of World War II, hevolunteered for service and servedwith distinction in the siege ofTobruk. He retained his interest in themilitary, was president of the Navaland Military clubs and stalwart of theMelbourne University Regiment.

Sir Arthur was a great supporter ofex-service students and many speakhighly of his understanding andencouragement in their adjustmentto student life.

Sir Arthur was devoted to hisstudents and ensured lecturers wereof the highest calibre. Althoughnumbers were small, dental studentswere lectured by the professors ofmedicine, microbiology, metallurgy,

pharmacologyand law. Hewas frequentlyseen cheeringon the facultyfootball teamand when theSalk anti-policyvaccine wasintroduced,Melbournedental studentswere amongstthe first inAustralia to bevaccinated.

Research atSpring Streetwas limited bythe severe space

shortage, but Sir Arthur establishedthe Dental Research Laboratory inwhich Howard Worner obtained hisdoctorate on the structure ofamalgam. Warner went on tobecome Professor Metallurgy andDirector of Research for BHP. Thislaboratory was the forerunner of theworld class Commonwealth Bureauof Dental Standards which continuedto work closely with the Faculty untilit was disbanded. Otherpostgraduates carried out research inthe Dental School or the University.

The physical constraints of the ageingbuilding in Spring Street were greatand Sir Arthur was instrumental inobtaining the highly prizedHaymarket site opposite the RoyalMelbourne Hospital for the DentalFaculty and hospital.

Sir Arthur was a man of strongconviction, personality and vision.He was an eloquent speaker andmade one feel proud to belong to thesame profession”.

Yours sincerely

Geoff QuailMonash University Departmentof SurgeryMonash Medical Centre, Clayton

Response from

Professor Atkinson to

Associate Professor

Quail’s correspondence

‘Dear Editor,

Thank you for giving me theopportunity to reply to thecommunication from AssociateProfessor G Quail. It is alwaysinteresting and instructive to readanother point of view but I mustmake a comment on the origin of ‘thelab’. Professor Frank C.Wilkinson, thefirst dental professor, shortly after hisappointment in 1924, established aUniversity of Melbourne ResearchCommittee and a laboratory at theAustralian College of Dentistry inSpring Street. In 1926 he invited theProfessor of Mining and Metallurgy,J Neil Greenwood, to take over theteaching of this subject to dentalstudents. The partnership betweenthe two professors thrived and latersaw a graduate student inGreenwood’s department, HowardWorner, commence his study ofdental amalgams and life longinterest in dental materials. Thesubsequent history of ‘the lab’through its many changes of nameand places of occupation can befollowed from published articles andminutes’.

Yours sincerely

Henry F Atkinson, MBEProfessor EmeritusHon. Curator Dental Museum20th April 2007

In the dark days of World War II,he volunteered for service andserved with distinction in the

siege of Tobruk. He retained hisinterest in the military, waspresident of the Naval and

Military clubs and stalwart of theMelbourne University Regiment.Sir Arthur was a great supporterof ex-service students and many

speak highly of hisunderstanding and

encouragement in theiradjustment to student life.

10/11

4

RESEARCHNEWS

PhD Students

Mr Ching Seng Ang was awarded theprestigious student prize at the 12thAnnual Proteomics Symposium heldin Lorne early this year. Ching Seng’sthesis is entitled Quantitativeproteomic analysis of Porphyromonasgingivalis in response to differentenvironmental conditions. He has alsowon the IADR Colgate Travel Award(2007) which is $500 plus air ticket tothe 47th Annual Meeting of the ANZIADR in Adelaide to present theposter: “The response ofPorphyromonas gingivalis W50 toenvironmental stimuli identifies novelpotential therapeutic targets”.

Dr Jacqui Hislop has commenced as amature-age PhD student. Jacqui, aradiographer and self-funded studenthas applied for the The Sir RobertMenzies Memorial ResearchScholarship. This researchscholarship, which is valued at$25,000 per annum for each of twoyears, is open to graduates in any ofthe health sciences who haveenrolled for a PhD in an AustralianUniversity and who have completedthe first stage of their doctoralprogram.

Ms Sherie Blackwell has completedher thesis entitled “3D comparisons ofhuman dentitions and simulated bitemarks to define the analyticalrequirements of bite mark analysis.”

No scientifically valid foundation forthe analysis of bite marks currentlyexists. Consequently, the continueduse of any bite mark evidence incriminal law is now seen as unsoundand therefore all bite mark evidenceis under threat. This thesis developsnovel and scientifically verifiablemethods for 3D imagining andquantitative comparisons of humandentitions and simulated bite marks

to determine thresholds for evidentialadmissibility; it also demonstratessome of the residual fundamentalscientific problems still confrontingthe discipline.

Visitors

Dr Mikio Shoji (Assistant Professor,University of Nagasaki, Japan) isspending his sabbatical leave with usto continue his research project, Generegulation of a hemin binding proteinin Porphyromonas gingivalis, and hasmade significant progress with helpfrom our proteomic research group inBio21 Institute and the CRC for OralHealth Science.

Dr Rodrigo Marino obtained an IADRRegional Development Programgrant. This regional developmentprogram has three major objectives:

• To train Peruvian researchers in oralhealth research and economicevaluation methods.

• To conduct a regional assessment(Arequipa) of the oral health status(i.e., dental caries and fluorosis).

• To undertake an economicevaluation of a dental cariesprevention program using salt as avehicle for fluorides in Peru.

Dr Roslyn Barrett and

Dr Robert Mayne

Dr Robert Mayne and Dr RoslynBarrett commenced theirundergraduate Dental Sciencedegrees in Melbourne in 1997 and1998 respectively. Rob completed hissecondary schooling at one of the lasttechnical colleges, Niddrie TechnicalSchool in Melbourne’s north/west.Ros’ upbringing was in the GoulburnValley of Victoria, attending KyabramSecondary College. They met via thestudent host program in 1998, wheresenior students guide first yearsaround campus, providing them withessential information on Universitylife. As luck would have it, Ros wasallocated into Rob’s group fororientation. It was within the walls ofthe old Royal Dental Hospital thattheir relationship began. Since theseearly days, they have been virtuallyinseparable. Both graduated as oneof the top three students in theirfinal years and both received theErnest Joske Best All Round Studentaward – and other awards. Aftergraduating in 2001, Rob commencedprivate practice in Ros’ home town inthe Goulburn Valley and was joinedthere by her the following year. Robprovided great mentorship while theprincipal of the practice took longoverdue leave for six months. Thecouple participated in regional hockeyand netball groups and alsoencouraged groups of undergraduatedental students to travel to the area.They both became demonstrators forthird year General Practice at the newRDHM, a position they initially job-shared to lessen the driving fromShepparton on a weekly basis. With aclose group of colleagues, theycompleted the primary FRACDSexaminations in 2004 with the ideaof pursuing postgraduate studies. Rosaccepted a role on the RecentGraduates Committee and DentalHealth Education Committee of theADAVB, leading her to present at theNational ADA Congress 2007 on thetopic of employing new graduatesand advocating rural employment.

After seven years of courtship, theycelebrated their wedding atMitchelton Winery, Nagambie inOctober 2005. The couple relocatedto Melbourne after Rob successfullyapplied for a position in theOrthodontic program at TheUniversity of Melbourne. Roscontinued working in the privatesector across country Victoria anddemonstrating at the University.Inspired by her own experience ofworking in a Bendigo orthodonticpractice, Ros was very fortunate to beaccepted in the same course one yearlater! They are one of the fewmarried couples both undertaking apost-graduate degree, let alone thesame course at the same time. TheDoctor of Clinical Dentistry(Orthodontics) program at MelbourneUniversity is an internationallyrenowned course led by ProfessorMichael Woods. In any given year,there are a total of ten students.When first considering this avenue,Rob and Ros had little hesitationabout studying at close quarters. Thereal difficulty was always going to behow they would support themselvesboth financially and domestically.From an outsider’s perspective, itmight appear that their paths are tooclose for comfort, but to their credit,their dynamic is a successful one andto everyone’s disbelief, they don’t talk“shop” at home! In fact it is helpfulto have an understanding person toshare the ups and downs of a clinicalresearch degree. Rob and Ros hope toreturn to the Goulburn Valley asorthodontists and provide a highquality service to the community thatsupported their start in theprofession. They extend theirencouragement and support to anydental couples considering post-graduate study at the University ofMelbourne.

Dr Matthew Hopcraft

After graduating with a Bachelor ofDental Science from The University ofMelbourne in 1994, Matthew went topractice as a Dental Officer in theRoyal Australian Army Dental Corps.He had postings at Kapooka (NSW),Watsonia (VIC) and Perth, and waspromoted to the rank of Major in1998, serving as the OfficerCommanding of Kapooka DentalCompany and Perth Dental Services.Whilst posted to the recruit trainingestablishment at Kapooka, Matthewundertook a Master of Dental Scienceby research degree, investigatingcaries experience and lifetimeexposure to fluoridated drinkingwater in Australian Army recruits.He received the Colonel MGT KennyAward in 2004 to recogniseexemplary service to the RoyalAustralian Army Dental Corps.

Matthew took up a position asLecturer in Community andPreventive Dentistry at the Universityof Melbourne in 2002, and waspromoted to Senior Lecturer in 2005.He is also involved as a researcher inCRC for Oral Health Sciences(Program 1: Oral Health Informatics).In 2005 he was awarded theInternational Association for DentalResearch (Australian and NewZealand Division) Award in Preventiveand Community Dentistry.

His current research interests involvethe oral health and care of residentsof nursing homes. He is presentlyundertaking doctoral studies,investigating the oral health ofnursing home residents and the roleof dental hygienists in providingscreening examinations andtreatment for residents. His researchhas been used to inform the recentDental Practice Board of Victoria’sreview of the Code of Practice forDental Hygienists.

Other research projects have includeda pre-fluoridation baseline study ofcaries experience in five indigenouscommunities on the Cape YorkPeninsula, an investigation of theemployment and utilisation of dentalhygienists in Victoria, an analysis of

complaints made against Victoriandental care providers, the locationand practice of recent dentalgraduates, an investigation ofcontinuing professional developmentactivities and patient satisfactionwith dental care provided in theUndergraduate Dental Clinic at theRoyal Dental Hospital of Melbourne.He has published widely in local andinternational dental journals.

Matthew is currently serving on theCouncil of the Australian DentalAssociation (Victorian Branch), as wellas chairing their Public DentistryCommittee. In addition, he isHonorary Treasurer of theInternational Association for DentalResearch (Australia and New ZealandDivision). He is an examiner for theAustralian Dental Council’s OverseasTrained Dentists, a reviewer for anumber of dental journals andgranting bodies, includingCommunity Dentistry and OralEpidemiology, Australian DentalJournal and the Australian DentalResearch Foundation.

Matthew also works part-time inprivate practice in Ivanhoe, and ismarried to Erika. They have twochildren, Emily (6) and Lachlan (4).

Mr Chris Owen

30 years at the School of DentalScience

I started with the School, or Faculty ofDental Science as it was then in 1977;my initial appointment, under a 3-year grant, was to produce videotraining material for theundergraduate students and,together with Tad Dobrostanski, thehead of the Clinical PhotographyUnit, to provide photographic supportfor the staff and students of theSchool.

Working with Rick Widmer whoprovided the dental expertise, wemade a range of videos on manydiverse topics such as rubber damapplication, various laboratorytechnical procedures, food in primaryschool tuck shops and so on. Whenthe grant ran out I was reappointedon an annual basis until I became amember of permanent staff in theearly 1980’s.

Tad, who retired from the School in2001, became a good friend and overthe years we worked together I learnta lot of the techniques andprocedures of dental photographyfrom him that are still relevant todayin this digital age.

Our procedures have progressed frompurely film based photography andimage production to digital imaging:no more long hours in the darkroomprocessing films and printing images,now it is all done on a PC. Many staffand ex postgraduate students willremember spending time in thedarkroom printing images for theirtheses and journal publications.There has been a steady change fromshooting on film and printing eitherblack & white or colour prints, toscanning slides or negatives forprinting via the PC, to now a totallydigital workflow.

With the introduction of computersto our imaging techniques,illustrations such as graphs anddiagrams no longer had to be drawnby hand and laboriously labelled withLetraset (sheets of rub-on letters).Poster production has also improved

dramatically, where posters wereonce assembled from sheets of A4printed text and photographic prints,all backed with double sidedadhesive, stuck to mount board thencut up to a manageable size fortransport and reassembly atconferences. Now all the text andimages are assembled on the PC andare printed on a large format inkjetprinter (900mm wide roll paper),laminated and ready to display,definitely a change for the better.

The move to the new building in2005 has provided a vastimprovement in the quality of AudioVisual equipment, teaching facilitiesand our working environment. Goneare the cold, leaky lecture theatreswith their slide projectors that usedto jam regularly, now the School hasstate-of-the-art teaching facilities, alldigital. Gone too are the darkroomsin the Photography Unit, film is now athing of the past. Though Isometimes miss the magic ofwatching a print come to life as itdevelops, the benefits of digitalphotography far outweigh thenostalgia for the old ways.

I am not sure what it is about theSchool that makes it such a goodplace to work, perhaps it is thepeople, working with (past andpresent) professional, administrativeand academic staff who arededicated, friendly and often willingto go out of their way to assist makesit such a good working environment.The diversity of my role in providingAV support, which can includephotographically documentingforensic cases, maintaining theSchool’s web pages, and a range ofother photographic and computerrelated requirements of the School,makes the work challenging andenjoyable; it also gives me theopportunity to keep up with thelatest advances in digitalphotographic technology, all ofwhich, is I guess, why I am still hereafter 30 years.

12

The University of Melbourne does not acceptresponsibility for the accuracy of informationcontained in this newsletter. No part of thisnewsletter may be reproduced withoutpermission.

From the Editors

We hope you enjoyed reading thisedition of Dent-al, the School ofDental Science’s newsletter foralumni.We would be very pleased to haveyour feedback on this issue and ifyou would like to contribute in anyway, or have any suggestions forfuture issues, we would be verypleased to hear from you.

The next edition of Dent-al will be inDecember 2007. If you have anyitems of interest, please let us know.

Editors:Jennifer Sifonios Sandra Turner

Contact

Postal Address:School of Dental ScienceFaculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health SciencesThe University of MelbourneVICTORIA 3010 AUSTRALIA

Street Address:School of Dental ScienceThe University of Melbourne4th Floor, 720 Swanston StreetCARLTON 3053 VICTORIA

Telephone: 61 3 9341 1500Facsimile: 61 3 9341 1599Email: sifonios@unimelb.edu.auwww.dent.unimelb.edu.au

Alumni Web Community

The Alumni Web Community is thebest way to stay in touch with theUniversity and other alumni – andmake sure they can stay in touch with you!

Register now to become a member ofAWC so that you can view andmaintain your personal profile andlook for friends and classmates.

Visit the Alumni Web Community(http://www.unimelb.edu.au/alumni/awc) which is now live and part of theUniversity's Alumni and Friendswebsite.

On this site, Alumni can register, setup their email forwarding, choose theinformation they’d like to share withothers in the AWC, check andmaintain their own personal profile,search for fellow classmates in thedirectory and make a gift online.

Dr Peter Dirk Hild Claes

Research Assistant(Facial Morphology)

Dr Peter Claes (pronounced “Klaas”)was born on October 30, 1979. Hestarted university in 1997 as anengineering student at the KatholiekeUniversiteit Leuven, Belgium,graduating in 2002 with distinction.He majored in electronic engineering,multimedia and signal processing. InJune 2007, Peter Claes finished a PhDin engineering at the Medical Image

Computing laboratory of theKatholieke Universiteit Leuven undersupervision of Professor DirkVandermeulen and in collaborationwith the Dental Science departmentof Leuven under supervision ofProfessor Guy Willems. The mainapplication of his research iscraniofacial modeling andreconstruction, which aims atestimating the face associated to anunknown skull specimen for victimidentification. Traditional methodsare based on a manual 3Dreconstruction by physically modelinga face on a skull replica with clay orplasticine. He developed a computer-based automated reconstructionmethod that is both consistent andobjective. It builds on a statisticalmodel of the interrelationshipbetween facial shape and soft-tissuethicknesses as measured on a

predefined set of landmark points onthe skull. The model can beconsidered as an elastic mask withelastic hemi-spherical dowels on theinside of the mask at the landmarklocations, which is subsequentlyfitted to the skull such that thevirtual dowels touch the skull. Theelastic deformation of the model isbased on the statistical likelihood aslearned from a database of nearly400 subjects. The figure illustrates acraniofacial reconstruction result

made by the developed method. Themain topics of his research concern:robust surface registration andintegration using implicit functions,statistical modeling, analysis andmanipulation. Over the next threeyears he will work with ProfessorJohn Clement (Professor of ForensicOdontology, The University ofMelbourne) on an AustralianResearch Council funded projectdeveloping a statistical facialmorphology approach for proof ofidentity across an ethnically diversepopulation. His main domain ofapplication for the future is ForensicScience and Identification.

Pictured above: A computer-based

craniofacial reconstruction result for

forensic victim identification, using the

software developed by Dr Peter Claes.