Volume 7 • 2020 • Issue 2

speakers after CDSC 2018, which allowed them to design an enhanced conference program. “There was a wider selection of lecture topics and hands-on workshops focusing not only on the clinical but also the practice management and the business aspect of dentistry,” explains Pollock. This year’s program included plenary sessions, lectures, hands-on workshops (endo, bioclear, and basic and advanced implant), panel discussions, a research poster competition and wellness and social events, including a morning yoga session, a “breakfast with the specialists” and a formal gala. “In between sessions, we even had an unexpected visit from therapy dogs from St. John Ambulance! This was such a nice surprise,” adds Pollock. The CDA Oasis team hosted panel discussions on buying a practice, This year’s program included plenary sessions, lectures, hands‑on workshops, panel discussions, a research poster competition, and wellness and social events. associateships in different practices, and on choosing a residency or a specialty program. These sessions, some of which will soon be available as podcasts on CDA Oasis, were well-received by students. The hands-on workshops as well as the session on dental public health and the role of student advocacy were also very popular, according to Pollock. “At the last conference, I think people didn’t realize that this conference is really organized by dental students. It's an incredible accomplishment for the team,” says Pollock. “We’re all students across Canada and some of us hadn’t met in person before the conference.” The FCDSA will compile feedback from all attendees, so they can start planning the next conference for 2022. Volunteers from St. John Ambulance brought therapy dogs. TOP: (L. to r.) Madonna Rofaeel (Toronto), Nima Lighvan (Western), Jared Crane (Dalhousie), Hammad Qasim (Saskatchewan), DempseyWood (Saskatchewan), Saif Matti (Western), Austin Chen (UBC), Bilawal Hussain (Saskatchewan) MIDDLE : Aarushi Dhawan (Manitoba), Karen Lin (UBC), Rosalie Gu (UBC), Joanna Man (Toronto), Da In Kim (Alberta), EvanMercer (Dalhousie) BOTTOM: Sarah Hancox (Manitoba), StephanieWiseman (McGill), Natalie Pollock (McGill), Courtney Aubé (Dalhousie), Manisha Bansal (Manitoba) Austin Chen (DDS 2020) fromUBC and Natalie Pollock (DMD 2020) fromMcGill, co-chairs of CDSC 2020. (L. to r.) Dr. Benoit Soucy, CDA director of clinical and scientific affairs; Chiraz Guessaier, CDA Oasis manager; Dr. Sandy Mutchmor, CDA president; Ed Dermit, CDSPI president. Choosing your future The Canadian Dental Association (CDA) is a proud supporter of the FCDSA. Dr. Sandy Mutchmor, CDA president, gave the opening address at the conference. In his welcoming speech, he pointed out how the profession is rapidly evolving thanks to new practice models. “There’s been an increase in the number of larger group practices, including corporate- owned practices or dental service organizations that handle the business and administrative aspects of running a practice. Other emerging models of care include interprofessional collaborative practice models, dental clinics and tele-dentistry which enable dentists to reach people where they live—especially in more rural areas,” he noted. Dr. Mutchmor also highlighted the importance of students being aware of the full range of career options available to them. During the opening plenary session, Dr. John O’Keefe, CDA director of Knowledge Networks, unveiled dentalcareeroptions.ca —a bilingualwebsitedeveloped by leaders in the profession to help students and early-career dentists make informed decisions to shape their future career paths. For more information about this website, see p. 15. Dr. John O’Keefe, CDA director of Knowledge Networks, presented the new website, dentalcareeroptions.ca . Dr. Sandy Mutchmor, CDA president, during his opening address. 1 2 3 Winners of the FCDSA Research Poster Competition Student researchers were invited to participate in a scientific poster exhibition at CDSC 2020. Prizes were provided by the Network for Canadian Oral Health and Research (NCOHR) and the event was supported by the University of British Columbia (UBC) faculty of dentistry. UBC dean of dentistry, Dr. Mary MacDougall, presented the awards. 1-First prize ($750) Trevor Burgess (University of Toronto) Poster: Mineralizing Dental Adhesives Functionalized with Polyaspartate Supervisors: Drs. Anuradha Prakki and Karina Carneiro 2-Second prize ($500) Rachel Macdonald (University of Toronto) Poster: Increased TNF α and TNFR1 Expression in Oral Malignant Transformation Supervisor: Dr. Marco Magalhaes 3-Third place ($250) Michael Siarkowski (University of British Columbia) Poster: CSF-1 Receptor Inhibition Results in Mouse Incisor Malformations Supervisor: Dr. Siddharth Vora The Federation of Canadian Dentistry Student Association (FCDSA) is a student-run assembly of Canadian dentistry student associations at the 10 Canadian dental schools. The FCDSA exists to connect dentistry students in order to foster the sharing of common interests and challenges, advocate as a unified national student voice for the promotion of accessible, optimal dental education and patient care, and provide an avenue to introduce and involve students in organized dentistry. The FCDSA serves over 2,000 students nationwide. CDA has provided in‑kind administrative support to the FCDSA since its creation in 2012. About the FCDSA To learn more, visit fcdsa.ca 12 | 2020 | Issue 2 13 Issue 2 | 2020 | CDA at W ork CDA at W ork