There are easier ways to cut an apple, but none as high tech as the School of Dentistry’s Dole Laser. That’s what members of the school’s Dental Explorer Post saw in action at their November meeting.
The Explorer Post, a group of high school and college students learning about dentistry, examines a different aspect of profession each month. The latest meeting featured a demonstration of the Dole Laser, typically used for crown preparation and biopsie. But for this demonstration, Kelly Suchman, DDS ’00, AEGD ’01, sliced into an apple.
Suchman, clinical assistant professor and director of the school’s Advanced Education in General Dentistry Program, told the Explorer Post members that fourth-year dental students at UMKC have a rotation during which they get to use the laser.
The student group, sponsored by the school in collaboration with the Boy Scouts of America Exploring Division, exposes high school and college undergraduates to dentistry and explores whether it’s a good career fit for them. The monthly meetings usually include a guest speaker, food and a hands-on activity, with help from members of the school’s Student National Dental Association/Hispanic Student Dental Association chapter: Rue Erhenede, Mahaam Qadeer, Taylor Johnson, Lena Adams, Drew Chatters Meshal Alborno, Kim Kha, Shurouk Alkharabsheh, Meredith Gomes, Yasmeen Qadi, Safa Nawazish and Uyen Hoang. Faculty members Derek Williams and John L. Cottrell also were on hand to help.
