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Tradition of the Prothodontic Olympics Continues

 

In many curricula, emphasis is often placed on students' quality of work, with minimal incentive or credit provided for the speed with which acceptable results are achieved.  The 'Prosthodontic Olympics' was developed by Dr. Bob Loney of the Faculty of Dentistry to provide an opportunity for second year dental students to improve their speed in performing clinical and laboratory procedures.  The emphasis is on having fun, learning, and improving one’s proficiency. Students, professors, guests and sponsors enjoyed a fun-filled morning of learning and contests to see who could be the fastest and the best at performing dental procedures.

The Prosthodontic Olympics consists of five events including procedures such as making dental impressions, preparing a tooth for a crown, and making a temporary crown.  Most procedures are performed on manikins or models. 

Students work in teams who select names and dress in costume for the games.  Each student participates in one event.  Prizes worth over $5,000 are donated by dental companies and awarded to gold, silver and bronze medalists.  A grand prize is awarded to a member of the team with the highest score, as an incentive for teams to work together, and cheer each other on.  Class is cancelled on the morning of the Olympics, there is a boisterous opening ceremonies with lighting of an ‘Olympic’ flame and the introduction of the teams.

Material and models are provided several weeks prior to the Olympics in order for students to practice.  Students have a formal practice session one week prior to the Olympics, where faculty mentors can provide feedback to help students improve their speed and quality of work.  Faculty have noted, at times, that students seem more willing to practice for the ‘Olympics’ than they might for their class assignments.

Criteria are defined for each event and points are awarded for both speed and quality for only those products that are acceptable in quality.  The student with the greatest cumulative score for quality and speed wins the event.  When ties occur, the student with the highest quality wins.  World record times are kept from year to year so students can compare their performance to those of others.  Full and part-time faculty grade products together, thereby providing an informal calibration opportunity. 

Student feedback to the Olympics has been extremely positive. One student course evaluation contained the comment, “My favorite day of the whole year was the Prosth’s Olympics”. A competition such as the Prosthodontic Olympics can improve student proficiency with minimal demands on curricular time.  Student feedback has been extremely positive.  Instructors have noted increased efficiency in clinics.  Graduates have noted that they use procedures that they once thought were too time-intensive, because they realize that they can perform them with reasonable efficiency.

The 11th Annual Prosthodontics Olympics will be held on January 28 this year. As tradition dictates, everyone will have fun. This year, there are over $6000 in prizes, including iPods & GPS navigation systems. Team Names are the Supernumaries, the Super Rest Seats, the Dexters the Crown Prosecutors, We Like Big Abutments, the Mylar Strippers and the Navy Sealants.

World record times are listed below. Congratulations to the Champions!

Event	Student	Time (min.sec)	Year
Boxing	Ghani, H.	0.19	1999
Boxing a Complete Denture Impression (Alginate)	McLEAN, Travis	0.38 sec	2006
Crown Prep	KAPADIA, Reena	3.51	2006
Impressions	SMITH, Janet	1.13	2000
Custom Trays (Auto Cure)	MacEACHERN, Sean	2.07	1999
Custom Trays (Light Cure)	REID, Meghan	4:12	2004
Provisional Rest.	SMITH, Michael	7.54	2008