Autumn in lovely Bowral – Dental rotation final year dental student

In our final year of dental school, we’re offered the opportunity to go on rural placement for one month. Students are sent all around New South Wales – such as Ballina, Bowral, Dubbo, Bathurst, and Cessnock. I was allocated a position in Bowral with a small team of dental students.

At our placement we were able to treat patients presenting with a range of reasons; from discomfort to a regular check up – often requiring treatments such as fillings, root canal therapy or a clean. Clinical highlights included helping a patient with a large facial swelling out of pain, and doing a molar root canal therapy under the supervision of a specialist endodontic professor that came to visit us from Sydney University.

We also had great times with the clinical tutor and dental assistants – who were all so warm and welcoming, inviting us to their homes for dinners and to weekly Thursday night trivia.

We stayed in the lovely home of a local in nearby Mittagong, just a short drive from Bowral. Morning walks were beautiful, with leaves in all imaginable shades of autumn, followed closely by a warm coffee. Bowral has the most amazing cafes, so it was always nice to try the local cafes before the rush of patients in the morning. Bowral is full of antique shops, home ware design stores, and little boutiques that we would venture in and out of in our lunch breaks and on weekends.

I had such a pleasant time in Bowral that I am looking forward to visiting the new friends I made and to see the Tulip Festival in September!

Regards,

Dilara

Next week: Why we call to check on our patients