The Dental Head Start Podcast

Saliva… or rather spit! We’re told it’s important to test saliva at school but does knowledge about the patients saliva change the way the patient is treated? What can findings in our saliva cultures tell us about diseases such as Alzheimer’s or infective endocarditis? Joining us again to talk all things oral environment is none other than the wonderful Dr Samantha Byrne. Later on in the piece Samantha lists off a paper that we will have the link to in the show notes along with ways you can reach her if you have any questions for today’s episode. Stay tuned! The post TIP #126 – The State of Saliva with Dr Samantha Byrne appeared first on Dental Head Start.

As dentists, we are one of the very first people to be looking inside a child's mouth and picking up on potential signs that may be reflective of the way that they are sleeping, breathing, eating, growing, and thriving overall. I know oftentimes I have young parents bringing in their children and asking me how their child developing and if there is anything they can do differently. Fortunately, this is Dr Shereen Lim’s area of expertise and over a series of episodes we will be discussing everything to look for from childhood bruxism, to sleeping patterns, bad habits tongue ties, diet and feeding, and jaw development. In this first part, we’ll be diving into a case study of a little girl that I saw just the other day with severe bruxism, and how we would go about managing her situation. The post TIP #125 – Childhood Bruxism: A Case Study with Dr Shereen Lim appeared first on Dental Head Start.

In today’s episode I chat with Dr Martin Mendelson, our second international guest on the DHS podcast from the USA, all about how to overcome challenging career circumstances. We also discuss the importance of mindset and that there is no cookie cutter approach to a dental career. The post Mental Wellbeing Focus #2 – Overcoming Challenging Career Circumstances with Dr Martin Mendelson appeared first on Dental Head Start.

There is so much stress and anxiety that comes with graduating and entering the real world of dentistry, and it's so easy to get swept up in it all. As new grads, at some point in our first few years there will be a moment where we hit a bit of a wall, when the magic and glamour starts to fade, and we're left to wonder, “Is this it? Is this what I want to be doing? Is this all there is?” Are you in love with dentistry? I'm not sure if it's a conversation we often talk about, but I'm sure it's something we all think of. After sustaining a back injury that left her unable to work for four months, Dr Cathleen Dong was forced to reflect on her dental journey - what she enjoyed, what she didn’t, what was rewarding and what she wanted to change or pursue. In this episode, we dive into her story. We talk about exploration, about dabbling in different avenues to find out what it is that we enjoy and thrive in, and we dissect the whole concept of finding fulfilment in what we do. The post FEATURE #83 – The Reality of Dentistry Post-Graduation with Dr Cathleen Dong appeared first on Dental Head Start.

All this talk of AI machine learning, but what does this mean for dentistry? Am I going to be able to plug in a bitewing radiograph and the computer can tell me where the caries is for me? Join Dr Pethani and Haydyn Bathurst as they discuss all the breakthrough and limitations to all things machine learning in dentistry The post TIP #124 – What is AI Machine Learning and its Future in Dentistry? with Dr Hanna Pethani appeared first on Dental Head Start.

In today’s episode I chat with Dr Mahrukh Khwaja about the how positive psychology can help us thrive in our dental careers. This is our first international guest on the DHS podcast all the way from UK. The post Mental Wellbeing Focus #1 – Positive Psychology in Dentistry with Dr Mahrukh Khwaja appeared first on Dental Head Start.

From learning all things oral pathology in school we learn to memorise specific pictures in textbooks that we spot in exams and go ‘Yes! I’ve seen this pathology before!’ however when it comes to actually seeing oral pathologies in the mouth, particularly the pigmented lesion, it can get very confusing between what is normal, and what isn’t, particularly as we learn to look at wide ranging demographics of patients when first starting out. With me again is oral medicine specialist Dr Kang, and we look at what things to be aware of when spotting pigmented lesions, and what actions we can take to making sure we are providing essential care to our patients. The post TIP #123 – The Pigmented Lesion with Dr Michelle Kang appeared first on Dental Head Start.

For many of us, perhaps one of the biggest reasons and deciding factors that led us to choose dentistry, was the work-life balance it would afford us. The flexibility in our working hours and a steady income that may one day allow us stability to settle down, work less days and have time to raise a family. But perhaps this is much easier said than done. There’s so much you want to do and learn and achieve, and before you know it, you’re struggling to juggle everything all at once. In this episode, with Dr Vicky Prokopiou, as someone who has been there and risen above it, we talk all about it - from her early years starting up a practice from scratch, to uprooting and moving to a small rural community of 3000 people 6 hours away from Sydney, and starting a family. We learn about the challenges she faced and overcame that has now bred the enthusiastic and positive mindset she has towards life. We talk about raising a family, about IVF and how to juggle the different hats of being a dentist, businesswoman and a mum. It’s a conversation we don’t talk a lot about, but something very very real. So join us for this episode, and let’s get above it! The post FEATURE #82 – Business, Motherhood and Leading Women in Dentistry with Dr Vicky Prokopiou appeared first on Dental Head Start.

If there’s one thing I wish dental school taught me better, perhaps second only to how to luxate properly, it would be how to section a tooth. Picking up a surgical bur for the very first time can be so daunting. Where do I drill? What do I drill? How far down do I go? In this episode, Dr Cecilia So talks us through the step-by-step process of sectioning a tooth and the landmarks you should hit so that you can do it controlled and predictably every time. So if you want to learn how to save another poor tooth from snapping into root tips that you can't dig out, then stick around for this episode.And if you haven't already, check out our previous episode with Dr Cecilia So on TIP #118 Extractions…Pick Your Battles Wisely. The post TIP #122 – How to Section with Dr Cecilia So appeared first on Dental Head Start.

For those in dental school right now you may be familiar or unfamiliar with who ADSA are, what things they run and what they stand for. Throughout the lockdown period in 2020 and 2021, a lot of us dental and oral health students have missed out on learning about all the things that ADSA are involved with in our dental schools. 2022 has seen a great comeback with the convention and involvement with dental school events now that restrictions have been eased. To learn what ADSA are about this episode presents Sanika Shorey the president of the ADSA committee in 2023 to excite you as to what things ADSA has to offer this year The post TIP #121 – The Who What When Where of the ADSA with Sanika Shorey appeared first on Dental Head Start.

At Dental Head Start, our mission is to nurture a platform that stays relevant to the times and for the people whom it serves - students and new graduates like yourselves. It’s our goal to provide our listeners with content that is honest, relatable and digestible to give insight into what real world dentistry really looks like. So who better to hear from than from you guys directly - our listeners who have followed along over the years, and have now been there and done that. Joining us in this episode are new graduates Dr Jayarna Hartland, Dr Olan Hartley and Dr Zainab Noor to share their perspectives as a new graduate. From job hunting to work-life balance, managing quiet books to disgruntled patients, we talk about it all. We bring down all the walls and talk about our wins and losses, managing our anxieties and the big plans we have for our futures. So for all the new grads in the exact same boat, join in the conversation! You are not alone. The post FEATURE #81 – Perspectives of a New Grad with Dr Olan Hartley, Dr Jayarna Hartland and Dr Zainab Noor appeared first on Dental Head Start.

It’s all the office talk at the moment. Is ChatGPT going to take my job as a dentist??? In the face of technological advancement, there are both the negative naysayers and the blind believers… where does that leave you? I pondered the same question. If I’m going to be hearing all this chatter from colleagues, students, tutors, and lecturers… who can provide some clarity in this ever-changing field. I’m so grateful to be bringing on today’s guest Dr Hanna Pethani, who is a highly accomplished and dedicated dental professional and a PhD student in the Biomedical Informatics and Digital Health Department at the School of Medical Sciences at the University of Sydney. In this episode (and another coming) we talk about all things AI in dentistry and get to the bottom of how these tools work and what they mean for our industry. Curious? Please have a listen! The post TIP #120 – AI: What is Natural Language Processing and Its Future in Dentistry? with Dr Hanna Pethani appeared first on Dental Head Start.

When we sign up to become dentists and study the art of teeth, we learn things like head and neck anatomy, prosthodontics in understanding the shape and contour of teeth, and orthodontics in where the teeth should sit in relation to the face. Apart from the aesthetic and engineering side of teeth, we too often forget about the function of teeth and the role of the mouth as part of a winding long tube that we all call the digestive system. With us here is Oral Medicine specialist Dr Michelle Kang to talk about a chronic condition that can very much present itself in the oral cavity inflammatory bowel disease. The post TIP #119 – What is IBD and Its Role With the Mouth with Dr Michelle Kang appeared first on Dental Head Start.

If there’s one procedure that as new grads we often fear we may need a senior dentist to bail us out of - it’s a tricky extraction. In this episode with Dr Cecilia So, we discuss picking your battles wisely - which cases to tackle, which ones to avoid, how to calibrate yourself and how to get started. Just like any new procedure, the first one is always daunting. But overcoming it is a bandaid ripped off, a milestone moment and a huge relief. So for anyone wanting to get started with surgical dentistry, but are unsure about where and how to get started, tune in for this uplifting pep talk with Dr Cecilia. The post TIP #118 – Extractions… Pick Your Battles Wisely with Dr Cecilia So appeared first on Dental Head Start.

In dentistry we learn lots about how bacteria is the cause of all our problems, from dental caries, gingivitis, pulp necrosis and periapical lesions, are all bacteria bad for us? To discuss this question I’ve brought on Senior Lecturer at Melbourne University, Dr Samantha Byrne to discuss all things saliva and the environment that it creates for our microbiome. Very quickly into this episode you’ll learn how quickly this stuff gets nuanced in that there’s not really such thing as a good or bad bacteria. Another is the different ways in which patients may misinterpret advice that we give them. Okay Dr I’ve stopped drinking that lemonade like you told me and replaced it with drinking lemon juice instead? Who knew spit could be so interesting. Let’s get into it! The post TIP #117 – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of the Oral Environment with Dr Samantha Byrne appeared first on Dental Head Start.

In today’s episode is an interview with the current president of the Australian Dental Student Association Sanika Shorey. We talk about what to expect out of your first year! Really because all dental schools are different we’re more focusing on your overall first half of dental school and what things you should expect and prepare for. This is an episode that will equip you well, and if you have any dental student in mind that you think this could be targeted for please feel free to share this with them. The post TIP #116 – How to Shine Bright in Your Early Years of Dental School – with Sanika Shorey appeared first on Dental Head Start.

‘Why can’t you get that stubborn piece of calculus off? In this WIWIK we bring back CJ to ask how to get that OHT clean feeling along with advice on proper periodontal charting and handling of children with a clean. Stay tuned!’ The post TIP #115 – That OHT Clean Feeling! with William Carlson-Jones appeared first on Dental Head Start.

In this month’s feature episode we ask Oral Medicine Specialist Dr Michelle Kang about her journey and experience through the big wide world of oral medicine. Topics discussed include the variation in city and rural cases, the experience of travelling and the importance of a good support network to help you through tough times. Please sit back and enjoy! The post FEATURE #80 – The Big Wide World of Oral Medicine with Dr Michelle Kang appeared first on Dental Head Start.

Welcome to the first of a series of monthly catch ups with Erica! Starting full-time work can be exciting, daunting, invigorating and exhausting all at the same time. It takes a lot out of you - mentally, physically, emotionally and socially. In this episode, Erica shares the lessons she’s learnt in her first month so far and the mentality she is developing in order to stay positive and focused on improving her skills as a new grad. In true ‘What I Wish I Knew’ style, Erica goes over 12 tips for fellow new grads and those currently in dental school to think about. How should you take that X-Ray? Should you use rubber dam? What if I hit the pulp? All this and lots more discussed in this episode! The post TIP #114 – The First Month (The Mental, Physical & Social Exhaustion) with Dr Erica Hwin appeared first on Dental Head Start.

You will never get the girl/boy, the job or the case acceptance if you do not simply ask. Sounds obvious, but critically analyse your own communication and case acceptance. Are there situations where you've seen a patient again and again and fallen into a habit of single tooth dentistry, without offering the comprehensive solution? Dr Mark Hassed is an expert in case acceptance and communication and this is one of hundreds of useful tips he's shared over the years of coaching dentists via The Relaxed Dentist. He writes a weekly blog and has made his renowned course online, on-demand for your Covid shutdown blues. Don't die wondering, Ask! The post TIP #113 [RE-RUN] – Don’t Die Wondering, Just Ask with Dr Mark Hassed appeared first on Dental Head Start.