SENSATIONAL

SPACESfillingstationphoto by blaise van malsenafter more than two decades as the place many of Alberta’s dentalassistants cut their teeth in the profession, NAIT’s Dental Assistinglab has received a radical makeover.“Our original equipment was over 20 years old,” says MaureenSymmes, Dental Health Sciences chair. “Now our students will beworking with the most efficient and technical equipment.”Thanks to $1.7 million from Alberta Advanced Education andTechnology (and $250,000 from NAIT), the lab was outfitted thissummer with new chairs, cabinets, sinks and other staples of thepractice, as well as state-of-the-art infection control equipment anddigital X-ray machines found in Alberta’s most advanced clinics.NAIT students aren’t the only beneficiaries of the remodelling. Theold equipment – including 15 dental chairs, three X-ray units, cabinetryand textbooks – was shipped to Rwanda to train up-and-coming dentalhealth professionals.For Symmes, that means improved oral health in a country withextremely limited access to equipment and dental care. “All of us in thedental area felt this was a really special cause,” she says.— Scott Messengerv5.1 2011 61