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Intern’s Experience At The Berkeley Clinic

Dental StudentKevin Shannon, University Of Dundee

Every year Berkeley Clinic is attended by a number of dental students from all over UK and Scotland. They observe clinic’s work, learn about new technologies, shadow our best dentists and develop new skills. Kevin Shannon from the University of Dundee has spent a week at the Berkeley Clinic and has kindly agreed to write a short blog about his experience.

‘As I write this I am sitting in Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai, waiting on my connecting flight to Kathmandu, Nepal to finish off my dental elective. I decided to focus on the management of dental anxiety & phobias. My name is Kevin & I am a final year dental student studying in Dundee.

I attended the Berkeley clinic for the first week of my elective and shadowed Dr. Mike Gow, and I was also lucky to sit in with the rest of the team at various points to see their specific area of expertise. I observed implant placements, amazing one-visit CEREC restorations, met patients who had treatment under hypnosis with no freeze & many more, but I was mostly intrigued by Mike’s communication skills and how easily he made all of the patients feel at ease.

My week was a busy one – on the first day I observed Mike with some patients and then went along with him to BBC Radio Scotland where he was giving an interview on adult orthodontics – we even saw Jackie Bird! I attended a lecture that Mike was giving on dental hypnosis and the practical applications for dental professionals. This was quite the eye opener – it gave me the tools to be able to communicate with patients to make them feel at ease, and allowed me to ask many more questions about what Mike and the team were doing for the rest of the week!

On Friday I attended a CEREC course in the clinic presented by Dr. Jamie Newlands. It was very interesting, and definitely something I would like to get into once I am qualified. At the end of the week, Mike donated a box of toothbrushes for me to take to Nepal to hand out to the children there.

I had a fantastic week – all the staff were inviting, friendly and always willing to help, and it was excellent to see so many patients leaving with big happy smiles!

Thanks again for having me!’

The Berkeley Clinic team would like to wish Kevin Shannon all the best with his future career! It was a pleasure to have you here. See you next time!

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