An Afternoon with the Amazing Apollonius Allen
Taking a Faculty Diploma such as the MFGDP(UK) means revisiting your anatomy. However anatomy doesn’t have to be hard slog, it can be fun ! Andrew Shelley reports on his amazing afternoon with anatomist Apollonius Allen.
“When you know your anatomy it gives you confidence!” proclaims Apollonius. He’s right of course and I was really looking forward to the anatomy module of my implant course with Perio-Implant Europe. Unfortunately I had a long standing prior commitment. “But you’re missing the best bit !” cried my colleagues from the previous year’s intake. I was gutted, as they say around here in Manchester. Then a chink of light, Apollonius had found a free afternoon in his hectic schedule and invited me for a one to one tutorial at his dental practice in London. In one astonishing afternoon Apollonius covered all the relevant anatomy for dental implantology and much more as well. His knowledge of anatomy never stops, he just knows everything. “People get confused” he confides, “They think that because I am a dentist I only know the head and neck but I know full body anatomy”.
Educated at the University of Lagos, Apollonius emerged in 1983 with his BDS, MSc and PhD in anatomy. By 1986 he was the first dental anatomist in the whole of Africa. Having won a scholarship to continue his studies at the University of London he then moved to England and picked up his FDS RCS Eng. Apollonius now combines his London dental practice with a heavy teaching schedule. This includes not only dental students at Guy’s hospital but also gynaecologists, physiotherapists and anyone else who can make use of his encyclopaedic brain. As if this wasn’t enough to keep him busy he is also a church minister. This is important because when you know about this you can see where his approach comes from. It’s as if he is marvelling at God’s work.
Apollonius’s teaching methods are engaging. For example did you know what a nervous plexus really is ? Like me you probably thought it was a little knot of nerves. “It’s a party!” says Apollonius. “The nerves all get together to have fun but one of them has too much to drink and leaves worse for wear!” He’s talking about the lesser petrosal nerve leaving the tympanic plexus and weaving a tortuous drunken course on his way. With Apollonius every anatomical situation has a story to help memory and keep you interested. His enthusiasm for his subject never lets up. He demonstrates with a comprehensive collection of specimens including every separate bone of the skull, even the tiny ossicles. If he can’t illustrate his point with these he also has a slide for every eventuality.
If you get the chance to hear Apollonius on anatomy it will change the way you think about dentistry. After all it’s the basis for everything we do, that’s why they teach us anatomy first when we get to University. It is also a vital part of the Faculty diplomas such as MFGDP(UK). You can find Apollonius on the courses run by Perio-Implant Europe but he hopes that he will be able to spread his knowledge more widely to the profession in the future.
After an afternoon of his boundless enthusiasm for anatomy I confessed, “I’m beginning to feel a lot better about carrying out implant surgery”. “Ah hah !”, replied Apollonius, “He who has knowledge has power !”
“When you know your anatomy it gives you confidence!”
By 1986 Apollonius was the first dental anatomist in the whole of Africa.
With Apollonius every anatomical situation has a story to help memory and keep you interested
For more information about Perio-Implant Europe see www.implantsuccess.com
