Third-year dentistry student and Juniper, NB native Tom Steeves is the 2016 CDA/Dentsply Student Clinician Researcher of the year.
This year鈥檚 competition attracted 15 entrants from all 10 Canadian dental schools, each of whom presented their table clinic to a panel of three judges at the Pacific Dental Conference in Vancouver in March.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 too nerve-wracking,鈥� says Tom. 鈥淲e had to do a 10-minute presentation and then take questions. I had practised a lot, so I was prepared.鈥�
Tom receives his prize in March. (Provided photo)
Tom鈥檚 prize-winning topic was 鈥淎 prospective evaluation of 1- versus 3-day post-operative antimicrobial therapy in preventing surgical site infection following orthognathic surgery.鈥� He became interested in this subject during a summer research project in the Faculty of Dentistry after his first year 鈥� the one research topic the oral surgery department had available to offer him.
鈥淚t turned out to be much more interesting than I expected and I became more involved in the project,鈥� says Tom. 鈥淚 enjoyed the opportunity to work in a hospital environment, which is something I wanted to experience.鈥� Tom will be a named contributor in a forthcoming article in the Journal of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery.
Looking ahead to a future in research
After he finishes the fourth year of his DDS program, Tom is considering returning to study oral and maxillofacial sciences 鈥� a further six years of education that would give him a combined MD/MSc degree.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big commitment, so I鈥檓 keeping all the doors open at this point,鈥� he says, 鈥淚鈥檓 very grateful to Dr. Curtis Gregoire and Dr. Clayton Davis for the opportunities and advice they have given me.鈥�
As for his experience at the Pacific Dental Conference, Tom says he enjoyed meeting students from the other dental schools and that the conference organizers made sure the group had the best experience possible, with lots of opportunities to talk with dental professionals from across the country.
As the winner of this year鈥檚 competition, Tom received a $1,000 Pierre Fauchard Academy scholarship, a life membership to the CDA/Dentsply Student Clinician Research Program and a paid trip to the American Dental Association Annual Session in Denver, Colorado, in October.