Australian university to offer masters programs in implants

The program will be offered at the new $3 million Australian Institute of Dental Education and Research (AIDER), a facility established by the Global Microsurgery Foundation, a Swiss philanthropic organization dedicated to supporting patient-focused scientific projects in the field of microsurgery, the university noted in a press release.

The AIDER dental clinic is a university-affiliated teaching clinic providing new clinical training opportunities for undergraduate students, as well as the clinical hands-on training of students in a masters program in implant dentistry. It features eight dental surgery suites, a tomography room, and two seminar rooms.

A major focus of AIDER clinic will be the standardization of methods of patient treatment and the evaluation of new treatment strategies, as well as the prevention and therapy of problems associated with dental implant therapy, the university said.

"This clinic is the first private facility to pioneer education in oral implant dentistry and to conduct research to evaluate novel treatment strategies under the supervision of a university," said Niklaus P. Lang, chair of the Global Association for the Standardization of Implant Dentistry (GASID). "It is the aim of the GASID Foundation to set up a network of cooperative clinics for education and practical training in implants with leading universities around the world."

The new University of Queensland educational model would offer an opportunity for general practitioners to gain comprehensive experience and hands-on skills not available in any current program, noted Laurie Walsh, head of the School of Dentistry at the University of Queensland.

"The program focuses on treatment planning, sequencing of care and studying long term outcomes," he said. "In so doing, it may go much further and deeper than 'weekend' courses focused on techniques and single products."

The first students in the new postgraduate program will enroll in 2010. They will then articulate into the University of Queensland Master of Clinical Dentistry program.