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Dr Jodi Hart, co-president of the Indigenous Dental Association Australia, explains why addressing the dental needs of First Nations people remains a critical health issue. By Frank Leggett
It’s clear that oral health outcomes are poorer for First Nations people across Australia. While geographical issues can have an impact on access to care, when care is not culturally safe, oral health outcomes for First Nations people are compromised.
Barriers for First Nations Australians having access to equitable oral health care include inflexible and short-term funding cycles, inconsistent implementation, limited co-design, entrenched racism and systems not built for self-determination.
It’s these issues that are high on the agenda for Dr Jodi Hart, co-president and director of the Indigenous Dental Association Australia (IDAA). Dr Hart is a Minjungbal woman from the Tweed-Fingal area of the Bundjalung nation.
“The impact from racism that exists in society and the healthcare system simply can’t be ignored,” Dr Hart says. “It happens in remote, rural and urban settings, for example, when First Nations patients are only offered extraction and not comprehensive treatment options like root canal therapy because it is assumed they won’t commit to multiple dental visits. A lack of signage and information on dental procedures provided in an Aboriginal language is a form of structural racism.”
She adds that “the IDAA advocates for culturally safe and culturally responsive training to be a requirement for the annual registration of dental health practitioners.”
Strengthening participation
The IDAA is the peak body for Indigenous dental health in Australia, supporting First Nations Australian oral health students and practitioners. It was co-founded in 2002 as an association for dentists by Dr Chris Bourke, who approached Dr Hart while she was still a student at the University of Sydney.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the right to health is inseparable from self-determination, culture, equality, non-discrimination, participation in decision-making and freedom from racism.
Close the Gap Campaign Report 2026
After a restructure in 2021 to include oral health therapists, dental hygienists and dental prosthetists, Dr Hart became a director of IDAA. In 2024, she became the co-president.
“We advocate and represent issues that have impact for First Nations Australians,” Dr Hart says. “We want to improve oral health outcomes and strengthen participation of mob in the dental health workforce. There are currently 164 First Nations dental health practitioners registered with AHPRA—that’s 0.6 per cent of all registrations—and we’d like to see that representation increase to match the general population of 3.8 per cent. We also advocate for culturally safe oral healthcare for all people, especially Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.”
Fostering connection
At present there are 13 registered dental health training programs across Australia with 66 students who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander involved in those courses. IDAA offers support and mentorship while fostering a connection for the entire cohort.
“A lot of us went through uni as the only Aboriginal person in the course. Having connection with each other gives you the strength to keep going. Continuing this connection throughout your career is an important part of emotional wellbeing. I really needed that support to help process the outcome of the Voice to Parliament referendum.”
The IDAA supports the ongoing connection between First Nations dental health professionals and students with bi-monthly online yarns and a biennial conference.
“The diversity of First Nations Australians is not always recognised. We’re culturally diverse with a lot of us from different mobs. Geographically, we’re diverse and our work and life experience is varied. The IDAA has members in all states and territories. We have people in the public sector, private practice; we have practice owners and those holding teaching positions at universities. Diversity in our age and gender also allows us to effectively contribute our lived experiences to improving oral health outcomes for First Nations people.”
Captain and dentist
Dr Hart was born and raised on Dharug country in Sydney’s western suburbs, graduated from the University of Sydney in 1998 and spent two years in the Australian Army where she earned the rank of captain.
There are currently 164 First Nations dental health practitioners registered with AHPRA—that’s 0.6 per cent of all registrations—and we’d like to see that representation increase to match the general population of 3.8 per cent.
Dr Jodi Hart, co-president and director, IDAA
She’d been posted to Sydney’s Randwick Barracks for six months before discharging from the army and travelling to the UK with her dentist partner, Dr Marcus Venclovas, to work in a dental practice in the West Midlands.
“We were meant to be there for 12 months but the cold weather drove us back to Australia after six,” Dr Hart recalls. “We returned to Sydney, worked in a few different practices and then in 2002, we set up Fiveways Dental Practice on Gadigal land in the Sydney suburb of Paddington and were later married.”
Only one
In 2024, Dr Jodi Hart attended workshops with fellow IDAA director, Narelle Mills, for the National Oral Health Plan (NOHP) 2025-2034 in Canberra. The goal was to provide feedback on the former NOHP and oral health in Australia with a view to informing the new plan.
“I was the only Aboriginal person at the event,” Dr Hart says. “First Nations people are identified as one of the Priority Populations for improving oral health. I give credit to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing in recognising that a different form of engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was needed to properly represent the needs of mob. They contracted First Peoples Health Consulting group who facilitated yarning circles with 102 First Nations people with a variety of experience in dental healthcare.
“Instead of just me speaking for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, they had representatives from many backgrounds, including community members and the private and public sector.”
Effective services
Dr Hart is committed to improving not just the oral health outcomes for First Nations Australians, but broader societal attitudes as well.
“Culturally responsive training is really helpful,” Dr Hart says. “Understanding the true history and impact of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is essential to us moving forward as Australians and to increasing the provision of culturally safe care. It’s been covered in university training programs in more recent years but was missing when I was a dental student so there’s a knowledge gap in a large portion of registered dental health professionals.”
Dr Hart would like to see a collective effort by First Nations Australians and non-Indigenous dental healthcare providers to remove the structural barriers that prevent mob from accessing equitable oral health care in both public and private sectors with more focus on preventive care.
“The Loddon-Mallee Fluoride Varnish Program in Victoria is a great example of a successful community-led, co-designed program delivering culturally safe care,” she says. “Laws were changed so that trained Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners at the local Aboriginal medical centre could apply fluoride varnish to children. This fostered trust in the communities and even though it was targeted at children, parents and carers felt confident in having their dental health concerns addressed too.”
The IDAA Conference 2026 takes place on 30 November in Perth on Boorloo country. It’s the only Indigenous oral health conference in Australia, creating an opportunity to have face-to-face connection with members and allies. This year IDAA is also running a pre-conference workshop for members.
