Study Clubs

STUDY CLUB: Clinically Applicable Oral Pathology with Dr. Charles Shuler

October 2023 - June 2024  |  LIVE WEBINAR

Limited Enrolment ~ On-going study club, Registration for this event is open and new members are welcome!

This study club will guide dental professionals to develop an approach to recognize and manage oral soft tissue changes that can be incorporated into their daily clinical practice. The group will examine case studies of oral soft and hard tissue lesions that have been seen in dental clinical settings. Each case will be reviewed with respect to the process of recognizing the tissue change and establishing the process for moving to a final diagnosis. Participants in the course will be encouraged to bring examples from their own private practices and all cases reviewed will have been initially identified in a general dental practice.

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CHARLES SHULER, BSc, DMD, PhD, Professor, UBC, was the Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry of the University of British Columbia for ten years, finishing his second five-year term June 30, 2017. He is now a professor of oral pathology in the Department of Oral Biological and Medical Sciences at UBC Dentistry and teaching oral pathology/medicine. Prior to being appointed at UBC he was a faculty member at the University of Southern California for 18 years. At USC he served as the Director of the University of Southern California Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology holding an endowed chair position as the George and Mary Lou Boone Chair Professor of Craniofacial Molecular Biology. He also served as the Director of the Graduate Program in Craniofacial Biology and the Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs at the USC School of Dentistry. Dr. Shuler received his B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Wisconsin, his D.M.D. from Harvard School of Dental Medicine, his Ph.D. in Pathology from the University of Chicago and his Oral Pathology education at the University of Minnesota and the Royal Dental College Copenhagen Denmark. He has been active in assessing and managing clinical oral pathology patients with soft and hard tissue lesions. He has had an active research program funded by national granting agencies that focused on evaluating the molecular regulation of the soft and hard tissues of the secondary palate to better understand the etiology of craniofacial birth defects and pathologic changes of the tissues.

Advanced Orthodontics for the General Practitioner
with Dr. Benjamin Pliska and Dr. Siddharth (Sid) Vora

September 2023 - August 2024

Limited Enrolment

General dentists who have taken a basic orthodontic course, or who are recent graduates of UBC, or who have had exposure since graduation to fixed appliance principles and practice are eligible to join this advanced group.

This course provides detailed instruction in diagnosis, treatment planning and specifics of treatment procedures for general practitioners who already have some familiarity with orthodontic procedures. It is emphasized that these sessions provide practical experience, on an ongoing basis, with the practitioner's own patients. This course is not limited to theoretical concepts and laboratory procedures. Case presentations and discussions on treatment planning will be held at each session and will supplement clinical treatment of patients. Participants attend the Thursday, Friday or Saturday session.

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Benjamin Pliska, DDS, MSc, FRCD(C), is Assistant Professor of the University of British Columbia Faculty of Dentistry and maintains a private practice in Vancouver as a certified specialist in Orthodontics. Dr. Pliska is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario School of Dentistry, and obtained his Certificate in Orthodontics and Master's Degree in Dentistry from the University of Minnesota. Dr. Pliska lectures both locally and internationally on his research interests, which include airway imaging and sleep medicine.

Siddharth (Sid) Vora, BDS, MSD, PhD, is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Oral Health Sciences, Division of Orthodontics at UBC. He obtained his dental surgery degree from the University of Mumbai, India, in 2002; a Doctor of Philosophy (Oral Biology) in 2009 from Boston University; and a Master of Science in Dentistry and a Certificate in Orthodontics from the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle in 2012. Dr. Vora had been a faculty member at UW since 2013, where he taught undergraduate dental students and also trained orthodontic residents. He was also a senior Fellow at Seattle Children’s Hospital Research Institute. While at UW, he received a National Institutes of Health T90 Research Training Award and a Postdoctoral Fellowship Award from the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation. An active member of many orthodontic and dental research organizations, he also worked part-time in private orthodontic practice in the Seattle area.