Wits celebrates a century of dental firsts
- Wits University
Oldest dental school in SA and Africa, the Wits School of Oral Health Sciences, celebrates centenary.
Among the school’s firsts are introducing dental implants to South Africa, developing new ways to record and study jaw movement and major advances in orthodontics. The latter included the use of brackets bonded directly to teeth across an entire mouth, extending a technique previously applied to only one or two teeth.
That history provided the backdrop to the school’s Research and Showcase Day on 9 October, which brought together staff, students, alumni and practitioners. Presentations explored how that tradition of innovation continues through reconstructive surgery, emerging technologies and community programmes that bring dental care to people who struggle to access it.
Opening the event, Head of School Professor Londi Shangase urged colleagues to take stock of their achievements and the gaps they still needed to address. The historical reflections earlier in the centenary year had provided a foundation; the task now was to assess the school’s current work and what it would leave to the next generation.
“When we don’t tell our stories, then we are really handing over the pen to someone else,” she said.
Shangase emphasised the responsibility to develop graduates who could question, investigate and communicate, alongside becoming competent clinicians. Ethical practice and an understanding of life beyond the clinic were essential to that education. She also wanted the research presented during the day to reach communities and improve their lives.
Restoring function after injury and disease
For keynote speaker Professor Risimati Rikhotso, Head of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, the school’s progress is also part of a personal journey that began at Wits in 1987. Drawing on decades of clinical experience, he showed how advances in reconstructive surgery have helped patients with severe injuries and jaw tumours.
One case involved a patient whose gunshot injury had damaged the cheekbone and jaw joint. Rikhotso demonstrated how detailed planning and reconstruction could address the damage and restore jaw alignment and function. Other cases illustrated approaches to rebuilding the jaw after tumour removal.
He identified digital technologies, including computer-assisted planning, 3D printing and artificial intelligence, as important to the future of care. His presentation also examined tissue engineering, a research direction that seeks to regenerate damaged or missing tissue and could reduce the need for extensive reconstructive procedures.
The prospect matters because reconstruction can itself place a substantial burden on patients, with complications and further surgery. Rikhotso described the need to develop approaches that restore tissue with less harm.
Alongside these advances, he highlighted the continuing burden of oral disease and unequal access to treatment in South Africa. The future of the profession would also depend on reaching people who struggle to obtain care.
A dental clinic that travels to patients
The Community Oral Health Outreach Project (COHOP) offered a practical example of how the school addresses that need. Its origins date to 1983, and its two mobile dental clinics combine treatment with student training and community research.
The outreach presentation described work in communities including Diepsloot and Orange Farm, as well as visits to schools, including those serving children with disabilities. Services include emergency dental care, extractions, restorations, scaling and polishing, screening and oral health education. Patients who need further treatment are referred to the Wits Oral Health Centre.
For people who cannot readily reach a dental facility, untreated toothache can mean difficulty eating, disrupted sleep and missed days at school or work. The programme brings care closer to them while helping students understand the circumstances that shape their patients’ health.
Outreach is a compulsory part of training for dental and oral hygiene students. They assess community needs, treat patients under supervision and learn to explain oral health to audiences ranging from young children to high school learners. The mobile clinics maintain the supervision and infection-control standards expected in the teaching clinic.
The relationships extend beyond dental treatment. Staff and students participate in school activities and provide career guidance, helping learners understand the opportunities available at university.
A further community dentistry presentation, delivered on behalf of Professor Yolanda Malele-Kolisa, highlighted the research arising from this work. It reported 28 publications between 2022 and 2026, alongside student research achievements and collaborations with partners in South Africa and Sweden.
The facilities and partnerships for the next century
Dr Daisy Kotsane at the School of Oral Health Sciences emphasised the shared responsibility to translate research into evidence that improves clinical practice, policy and services, while keeping patients and communities central to training and innovation.
That responsibility also requires investment in the places where students learn and patients receive care. The school and the Gauteng Department of Health are pursuing a new school and dental hospital, with modern facilities to support teaching, research and clinical services.
Securing funding remains a substantial challenge, making private-sector partnerships important to the project.
The plans build on an institution that has maintained training and accreditation through serious disruption, including a fire that displaced services. As it enters its second century, the school is seeking the facilities and support to train future practitioners and extend access to oral healthcare.