oral healthcare

World Oral Health Day 2024

March 20, 2024

One of the most rewarding aspects of my oral healthcare advocacy journey has been witnessing the increasing awareness of the importance of oral health. An example of this was my meeting with the Honourable Nat Cook, the Minister for Human Services. Her background working as a nurse at Julia Farr Highgate Park, caring for residents living with disability, heightened her understanding of the profound impact of oral health on general health, and also on a person’s inclusion and participation in society.

Our ability to speak clearly, smile with confidence, and gain access to employment can be directly impacted by our oral health. In the past this crucial aspect would get overlooked in discussions on general well-being and inclusion. Together, we can continue to change that narrative and advocate for better access to dental care, so that every person can access their full potential. Happy World Oral Health Day!

#OralHealthAdvocacy #InclusionMatters #specialneedsdentistry

#worldoralhealthday2024

Special Needs Dentistry 2024 events and conferences

January 21, 2024

It’s important not to underestimate the difference a smile can make. We can all build a more inclusive society, one smile and one conversation at a time.

To oral healthcare professionals interested in learning more about Special Needs Dentistry, given it is January, when many people are planning out the conferences and events they will be attending, I collated a list of 2024 Special Needs Dentistry events, national and international, to support you in integrating them into your professional development this year. These are the ones to my knowledge, please feel free to let me know if there are any others I have missed and I will add them on. If you have subscribed to my email list you will have received this information in your inbox. If you are interested in receiving future email updates about Special Needs Dentistry and my mindset-somatic coaching offerings you can sign up here!

ADOHTA are holding a SA-NT CPD Dinner on Special Needs Dentistry:

Date: 16th February 2024. Location: Adelaide

ADAWA are holding a CPD event on treating people with disability (so pleased to see them use my preferred term “diverse-abilities!”)

Date: 20th July 2024 . Location: Western Australia

International Association of Disability and Oral Health 27th iADH Scientific Conference is in Seoul this year.

Date: 26th September 2024. Location: Seoul, South Korea

Special Care in Dentistry Association (SCDA) is hosting a virtual summit and a conference:

Date: September 26-28th. Location: Orlando

The Virtual Summit is on April 20th 2024

For those of you who aren’t in a position to fit in an overseas trip in September, The Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons The Fine Edge of Dentistry 2024 conference in Cairns this year is featuring a number of Special Needs Dentistry related topics on medically-compromised patient management including a series of three lectures by the keynote international speaker A/Prof Nathaniel Treister on oral complications in cancer patients, a masterclass on acute and chronic management by Dr Amanda Phoon Nguyen, Dr Michael Burgess and Dr Leanne Teoh, a presentation by Dr Sharonne Zaks on Working with patients impacted by Family Violence and Sexual Assault, and an update on the growing list of drugs causing MRONJ by registered pharmacist and dentist, Dr Leanne Teoh.

I’m also excited to be presenting a mindset and psychosomatic practice-based masterclass on Juggling the Priorities. It is great to see more conferences featuring non-clinical topics in their programs to support the wellbeing of clinicians. Hope to see you there, and if we haven’t met before please do come up to say hi 🙂

Advocacy: Provision and access to dental services in Australia

December 23, 2023

It was an honour and privilege to speak with the Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Honourable Mark Butler MP, regarding the final report from the Select Committee into the Provision of and Access to Dental Services in Australia. There were numerous recommendations in the report related to the needs of the patients of whom I and my fellow Specialists in Special Needs Dentistry provide care for, including oral healthcare for people with Head and Neck cancer, the oral health recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care, access to sedation for people with disability, and addressing workforce shortages including initiatives for upskilling and training of the dental profession to care for people with disabilities and complex needs. This represents the combined efforts of many different advocates, clinicians, patients, and their families – thank you to everyone who highlighed the ongoing importance of access to oral healthcare for marginalised groups in our community, especially for those who may not be in a position to speak up for themselves. Thank you to Minister Bulter, Nick Martin, and Rob Dabrowski for recognising the importance of this conversation, with access to oral healthcare affecting not only a person’s quality of life, but also, the length of a person’s life -especially for our elderly, people with intellectual disability and people with swallowing difficulties, who can die prematurely through a lung disease caused by inhalation of dental plaque #brushingteethsaveslives #oralhealthadvocacy #specialneedsdentistry

Dr Trudy Lin Special Needs Dental Clinic Video Tour

December 19, 2023

As one of very few Specialists in Special Needs Dentistry based in South Australia, I worked at the Special Needs Unit of the Adelaide Dental Hospital for 7 years, and in 2023 made a transition to providing mobile dental services to people in their homes and residential facilities; as well as, practicing at an accessibility-friendly private clinic in Mile End which includes access to nitrous oxide/happy gas. Excited to share this video of the new clinic location, we created this for our patients and families to familiarise before their visit – enjoy!

Dr Trudy Lin Special Needs Dental Clinic Tour – YouTube

#specialneedsdentistry #accessibilityforall #dentalclinic #oralhealthmatters‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‍

Patient advocacy

January 24, 2023

I believe that as healthcare professionals, it is important for us to be a voice for our patients who cannot, or are not in a position to speak up for themselves. Persistence is an important part of advocacy. For so many years my patient’s oral health struggles remained unheard, unseen and invisible. It was privilege to bring visibility to my patient’s struggles to the South Australian Minister for Health and Wellbeing, the Honourable Chris Picton, Gemma Paech, Minister Picton’s Chief of Staff, and Peter Jensen, Health Adviser to Minister Picton, and have a fruitful discussion on avenues to improve equitable access to oral healthcare for South Australians. Thank you to all the oral health advocates who have come before me and continue to advocate for our patients – their struggles are being seen and our collective voices are being heard.

#advocacy #oralhealth #specialneedsdentistry

ABC Adelaide oral health tips

December 23, 2022

Thank you to ABC Adelaide and Emma Pedler for the opportunity to share practical strategies on how to look after you and your loved one’s oral health over the festive season!

You can listen from this link, starts at 1 hour 31 minutes: https://www.abc.net.au/adel…/programs/drive/drive/14122200

Emma asked what my wish was for 2023, my answer was for as many people as possible to spread the message that “Brushing teeth saves lives” to help prevent oral health from being a barrier to people living the full length of their life and their full quality of life through being able to eat, speak and smile! The life that every person has the right to live.

#specialneedsdentistry #oralhealthadvocacy

The right to smile

December 18, 2022

David Washington and I first started our conversations about inclusion and oral healthcare in a Q&A with over 700 people at the Australian of the Year Luncheon. Last week, we continued the conversation in studio, with a deep dive into oral health inequities, my views on disability as a social construct as opposed to a medicalised model, solutions I have been advocating for throughout this year with reflections on its impact, and a sneak preview into initiatives I will be working on in future.

Thank you David for the opportunity for these important messages to reach more listeners through the @indaily podcast: https://omny.fm/shows/notes-on-adelaide/the-right-to-smile

#specialneedsdentistry #oralhealthadvocacy #inclusionadvocacy #ausoftheyear

Tour of honour – upper spencer gulf

November 17, 2022

It was such a privilege to be a part of the Upper Spencer Gulf Tour of Honour. Thank you to Australia Day in South Australia and the sponsors who created the opportunity to bring oral healthcare advocacy and inclusion advocacy to hundreds of leaders, students and community members across Port Lincoln, Whyalla and Port Pirie. A special thank you to Justin Commons, CEO of the Whyalla City Council for the invitation to be a part of the Leadership Forum. The passion and dedication of the leaders with the common purpose of fostering belonging for young people in the community led to profound conversations, insights and ways to build upon community inclusion. It was an incredible demonstration of the magic that happens when people are brought together with a shared mission. It is a memory that will stay with me, and one I will use to fuel my passion to continue creating positive change into the future

#oralhealthadvocacy #tourofhonour #ausoftheyear #publicspeaking

Invitation to attend the Queen’s Funeral

September 17, 2022

No words can explain how incredibly humbled I feel to be one of the 10 everyday Australians invited to attend her Majesty’s funeral. I’m not sure I can ever reconcile how I could have recieved this honour, but my hope is the focus is on less on me as an individual being chosen, and more of this honour belonging to all 25 specialists in Special needs dentistry in Australia. I am grateful for the opportunity this invitation brought for me to meet with our Premier and discuss importance of equitable access to oral healthcare due to its impact on general health, wellbeing and how essential it is for inclusion and participation in society – through being able to eat, speak and smile.

It has been deeply profound and moving for me to see how the presence of us ordinary Australians at her Majesty’s funeral means so much to so many people. Since the announcement I have received many messages from different people who share an aspect of their identity with me, from fellow specialists in Special needs dentistry, oral healthcare professionals, Australians with an Asian background, and young females. Their messages saying they are proud to have me there, representing people like them, just as many people with disabilities feel proud to have Dylan Alcott representing them. I feel a strong sense of duty and responsibility to do my best to be a worthy representative of our country and its diversity, and hope to make Australia proud.

Thank you to every person who has sent messages and posted – I carry all of your wishes, deep respect and condolences for her Majesty with me as I pay respect to her incredible life of service and commitment to the community.

Dr Trudy Lin lecture on when to refer Special Needs Dentistry patients

RACDS Emerging Young Lecturer Award

September 10, 2022

I was humbled to recieve the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons Emerging Young Lecturer Award at the Fine Edge of Dentistry conference in Melbourne after presenting my lecture “When to refer? A holistic understanding of patients with Special Needs” on 10th September 2022.

Thank you to the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (RACDS), judging panel Ian Meyers, Rebecca Wong and Nicky Kilpatrick, and convenors Warren Shnider and Erin Mahoney for this honour, and for supporting young dentists to contribute to our profession not only as clinicians, but also as educators and building capacity as leaders. Congratulations to all the other participants for your valuable research and dedication to continual growth and learning.

Thank you to Colgate for sponsoring this award and creating this platform to share and raise awareness around Special Needs Dentistry in our profession.

oral healthcare

Copyright © 2025 trudylin.com