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Technology at NYUCD

NYUCD has effectively incorporated information technology into its curriculum in numerous ways. Students have both wireless and wired access to the Internet from several locations within the college as well as the within the Waldmann Dental Library, allowing them to interact with faculty during various parts of the academic program and to review material from a full range of sources. Students make extensive use of the NYUCD Academic Intranet, which contains all syllabi, faculty supply material and links to a large assortment of information. Using their notebook computers, students can access the NYU Home Web-based email system and Blackboard™ - an online learning system which faculty use for posting information and other communication.

NYUCD students use the digitized VitalBook™ to replace traditional books. The VitalBook™ gives each student a license for all of the textbooks in the curriculum, in the form of a digital versatile disk (DVD). In addition, the VitalBook™ contains slide presentations and video streams of lab and clinical procedures. The VitalBook™ provides software that allows students to search the contents of the books to find specific information. This is a powerful tool that helps to prepare students to be effective in their practices. Information on the VitalBook™ and computer requirements for entering students are located on the NYU College of Dentistry Web site: www.nyu.edu/dental/compreq.html

Hand held devices (Personal Digital Assistants, PDAs) are used by students to store and retrieve information during lecture, pre-clinic and clinic. Students in clinic use them as a chairside resource to retrieve a large variety of information including drug and drug interaction information and patient education materials. For lectures and pre-clinic, students use these devices to take notes, review Word and PowerPoint files, and prepare for lab procedures as well as to view videos of procedures.

Digitally Enhanced Curriculum
Clinical technology has also been incorporated into the curriculum. Examples include the Invisalign ® technique (a method of straightening teeth without wires and brackets), CEREC 3D ® (fabrication of a tooth restoration using an optical impression of a tooth and a computer to design the restoration) and Diagnodent ® (a device which uses laser fluorescence for detection of occlusal caries).

Palm-powered Dental Guides
NYUCD faculty continually explore new technologies to enhance all phases of the dental education program.