The University of Bristol’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Eric Thomas, will open the new Clinical Skills Laboratory in the Bristol Dental School and Hospital on 3 March after an extensive three-year refurbishment programme funded by the University.

The new lab will provide facilities for undergraduate dental students to learn basic and advanced clinical procedures such as tooth restoration. It will also be used by hygiene and therapy students and for postgraduate training. 

The lab is based on an amphitheatre design with a central tutor station surrounded by 30 simulators or ‘false heads’ containing teeth on which students practise dental procedures. The simulators are complemented by audio-visual equipment that enables the tutor to send close-up images of work in progress via a ceiling-mounted camera to flat-screen monitors on the students’ workstations. Slides, CD-Roms, DVD images and the lab’s clinical microscope can also link into the system.

Professor Cowpe, Head of the Department, said: ‘This facility is pivotal to the training of dental students, enabling a smooth transition from learning intricate techniques to providing an excellent clinical service for patients. It is an essential facility for a modern dental teaching institution.'