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The Australia and New Zealand Sports Dentistry Association is launching soon, with some of the country’s top medics claiming it’s long overdue. By John Burfitt
Often when Dr Umair Mohammed talks to dentists about sports dentistry, he hears the same comments.
“They might say things like, ‘Sports dentistry is all about mouthguards and trauma—and that’s nothing to do with me’,” Dr Mohammed says. “And yet for anyone working as a dentist in a community which plays sports—which is so many dentists across Australia—this does indeed involve them.”
That misconception sums up the current challenge facing sports dentistry, an evolving subfield within the profession. It’s also why a new dental body is about to be launched across Australia and New Zealand.
On 17 October, the inaugural ANZ Sports Dentistry Conference will be held at Sydney Olympic Park, bringing together dentists, sports physicians, allied health professionals and athletes.
Organisers plan to use the conference as a launching pad for the ANZ Sports Dentistry Association (ANZ SDA), an organisation designed to provide education, networking and professional pathways for dentists interested in working in sport.
Among the key speakers at the one-day conference will be Dr Brett Dorney, Dr Sharron Flahive, Adjunct Professor John Orchard, Dr Lawrence Neville and Imogen Johnson. All are on the frontline of Australian sports dentistry.
The ANZ SDA conference program will explore various facets of sports dentistry including nutrition, oral health, dentofacial trauma management, endodontic approaches to sporting injuries and emerging instrumented mouthguard technologies.
Edinburgh-based Dr Mohammed, who has been a driving force behind the success of the UK and South African Sports Dentistry Associations, believes the Australian conference is an important opportunity for dentists to learn about sports dentistry.
“The medics are seeing value in what we as dentists bring to the table in sports because they understand that it’s not just about mouthguards, not just about trauma; it’s about the whole approach to dentistry in sport,” he says.
“You’re looking at the whole picture and working with other medical personnel to help athletes and players at all levels of sport get the best out of their abilities. Once you understand how much of a key role oral health can make to performance, you realise sports dentistry is a far bigger field than many realise.”
Dr Mohammed, who played representative cricket at an elite level before turning his focus to dentistry, is one of the first five dentists in the world to be awarded a Master’s in Sports Dentistry from London’s prestigious UCL Eastman Dental Institute. He also works with organisations including Cricket Scotland, Scottish Rugby and across a range of practices in Edinburgh.
Back in 2012 and 2013, he worked as a dentist in Sydney and Perth, and believes that for a highly engaged sporting nation like Australia, the ANZ SDA has a crucial role to play.
We will need some local sports dentistry champions, and I have already been encouraged by the response. This is important because it will enable dental professionals to provide a higher level of care to young Australian sportspeople.
Dr Brett Dorney
“The whole point of creating this new association is to encourage dentists who want to take an important step in their career, whether they’re working with elite teams or have patients playing sport with their local clubs,” he says.
The UK and South African chapters of the organisation have created practitioner networks, promoted research and education, and strengthened collaboration between dentistry and sports medicine. The plan is for the ANZ SDA to replicate those international models locally while creating better opportunities for Australian and New Zealand clinicians.
Dr Mohammed says the feedback he has already had from local sporting bodies while organising the upcoming conference has revealed strong support for sports dentistry.
“When you’ve got chief medical officers from major sporting codes asking, ‘Where have you guys been?’—as many have said to me in recent months—then that tells you there’s a huge opportunity just waiting for the right people to step in,” he says.
Dr Mohammed dismisses the idea that sports dentistry is only relevant to practitioners working with professional athletes. He believes its greatest impact may be felt at a grassroots level.
“You hear so many dentists say, ‘I want to serve my community,’ and sport is a major part of the Australian community, so you can be working with kids from the local rugby team or netball team—and that involves you in the community more,” he adds.
After the Sydney conference, full operation of the ANZ SDA will get underway. There are plans for ongoing CPD programs, webinars, workshops and educational initiatives aimed at building sports dentistry expertise.
Australia’s original sports dentist Dr Brett Dorney says while the launch of ANZ SDA is an important milestone, it needs the active involvement of dentists across the country. “We will need some local sports dentistry champions, and I have already been encouraged by the response,” he says. “This is important because it will enable dental professionals to provide a higher level of care to young Australian sportspeople.”
Proposals for the ANZ SDA include setting up a shared knowledge base for sports dentists to access educational material and research. “This involvement will allow a continuation of my life’s work and I’m excited to be able to share this with an upcoming generation of sports dentists in Australia,” Dr Dorney enthuses.
“I would also like to see more sports dentistry content offered in universities for dentists and dental hygienists, which will enable coverage of a wide area of dental treatment and care.”
Dr Mohammed hopes the creation of the ANZ SDA opens new doors for practitioners to realise sports dentistry could be part of their future.
“You can work in a practice, do the dentistry you love, build your business role in your community, and work alongside athletes at the same time,” he says. “You may just need that spark ignited so you can see yourself doing it.”
For more information visit ANZSDA.eventbrite.com.au
