New Dental School opened in Bendigo

The Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Daniel Andrews MP, yesterday officially opened the new dental school at the Bendigo campus of LaTrobe University.

There are 12 students currently enrolled in the first year of the 3 year Bachelor of Oral Health Science course, leading to registration as a dental therapist and dental hygienist. Numbers will increase each year until around 30 in each of the three years will see a total enrolment of approximately 90 students at the school.

Professor Hal Swerissen, LaTrobe's Head of School, School of Public Health, Associate Dean, Health Sciences, Bendigo and Professor of Public Health , welcomed around 60 guests to the opening, and introduced Mr Andrews. In his opening address, Mr Andrews noted the integration of the oral health science students with other health science students in nursing, physiotherapy and pharmacy courses, with a number of shared classes being taken. He also highlighted the significant shortfall in supply of dentists, dental therapists and dental hygienists in rural areas, and emphasised the Government's commitment to invest in measures that would help to address this problem - such as the new dental school.

Professor Mark Tennant, Head of the new Department of Oral Health (who is on part time secondment from the University of Western Australia), advised that the pre-clinical lab facilities that were being opened at the event would allow students to commence lab work in the next semester before they proceed to clinical placements based primarily at the Bendigo Health Care Group next year. An additional 10 chairs are being installed at the Bendigo Health Care Group clinic in Bendigo, taking their total to 19 chairs. This will be the largest Victorian dental training clinic outside the Royal Dental Hospital of Melbourne. Additional clinical placements are expected in other rural centres such as Echuca, Castlemaine and Kyneton.

Further information and a selection of images will be published when they become available.