Dedicated dental professionals were honoured last week with Public Oral Healthcare Awards for their care and commitment to community dental services. The awards, presented by Dental Health Services Victoria (DHSV), are given annually to dental professionals who go above and beyond to care for those Victorians most in need of dental treatment.
Mr Mick Ellis, DHSV Board Chair, said the awards pay tribute to the often unacknowledged work being done by public oral health care professionals.
“These awards showcase the extraordinary contribution of people working in public dental clinics across Victoria,” Mr Ellis said.
“All of the nominees this year were of such high calibre that it was hard to pick winners from the quality bunch” he said.
“Our winners and finalists deserve to be commended for their dedication to improving the dental health of people who cannot afford private dental treatment and who are often those most at-risk of oral disease.”
The winners were recognised at an awards ceremony as part of the DHSV annual general meeting on 28 November and received funding of $5,000 to attend a health conference of their choice to continue their professional development.
The winners were:
Award 1: Innovative Model of Care
North Richmond Community Health – Health Promoting Practice Model
North Richmond Community Health’s ‘Health Promoting Practice Model’ has patients at the heart of its service. Led by Dr Martin Hall, the dental team consists of staff with a range of skills to provide patients with individualised care plans to provide the treatment that they need. In addition, the dental staff come from multicultural backgrounds and this has been beneficial in communicating with their patients who are predominantly from the Vietnamese community.
This creative workforce strategy has ensured that despite workforce shortages, NRCH would be able to meet the needs of their patients through the flexible, multicultural and preventive approach taken by Dr Hall and his team. The Health Promoting Practice model of care improves patient satisfaction and oral health outcomes. Not only have staff indicated higher levels of workforce satisfaction, the clients attending North Richmond Community Health are also reporting positively about the care they receive.
Award 2: Excellence in service delivery
Peninsula Health Dental Team – Peninsula Health Community Health Dental Program
The dental team at Peninsula Health takes care of the marginalised population groups in their community – they have an extensive outreach program focussing on their priority groups to ensure they receive the important dental care they need. This is no easy feat as they are located at an isolated catchment area spanning around 850 kilometres.
Peninsula Health provides care for over 280,000 people, a number that increases by up to 100,000 during the summer months. Nonetheless the results of their outreach program are remarkable. Over the past 12 months, they delivered services to 50 preschools, providing screenings to around 2500 children. They also took part in the ‘Terrific teeth for teenagers’ project which offered screenings to 750 students and identified barriers to accessing dental care. The secret to their approach is creating strong partnerships with agencies to deliver these services to the community. The dental program is located in Frankston, Rosebud and Hastings.
Award 3: Leader in Oral Health
Dr Michael Smith – Director of Dentistry, Barwon Health
For over 16 years Dr Michael Smith has been a leading force in public oral health services across Geelong, Bellarine, Colac and the Surf Coast region. Dr Smith was a lead driver in addressing positive health initiatives and advocating for fluoridation across the region, with an aim to reduce the incidence of tooth decay. Dr Smith lobbied for extension of services to remote areas within the region including Apollo Bay, Lorne, Birregurra and Lavers Hills in partnership with the public health leaders in the main towns.
With a passion for oral health prevention, Dr Smith has led education initiatives and implemented the Minimal Intervention Dentistry (MID) Technique with public oral health team across the sub-region. In addition, he works with educators and families of young children, through the Kinder Wide Smiles program to educate and promote the key oral health messages.
