The Dental Head Start Podcast

In this episode, I chat with Mirna Yousif, an OHT who worked in supportive roles in the dental practice before graduating. She talks about how being exposed to different procedures and dentists gave her the confidence to continue her journey into working alongside Orthodontists and how OHTs can support dentists who are caring for orthodontic patients. The post OHT Pathways Focus #1 – Working in Orthodontics with Mirna Yousif appeared first on Dental Head Start.

All it takes is one conversation to start a movement or inspire a change. In this episode, we wind down with Dr Amanda Phoon Nguyen and take a deep dive into aspects of our lives beyond just clinical dentistry. I think Dr Amanda is such a wonderful role model for younger dentists in terms of living to your greatest potential, chasing your passions and not worrying so much about what other people think. We talk about all things from work-life balance (and does that even exist), managing self-doubt and imposter syndrome and standing your ground and knowing when to say no. We also discuss Dr Amanda’s role as current President for the Western Australia Women in Dentistry committee, what it means to her and their vision for the future. So grab yourselves a cup of tea and wind down with us for this heart to heart chat. The post TIP #138 [RE-RUN] – Standing Your Ground with Dr Amanda Phoon Nguyen appeared first on Dental Head Start.

In this episode, we get a glimpse into the world of dental school and dental students in 2024. Join Nathan from Griffith Uni, Emily from UQ, Jack from USYD and Ashton from UWA as they share what a day in the life is like at their uni's and give valuable advice for younger students. From the parties and fun to the grind and stresses of clinic, we unpack it all! If you're a current dental student, we hope you can relate and find some encouragement from our conversation today. And if you've already graduated we hope this gives you a bit of a POV on what the next generation of dentists are up to. The post FEATURE #92 – POV: You’re a Dental Student in 2024 with Nathan Lau, Emily Lee, Jack Awad and Ashton Foo appeared first on Dental Head Start.

Wow, we are well within the first semester this year and whatever part of our dental school journey we might be at, I think it would be pretty safe to say it's only going to get harder before it gets easier at this stage. My guest in today’s episode is someone who has amassed over 1500 followers on social media by sharing her life as an OHT student and you can tell she's a devoted one as she manages to share her oral health knowledge in such a way that would make the most anxious patient passionate about their smile. We caught up since wrapping up uni last year and talk about what we’re doing to thrive and survive another challenging year of school. The post TIP #137 – OHT Student Spotlight with Kaitlyn White: Thriving and Surviving Uni appeared first on Dental Head Start.

David and Tiffany sit down and uncover their similar experiences in their journeys to becoming the dentists they are today. Tiffany grew up in Taiwan and moved from New Zealand to pursue dental school in Australia and took a liking to the relaxed atmosphere that regional life gave just after graduating. After working for a few years, she took off on a hiking adventure in Nepal then learnt spanish while travelling Central and South America. Like David, she shares the incredible experience and growth that travelling has given her and urges listeners to not expect such opportunities to land in your lap. Tiffany is about to finish her Perio postgraduate and talks about how she coped with the demands of clinicals and school all while becoming a new mother. Incredible huh? As if that wasn’t enough, Tiffany has recently created The Cusp Collective, a conference with a goal to inspire and empower women, reignite their curiosity and desire to learn, and create a community where women can openly discuss challenges and successes without judgement. Their very first event is coming in May 2024 and will be held in the Gold Coast; we are very excited about it all to say the least! The post FEATURE #91 – Empowering Women and Everything in Between with Dr Tiffany Chen appeared first on Dental Head Start.

Welcome to What I Wish I Knew by Dental Head Start. This is a podcast where we learn from people that have been there, made the mistakes, learnt the lessons and have developed into the accomplished dental professionals they are today. It’s your weekly mentoring session. Hosted by Christina Potestas I wanted to dedicate this episode to all my peers and of course all dental students who will be reaching what I believe to be one of the biggest milestones of dental school and that is seeing your very first patient. In first year, It was something I always thought about, although an exciting thought it didn't come without doubt in myself. I sat down with 2 very special people who I actually went to High school with, and who are now established dental clinicians practicing privately in Sydney. I remember them being such great, friendly personalities during highschool that I feel comfortable to turn to these two to ease my nerves of seeing my first patient and am delighted to share the chat we had with you all. You listening may be a 2nd year ready to see your very first patient, or maybe you’re someone who knows someone who is about to endeavour on this part of their journey, Or you may just be curious about what these 2 have to say. Whoever you are, I hope you enjoy listening to the chat just as much as I did having it. The post TIP #136 – Seeing Your First Patient with Dr Nicole Contemplacion & Laura Righetto (OHT) appeared first on Dental Head Start.

In this episode, Hieu and Christina miraculously got a chance amongst their hectic schedules to catch up and get to know each other a little better. Like dental school, they joined the Dental Head Start team with two feet running so it was fun to chill for a sec and in fact discover that they have quite unique experiences and journeys into dental school so far; they might have also dropped a few study tips in there as well*. They also talk about how they joined the Dental Head Start team and what they hope to achieve as new co-hosts. From Hieu and Christina: “We are very privileged to be part of this community and look forward to supporting the Dental Head Start cause. A huge thank you to David and his team for such an amazing opportunity.” *the flashcard software Christina refers to is called Quizlet The post Feature #90 – Our Dental School Journeys So Far with Hieu Dong & Christina Potestas appeared first on Dental Head Start.

Today we have a fascinating discussion with Dr. Raghu Chennapati about helping new graduates transition smoothly into the dental profession. Dr. Chennapati has a unique perspective, having trained as a prosthodontist in India before moving to Australia and starting his career over as a general dentist. He shares insights from his own journey of navigating a new country and healthcare system while building his skills. Through both his personal experiences and mentoring many new associates, Dr. Chennapati has developed a framework of 10 key points that he believes are crucial for graduates to focus on. The post FEATURE #89 – How to become a confident, competent, and resilient dentist with Dr Raghu Channapati appeared first on Dental Head Start.

In dental school, taking PAs in endodontics has been incredibly fiddly. It really puts patients through the ringer trying to catch that apex when you missed it the first time. How should we be taking PAs, how many should we be taking, can I just use my apex locator instead? These are questions we’ve been dying to have a clear answer for, and if you’ve thought the same thing this episode is for you. Joining us again is Endodontist Associate Professor Ha to help give a resolution to this. The post TIP #135 – Endodontic Radiography: How to catch that apex! with A/Prof William Ha appeared first on Dental Head Start.

If you've been a long time listener of the podcast, you may recognise some familiar voices in this episode! In this month's Feature, Dr David Keir and Dr Graeme Pearson are back on the show to catch us up on their dental journeys and in particular, on their implant journeys. Both David and Graeme have taken different approaches to their further education in the realm of implants. Whilst Graeme took a deep dive straight after graduation, is doing a GradDip and works within a surgically focused practice, David has done more online education over the years and recently undertook an overseas placement to get more experience having not had a mentor in the practice. In today's episode, they both share the pros and cons, the challenges and lessons they've discovered so far in their chosen paths. The post FEATURE #88 – Our Implant Journeys with Dr Graeme Pearson & Dr David Keir appeared first on Dental Head Start.

If you're struggling with treatment plans and communication I have absolutely no doubt this is going to help you. We have Dr Mark Hassed joining us. Mark is a general dentist who runs courses on communication and efficiency. Spending his early career learning and focusing on these topics led him to run two different successful practices and later to consult and mentor hundreds of dentists in this field. The post FEATURE #87 – [Re-Run] Communication with Dr Mark Hassed appeared first on Dental Head Start.

As a new grad, it’s almost the norm rather than the exception nowadays to have at least some form of digital dentistry within one’s practice. But it wasn’t always this way, and for many more seasoned dentists, the world of digital dentistry was something they had to slowly piece together over the years and learn to leverage. In this months’ feature, we explore Dr Lingaiah Dronavalli’s journey in dentistry from his early years as a new grad with huge expectations but without the tools, resources and mindset to grow and how that overall affected his feeling of fulfillment, to where he is today - a self proclaimed dental peacock who takes pride in his work! We talk about Dr Lingaiah’s discovery of digital dentistry and CEREC specifically, and how that’s not only shaped his growth as a clinician, but also how it’s taught him to leverage technology to maximise efficiencies and workflows within his practice and ultimately optimise the entire patient experience. We explore the concept of practice ownership and associateship and the importance of building mutually supportive environments within the practice. The post FEATURE #86 – CEREC To Success & The Patient Experience with Dr Lingaiah Dronavalli appeared first on Dental Head Start.

It’s common practice nowadays to encourage parents to bring their children in early to familiarise themselves with the dental appointment. But beyond chair rides, gloved animals and triplex tickles, what else can we do to help empower parents during these appointments? This is Part 3 of our series with Dr Shereen Lim on Sleep Disordered Breathing and Airway Health in young children. If you haven’t already be sure to check out Part 1 (TIP #125 - Childhood Bruxism: A Case Study) and Part 2 (TIP #128 - Teeth, Tongues & Tonsils) In this episode, we talk about the different stages of growth in children and the things we can help educate parents on to look out for including feeding, thumb sucking and dummy use. The post TIP #134 – Empowering & Educating Parents on Breathing & Growth with Dr Shereen Lim appeared first on Dental Head Start.

A lot of dental students that are about to graduate haven’t gotten much experience with rotary endodontics. With us here to bust many myths regarding rotary is Associate Professor Ha of the University of Sydney, a specialist endodontist and co-founder of the extremely helpful endo-prep app. If you’re looking for clarification on what a ‘hybrid system’ actually means and tips for rookies to avoid in using rotary than this is the episode for you. The post TIP #133 – Mythbusting in Rotary with A/Prof William Ha appeared first on Dental Head Start.

In today’s episode I chat with Dr Viet Le and Dr Chiraag Devani on an important mental health topic of Identity and Self Worth in Dentistry. Learn the importance of how your self worth correlates to your clinical confidence in your dental career and the MASK framework can help you better show up more authentically as a dentist you truly wish to be. We also vulnerably share some of our own challenges in our careers thus far to help normalise the struggles you may encounter in your career and how to navigate them. The post Mental Wellbeing Focus #4 – Identity & Self Worth in Dentistry with Dr Viet Le and Dr Chiraag Devani appeared first on Dental Head Start.

Welcome to What I Wish I Knew by Dental Head Start. This is a podcast where we learn from people […] The post TIP #132 – The Sixth Month (The Courage to Try Again) with Dr Erica Hwin appeared first on Dental Head Start.

With job hunting season just around the corner, we’re teaming up with Nauv Kashyap to cover the top most commonly asked questions students and new grads have when it comes to finding the right job. Even as times change, the challenges we face as new grads are evergreen. In this episode, we’re talking about the differences between dentist-owned practices vs big corporate organisations, rural vs metro considerations, how to excel as an associate, red flags to look out for in contracts and what to do when a job isn’t what it was promised to be. Nauv is a huge advocate for new grads, and is passionate about standing up for them and ensuring they are being treated fairly within their workplaces. There is so much to unpack in this episode and we’re really lucky to have Nauv’s insight on the topic. The post FEATURE #85 – Finding the Right Job with Dr Nauvneel Kashyap appeared first on Dental Head Start.

We’ve all children come in for check-ups, with no signs of active decay, but their parents stop and ask, “What are those white flecks on their teeth?” or, “But why is their tooth all brown and speckled?” Hypomineralisation. It can be a confusing situation – do you leave it, do you remove it, how much do you take away and how do you replace it? In today’s episode we are joined by Dr Deb Wong, a specialist paediatric dentist based in Melbourne, to talk all about hypo mineralisation – what it is, how to explain it to parents and how we manage it in both the anterior and posterior region. This is a great practical episode with tips on exactly what you can do the next time you encounter another one of these situations. The post TIP #131 – Hypo-what-mineralisation? with Dr Deb Wong appeared first on Dental Head Start.

In this episode, we are joined by Dr Maheer Shah, who is a part of a group of Biomimetic Aesthetic Dentistry (also affectionately known as BAD). They stand by the philosophy of recreating a tooth the way nature made it, preserving tooth structure and utilising all the strengths and properties of modern-day adhesive dentistry. It’s an area that isn’t traditionally taught in dental school, but one that is definitely on the rise. This episode is part one of a 3-part series with both Dr Maheer Shah and Dr Tim Maxwell on biomimetic indirect restorations. Today’s episode covers all the principles and fundamentals of biomimetic dentistry - what it means, what it entails, the different terminology and all the essentials. The post TIP #130 – Biomimetic Dentistry – Principles with Dr Maheer Shah appeared first on Dental Head Start.

Inclusivity, equitability, and community – these are the themes for this month’s Feature. In this episode, we are joined by Dr Trudy Lin, one of 25 Special Needs dentists in Australia and a passionate advocate for equitable access to oral health for all individuals, with her work and contributions granting her the SA Young Australian of the Year Award in 2022. In this conversation, Dr Trudy sheds light on her journey in specialising and how her mission has evolved over the years. We discuss her role within Citizen Advocacy, the story that led to her self-funding a Supported Independent Living Facility for those with special needs, becoming a mindset and leadership coach and a public speaker. Dentistry is stressful, and it's easy to get caught up in our own little worlds. However, conversations like these are a great reminder for us to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Recognise the position that we are in, and consider the small little things that we can do so that others are able to experience the same opportunities that we do. The post FEATURE #84 – Special Needs Dentistry & Oral Health Advocacy with Dr Trudy Lin appeared first on Dental Head Start.