CATEGORY AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST 13 “We don’t always spend enough time educating our patients as to the reason ‘why’ dental-appliance hygiene is so important, and then showing the ‘how’ with regards to home care products that are easy to use and give a great result.” Did you develop the products on your own, or did you collaborate with anybody else? Our team consulted many dental professional experts, scientists and engineers, along with a number of consumer groups to design and test all six products. Let’s talk about your profession more generally. You are an experienced dentist. When you compare today’s dentistry with the field during your university studies, how much has it changed? And what do you hope will come next? Dentistry today is so much better! Digital technology, material science developments and the possible clinical results are truly breathtaking. The challenge is to keep the service affordable so most can enjoy these advances. We need to have a strong public service, so that people who can’t afford it can be looked after as well. In terms of future, a lot more oral health content needs to be included in all medical and paramedical training. Tele-dentistry will be an important tool to facilitate this integration. And what about the patients, do they care about their teeth more than they did in the past? Some people take their oral health seriously and others don’t care at all. I think just as many people care now as they did back then, and just as many people don’t. I wish I could say that people took the health of their mouths more seriously, but I think four out of five people care about their mouths, one in five just don’t. That’s why it’s important to keep educating the public about the relationship between oral health and general health. How do you work on your continuing education? I love to go to conferences. There’s also so much content online – webinars are a wonderful tool. I can listen to an expert in Japan, an expert in Germany and an expert in the USA, all in the same day. We owe it to our patients to stay up to date with the latest science, techniques and products as they deserve and expect this from us. What are the golden rules of your professional career? Respect your patient’s opinions, time and money. Respect your staff and display good manners, fairness and decency, and of course, respect yourself. “I believe we owe it to our patients to stay up to date with the latest trends because they expect it from us.” What about your future plans? 2022 promises to be an exciting year and I have already accepted a number of invitations to present and teach Portable Dentistry and Aged Care Dentistry. As I mentioned, I have also taken up a teaching role in a local technical college that trains aged care staff. I am a big fan of the iTOP philosophy and hope to continue my training and along with my colleague Dr Tihana Divnic-Resnik, we are in the development phase of an iTOP module tailored specifically towards aged care and seniors. How do you keep your work-life balance? What are your favourite ways to relax? Years ago, I was advised that “Nobody lays on their deathbed wishing they had spent more time at work”. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and I’m still playing golf badly (laughs). In Australia we barbecue and picnic a lot, and now that Covid pandemic restrictions have lifted we will be heading to the beach. u Dr MarkWotherspoon is an accomplished dental practitioner, presenter and educator with 30 years of experience, based in Wagga Wagga, Australia. Mark has held government service appointments as a Dental Officer in Western Australia and in the Army Dental Corps. He is the founder of Dentist to your Door, specialising in portable dental services, and of Dr Mark’s HyGenie, a range of dental-hygiene products for removal dental appliances. 1800 806 450 www.amalgadent.com.au Visit Amalgadent Booth#265 for ADX23 special offers! Booth #265 Footer Ads #97.indd 2 19/01/2023 6:37:39 PM INNOVATIONS
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