Thrown in the deep end
Going to underserved communities in Cambodia put Connor and his peers in the literal hot-seat, away from beaches and palm trees and into deck chairs.
“We were with a mobile dental unit and we had basically deck chairs rather than dental chairs and folding plastic chairs for ourselves to sit on," he says. “I think you learn a lot when you’re thrown in the deep end."
"To be working without the creature comforts we have here — working in 33-degree heat will test your resolve a bit, working with sub-adequate lighting and working without a full dental chair and a dental assistant and things.”
JCU Dentistry student Connor Smith
Connor said his experience with young children in the Tekeo Province was particularly eye-opening.
“We don’t treat as many children in Australia because, fortunately, Australian children don’t have as many dental problems,” he says. “Paediatric dentistry is fundamentally different. Working on baby teeth and working with a child is very different to working on an adult. We definitely got a lot of experience in that area that we wouldn’t have back home.”
JCU’s partnerships with overseas universities was the driving force that allowed Connor, a student dentist, and his peers to practice in foreign countries and gain unique and valuable experience unavailable to most.
“When I actually applied for dentistry I didn’t know that overseas posts were a thing for dentistry,” he says. “I didn’t realise that the partnerships existed to allow students to practise overseas similar to how we practise here in Australia.
“I think it was a fantastic opportunity.”
The compassion Connor experienced extended from the people of Cambodia as well, who welcomed the JCU students.
“The people of Cambodia, their attitude towards us was fantastic, they’re such a friendly people in general and we felt very welcomed by the citizenry,” he says.