Charles Sturt University (CSU) will unveil the architectural design concepts for the proposed Wagga Wagga School of Dentistry and Oral Health on Monday 16 April as part of its bid for $54.4 million in Commonwealth funding to establish a CSU School of Dentistry and Oral Health in inland NSW.

  

University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ian Goulter says the CSU dental school will provide students with access to an appropriate mix of patients from Wagga Wagga and surrounding communities who are currently unable to access existing public and private dental services.

 

“Unlike medicine, dental and oral health graduates are expected to be ready for practice on graduation,” Professor Goulter said. “There is no ‘internship’ expected after graduation and before registration as a dentist or oral hygienist/therapist.  Supervised clinical experience, with students providing care for patients prior to graduation, is necessary to reach this level of competence. This requires the creation of clinical education settings where students gain experience by treating patients under close supervision by qualified dentists.

 

“The CSU proposal is designed to complement and supplement existing public and private dental services and will be developed in close consultation with existing dental practitioners,” he said.

 

“Our plan for dental education in inland NSW will rely heavily on the participation of existing dental practitioners in our regional communities in the clinical education program. The University will be offering opportunities for dental practitioners to work as adjunct academic appointments in the program.”

 

Wagga Wagga based dentist Kathleen Matthews, an active member of the southern NSW branch of the Australian Dental Association, has given her support for the CSU initiative.

 

Ms Matthews said: “I see this as an opportunity for both my profession and rural and regional communities to benefit.

 

“I think there has been a well documented need for greater access to dental services for all members of our community, and I commend CSU for developing the idea of a quality, regionally based education facility as way of addressing this issue,” she said.

 

Professor Goulter said: “We are asking the Commonwealth Government to make an investment in the educational needs and aspirations of the people of Wagga Wagga and NSW’s inland communities, as well as help to solve the rural dental crisis. 

 

“This state of the art dental school will not go ahead without a full commitment by the Commonwealth Government to the $54.4 million required to construct the facilities across five campuses.”

 

“CSU has always relied on the strong support of the Wagga Wagga and surrounding communities to bring new facilities, services and business to our regions,” he said. “CSU is again looking for that support for this critical health initiative.”