Basic Orthodontics for the General Practitioner
with Dr. Paul Witt
September 2019 – July 2020
Limited Enrolment
This course provides instruction in orthodontic examination, diagnosis, and treatment-planning with emphasis on the goals, objectives, and realistic expectations of orthodontic treatment. Didactic instruction will be supplemented with clinical demonstrations, treatment case examples from a broad practice data-base, and “hands-on” experiences.
Paul A. Witt, DDS, Dip Ortho, FRCD(C), received both his dental degree (1974) and a diploma in orthodontics (1979) from the University of Toronto. He has been practising full-time as a Certified Specialist in Orthodontics since 1979 and has been teaching orthodontics part-time since 1981. He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor with the Graduate Orthodontics Program and the chief lecturer for the Orthodontic Module, both in the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of British Columbia.
UBC-Radiant Advanced Orthodontic Study Club
with Dr. Paul Witt
September 2019 – July 2020
Limited Enrolment
This course provides instruction in diagnosis, treatment planning, and practical experience in comprehensive orthodontic treatment procedures for general practitioners who already have some familiarity with orthodontics. General dentists who have taken a basic orthodontic course, or who are already including fixed orthodontic appliance treatments in their practice are eligible to join this study club. Without such a background, recent graduates (less than three years since graduation) from UBC, or other undergraduate dental programs with substantial orthodontic components, can participate, but may find the pace and content of the advanced program challenging.
Participating doctors will provide their own patients and should be prepared to present treatment proposals for group discussions with Dr. Witt and the other participants. While it is not necessary, especially initially, that participants orthodontically treat patients, it is anticipated that most participants will choose to become involved in clinical treatments eventually. For those choosing to treat patients, regular attendance at most monthly sessions is necessary to maintain proper continuity of treatment.
Paul A. Witt, DDS, Dip Ortho, FRCD(C), received both his dental degree (1974) and a diploma in orthodontics (1979) from the University of Toronto. He has been practising full-time as a Certified Specialist in Orthodontics since 1979 and has been teaching orthodontics part-time since 1981. He is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor with the Graduate Orthodontics Program and the chief lecturer for the Orthodontic Module, both in the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of British Columbia.
Advanced Orthodontics for the General Practitioner
with Dr. Benjamin Pliska and Dr. Siddharth Vora
September 2019 – August 2020
Limited Enrolment
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. 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.
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.
