Photos by Bruce Bottomley

By Cheryl Bell
Communications Manager
Dal Faculty of Dentistry

Given Soleil Ghaffari’s (BSc’24) first day of dentistry school was in September, it might sound a bit surprising that he spent the summer working in a research lab that specializes in the use of dental curing lights — but that’s exactly what he did. Ghaffari feels the experience has set him up well for his current studies. He may even have his name on a publication as a result of his work.

During his undergrad years, Ghaffari studied medical sciences. His father is a doctor and his uncle is a dentist, and Ghaffari enjoyed the “sciencey” subjects at university, particularly physics. He also has an artistic side, and enjoys painting, wood carving, and music (especially piano). He considered both medicine and dentistry as career options. By the third year of his BSc, he knew his sights were set on dentistry because it brought science and art together.

Researching a researcher

With a plan for his future, Ghaffari decided he wanted to spend the summer after his third year doing dentistry-related research. He started by researching all the labs on the Faculty of Dentistry website.

“That’s how I found Dr. Richard Price,” he says. “His research into the different restorative materials and curing lights appealed to me the most, so I emailed him with my CV.”

Ghaffari spent that summer working with Dr. Price on analysing the characteristics of different blue curing lights – the lights used to cure composite fillings. He also conducted his own research project on the fluorescence of different materials, and a paper is currently being prepared for publication.

For his fourth-year honours project, Ghaffari opted to study the properties and benefits of new red and infrared curing lights that are now appearing on the market.

“The main point of our research was to conduct tests to verify the benefit — or lack of benefit — of the red and infrared lights in the light-curing unit, particularly their safety,” he says.

Learning about lights and materials

This past summer, Ghaffari not only heard that he was accepted into Dalhousie’s dentistry program, but also that he was able to take his honours project research farther by scrutinizing the evidence for the use of the red and infrared lights. His aim is to make sure it’s as “airtight” as possible, and that they had drawn all the conclusions they could.

Although the bulk of his time over the past two summers has been spent in the lab, Ghaffari says Dr. Price showed him around the dentistry building and introduced him to other researchers and faculty members. He also became familiar with all the machines and other equipment in the building that could be used for the research he and Dr. Price are working on.

“My interest in dental materials has grown through the research I’ve done,” Ghaffari says, “and I know having this knowledge of materials and techniques that I’ve gained over the past two summers is going to be super beneficial as I go through dental school and one day work in a practice.”  

Dr. Price is also positive about the work and the potential it holds for Ghaffari.

“This experience has given Soheil a deeper understanding of the dental profession and dental research,” he says. “He is enthusiastic about presenting his research at international dental conferences and may even travel to Brazil next summer to conduct further research.”