Dental As Anything

Why is it so hard for the more than 1 in 4 Australians who live outside of capital and major cities to access dental care? And how much is that a factor that contributes to the higher burden of disease we see in regional and rural communities? In 2023, 74.3% of the population lived in major cities across Australia, and dentists disproportionately work in these areas. That means for one quarter of...

How do we know if we are suffering from main character syndrome? Or even have strong narcissistic tendencies. And what impact might that have on the provision of patient care? Main character syndrome. We’ve all experienced it, even if you’ve never heard the term before. You’re driving to work when another driver – completely oblivious to the traffic around them – casually merges into your lane wit...

One in every six women in Australia experiences physical or sexual violence before the age of sixteen. In 2022, 64% of reported assaults to WA Police were family violence-related. We know that family violence has a significant impact on the health, inclusion, confidence, dignity and financial independence of women. Healing Smiles is a group of volunteer dentists who provide pro bono dental treatme...

Australian dentists write around 70,000 prescriptions for antibiotics each month. And medical practitioners are also prescribing antibiotics for dental problems. But how many of those prescriptions are actually necessary, and are we contributing to antimicrobial resistance. This week is World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week , a global campaign to raise awareness and understanding of AMR an...

During the US presidential election campaign, Robert Kennedy Junior tweeted that a Trump White House would advise all US water systems to remove fluoride from public water supplies. Trump has previously indicated that Kennedy would likely have an influential health role in his administration. Now that the election outcome is clear, should the dental profession be concerned about this threat to wat...

New data from the Australian Institute of health and Welfare has highlighted that there has been an increase in the number of preventable hospital admissions as a result of dental problems over the past year, and the highest rate was amongst children aged 5-9 years. Yet paediatric dentists are having their access to general anaesthetic lists cut because they are no longer profitable for hospitals....

How much sugary drinks do you consume? Is it more or less than the average Australian? And do you know the harm that it’s doing – not just to your dental health, but to your overall health as well. In Australia, teenagers are consuming 60 grams (15 teaspoons) of added sugar per day, with 1 in 6 consuming more than 130 grams (33 teaspoons). That is well in excess of the upper limit of 24 grams (6 t...

Knowing and understanding the history of colonisation in Australia is important to tackling the gap in oral health that persists in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations. In this episode of the Dental as Anything podcast I speak to Patrick Mercer. Pat is a Wadawurrung Kulin man with family connections to Ballarat and Melbourne in Victoria. He currently works as a Lecturer in First Nati...

Are you a Luddite? Do you know the origins of the term? It might surprise you to know that the original Luddites opposed the automation of textiles and weaving jobs during the industrial revolution. They weren’t opposed to the technology as much as they were concerned about the impact on their jobs. And they foresaw the disruption that has rippled through many industries since then, as automation...

Does your boss contact you after hours asking you to complete tasks? Or are you the boss always texting your employees to get additional work done? New laws have come into effect across Australia now to protect the rights of workers to disconnect from work and switch off in their own time. In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast we look at the history of ‘right to disconnect’ laws, the i...

Are Health Stars making us healthier? That’s the intent behind those little star ratings that you find on food and drinks in the supermarket and convenience stores. The Health Star Rating system was introduced as a voluntary scheme in 2014 to try and tackle a slew of diet related diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. So it’s worth reflecting on whether they are ac...

What can we – as dental practitioners and advocates – really do to tackle the social and commercial determinants of health? And is it even our role to do so. In the previous  episode  of the Dental As Anything podcast I argued that poor oral health was as much a social issue as it was a dental issue. In this episode we explore some of these social issues, focusing on poverty and income equality, a...

Is poor oral health a dental issue or a social issue? Is the solution to reducing increasing rates of tooth decay and periodontal disease found within the four walls of the dental clinic, or is there a need to step back and consider this as a social problem as well? In this episode of Dental As Anything, I talk about the inverse care law, how that plays out in the maldistribution of the oral healt...

Artificial intelligence tools are expanding into all areas of health practice, and clinical notes provide an opportunity for efficiencies - but it's important to be aware of the risks. In this episode I speak to Bree Jones from Melbourne University about the use of artificial intelligence in writing health records. What does it mean to summarise information? How accurate will that AI summary m...

You wouldn't invest in tobacco companies, but would you invest in fast food and sugary drinks, knowing the harms they cause? In this episode of Dental As Anything I pose the question of whether health practitioners should invest in companies that cause harm and contribute to the stream of patients coming through our doors. Should making greater investment returns come at the expense of public...

There are many parallels between the pressure cooker environment of the MasterChef kitchen and a dental practice. So it shouldn't be surprising that there are valuable lessons that could be useful. Although it’s been nearly 10 years since I was on the show, it sometimes feels like it was just yesterday. I often reflect on the experiences over that 5 month period – because the more I look back,...

The somewhat controversial issue of tongue ties hit the media last week, with a newspaper article highlighting some harrowing patient stories and the boom in popularity of the tongue tie release procedure. In this episode of the Dental as Anything podcast I speak to Dr Mihiri Silva about diagnosis and management of tongue ties. Mihiri is a specialist paediatric dentist who is a Senior Lecturer at...

In a span of only 30 years, the cost of a dental education has gone from zero to anywhere from $60,000 to $430,000. With inflation running hot over the past few years, many graduates are seeing their debt increasing. Fortunately a recent budget decision will provide some relief for those with an outstanding student debt. This week Matt discusses these recent changes to HECS indexation, the need fo...

Dental personnel have a long history of ensuring that the members of our Army, Navy and Air Force have good oral health. ANZAC Day is an opportunity to reflect on their service. In this episode of the Dental as Anything podcast I speak to Dr Amanda Leen about her experiences as a dentist in the Royal Australian Army Dental Corps. Amanda joined the Army as an undergraduate dental student, and serve...

Being a competent dental practitioner is about much more than just surgical skills, and it is important that we focus more broadly on our role as physicians of the mouth. Dental education, like any form of education, is a beginning and not an end. It starts the journey, equipping graduates with knowledge and skills that can then be built on, and indeed must be built on, over time. It also equips t...

There have been many dire predictions of an oversupply of dentists over the past decade, but do we in fact have too many dentists? Let's find out in this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast, where Matt discusses the issues of workforce supply and demand. This is particularly relevant as advocacy ramps up in the push to increase government funding for dental programs such as a Senior Dent...

Artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms will play an increasingly important role in dental practice, and there is no escaping that inevitability. But it is not without risk. Alongside efficiencies in the way that dentistry is practised, there are concerns about over-diagnosing, data security and privacy, the use by third parties and direct-to-consumer applications, and on the wellb...

Is artificial intelligence going to change the way you practise dentistry? According to this week’s guest Dr Max Ganhewa, the answer is a resounding yes. Machine learning algorithms are able to detect dental caries and periodontal disease by assessing radiographs. There is an opportunity to improve treatment decisions too, and this information might help guide patients to assess options as part of...

This week Matt is joined by Dr Tim Keys, a specialist paediatric dentist whose research looked at clinical caries management. When do we make a decision to intervene restoratively? And perhaps more importantly, how do we make that decision? Is there a gap between the evidence and how clinicians actually practice? In a thought provoking episode, Tim challenges us to explore the current evidence and...

This week Matt talks about public funding in the context of dental service provision across both the public and private sectors. Did you know that $1 in every $5 spent on dental care in Australia comes from the public purse? With the possibility of reform coming off the back of a Senate inquiry into dental services, it’s important for all dental practitioners to be aware of the reasons that change...