IMU Students Bag First and Second Prizes at APDSA Scientific Research Competition

The Asia Pacific Dental Students’ Association (APDSA) was formed in 1968. This Association organises an annual congress which is held in different member countries. Each year, over 300 students and dentists from more than 13 countries in the region attend this congress. The annual congress serves to forge strong bonds between students across the region and breed future leaders in dentistry. The Scientific Research Competition is held in conjunction with the Congress and this is a platform for dental students in the Asia Pacific region to present and discuss current research being undertaken by them. This year, two IMU dental students won prizes at the APDSA Scientific Research Competition. Kan Ing Zheng, a final year student, won first prize in the Oral Presentation Category while Ester Kok Sook Kuan who is in her fourth year, was the 1st runner up in the Poster Presentation. Ing Zheng and Ester shares their experience here.

Kan Ing Zheng (DT1/15)
Title of Presentation: Evaluation of Anatomic Variations of Mandibular Lingual Canal Using Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in the Malaysian Population’
As part of their degree programme, fourth year IMU dental students are required to complete a research project under the Special Study Module. Completing and writing up the research project was not an easy task as every one of us had zero experience in this. My research partner and I faced many challenges along the way but we managed to overcome it by helping each other with the valuable input from both our research supervisors, Dr Ranjeet Ajit Bapat and Dr Sham Kishor. For this, I would like to express my gratitude my supervisors and the other lecturers for their guidance throughout this journey and I would especially like to thank Sugunadevi, my research partner for her assistance, guidance and cooperation. After all the hard work towards the completion of this research, I wanted the opportunity to present and share our research findings. To achieve this, I entered the APDSA Scientific Research Competition (SRC) and was shortlisted among 15 finalists to present our research in the competition. In achieving this, I believe that my learning experience in IMU has really helped in preparing me for this presentation. At the University, there are many student-led activities where students are given opportunities to present in class and that is where I am able to practice and improve my presentation skills. Besides that, I had also previously attended other dental conferences where one of my aims was to observe and learn from other speakers on how to present a paper. At the conference, I paid special attention to the quality of presentations that caught my attention. It was then that I realised that the presentation can make a difference even though the topic appears boring. So, based on what I have observed and learnt before, for my presentation at the APDSA Scientific Research Competition, I tried to make my topic interesting and easy to understand. As part of my preparation for the presentation, I read as many articles as I could in relation to my research topic so that I would be very familiar with it. I also tried to understand how my research would make an impact clinically. This had really helped me during the Q&A session of the research competition when I was asked some very challenging questions. Thanks to my hard work before the competition, I managed to pull through this difficult part of the competition. I was thrilled to be the winner of this competition and as the winner, I secured a scholarship to attend the International Dental Exhibition and Meeting (IDEM) in Singapore next year. Throughout my life, I have always felt that I have stage fright but the experience of presenting at this competition has helped me overcome this a little. The whole experience of presenting at an international conference was a wonderful journey and an invaluable lesson for me. Society grows through research. This could be the beginning of my research journey. I truly believe the world can be a better place if we can create impactful research. Winning the competition is a bonus. The most important thing is that I enjoyed the learning experience and journey. I would therefore like to encourage all students to gain the exposure that I got by presenting their research in conferences.

Kan Ing Zheng (DT1/15)

Title of Presentation: Evaluation of Anatomic Variations of Mandibular Lingual Canal Using Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in the Malaysian Population’

As part of their degree programme, fourth year IMU dental students are required to complete a research project under the Special Study Module. Completing and writing up the research project was not an easy task as every one of us had zero experience in this. My research partner and I faced many challenges along the way but we managed to overcome it by helping each other with the valuable input from both our research supervisors, Dr Ranjeet Ajit Bapat and Dr Sham Kishor. For this, I would like to express my gratitude my supervisors and the other lecturers for their guidance throughout this journey and I would especially like to thank Sugunadevi, my research partner for her assistance, guidance and cooperation.

After all the hard work towards the completion of this research, I wanted the opportunity to present and share our research findings. To achieve this, I entered the APDSA Scientific Research Competition (SRC) and was shortlisted among 15 finalists to present our research in the competition.

In achieving this, I believe that my learning experience in IMU has really helped in preparing me for this presentation. At the University, there are many student-led activities where students are given opportunities to present in class and that is where I am able to practice and improve my presentation skills. Besides that, I had also previously attended other dental conferences where one of my aims was to observe and learn from other speakers on how to present a paper. At the conference, I paid special attention to the quality of presentations that caught my attention. It was then that I realised that the presentation can make a difference even though the topic appears boring. So, based on what I have observed and learnt before, for my presentation at the APDSA Scientific Research Competition, I tried to make my topic interesting and easy to understand. As part of my preparation for the presentation, I read as many articles as I could in relation to my research topic so that I would be very familiar with it. I also tried to understand how my research would make an impact clinically. This had really helped me during the Q&A session of the research competition when I was asked some very challenging questions. Thanks to my hard work before the competition, I managed to pull through this difficult part of the competition. I was thrilled to be the winner of this competition and as the winner, I secured a scholarship to attend the International Dental Exhibition and Meeting (IDEM) in Singapore next year. Throughout my life, I have always felt that I have stage fright but the experience of presenting at this competition has helped me overcome this a little. The whole experience of presenting at an international conference was a wonderful journey and an invaluable lesson for me. Society grows through research. This could be the beginning of my research journey. I truly believe the world can be a better place if we can create impactful research. Winning the competition is a bonus. The most important thing is that I enjoyed the learning experience and journey. I would therefore like to encourage all students to gain the exposure that I got by presenting their research in conferences.

Esther Kok Sook Kuan (DT1/16)
Title of the Poster: Effect of Clinical Audit on the Quality of Molar Root Canal Treatment
At the beginning of Semester 7, Prof Allan Pau Kah Heng, the Dean of School of Dentistry introduced us to clinical audits where he emphasiesd on the importance of these audits in achieving improved quality and outcomes for patients. This triggered my interest to carry out an audit and I was truly humbled to be given an opportunity to be involved in a clinical audit on the quality of molar root canal treatment. I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation towards my supervisor (Dr Abhishek Parolia) for his endless guidance, support and motivation throughout the audit. During the audit, we were guided relentlessly from radiograph evaluation till audit analysis which allowed us to carry out the audit smoothly and confidently. I also very grateful to my audit teammates for their help and support during the clinical audit. The fruitful time and discussions we had together was definitely an unforgettable experience. I would like to say a big thank you to them and acknowledge their contribution to this achievement. I was encouraged to enter the APDSA Scientific Research Competition and share the knowledge and experience I gained from this clinical audit with other international students. During the preparation of the poster for the presentation, I learnt to use graphics well and improve on my presentation skills. Most importantly, I learnt to be confident while presenting. I have to thank my supervisor again as he identified my weaknesses and gave unsolicited suggestions about my presentation. During the conference, I had the opportunity to make many positive connections and have discussions with other presenters regarding their research topics. This has allowed me to expand my horizon of knowledge and experience. I learnt a lot from this experience and am eagerly looking forward to utilising that knowledge when taking part in future competitions.

Esther Kok Sook Kuan (DT1/16)

Title of the Poster: Effect of Clinical Audit on the Quality of Molar Root Canal Treatment

At the beginning of Semester 7, Prof Allan Pau Kah Heng, the Dean of School of Dentistry introduced us to clinical audits where he emphasiesd on the importance of these audits in achieving improved quality and outcomes for patients. This triggered my interest to carry out an audit and I was truly humbled to be given an opportunity to be involved in a clinical audit on the quality of molar root canal treatment. I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation towards my supervisor (Dr Abhishek Parolia) for his endless guidance, support and motivation throughout the audit. During the audit, we were guided relentlessly from radiograph evaluation till audit analysis which allowed us to carry out the audit smoothly and confidently. I also very grateful to my audit teammates for their help and support during the clinical audit. The fruitful time and discussions we had together was definitely an unforgettable experience. I would like to say a big thank you to them and acknowledge their contribution to this achievement.

I was encouraged to enter the APDSA Scientific Research Competition and share the knowledge and experience I gained from this clinical audit with other international students. During the preparation of the poster for the presentation, I learnt to use graphics well and improve on my presentation skills. Most importantly, I learnt to be confident while presenting. I have to thank my supervisor again as he identified my weaknesses and gave unsolicited suggestions about my presentation. During the conference, I had the opportunity to make many positive connections and have discussions with other presenters regarding their research topics. This has allowed me to expand my horizon of knowledge and experience. I learnt a lot from this experience and am eagerly looking forward to utilising that knowledge when taking part in future competitions.

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