Special needs dentistry

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

Improving access to Oral healthcare for people with disability

December 9, 2023

Reflecting upon 2023, one of the significant milestones of this year was publishing results from the research thesis I undertook during my specialist training in Special Needs Dentistry, which compared and assessed two case mix tools developed by the British Dental Association in stratification and triaging of patients in the Australian context. I was humbled to present the findings at the International Association for Disability and Oral Health conference in Paris, alongside specialists in Special Needs Dentistry from all over the world who investigated various assessment tools in their own respective countries.

This sharing of knowledge highlighted the exciting prospects for collaboration and innovation in addressing the common challenges faced by individuals with disabilities in different countries. My sincere hope is that this published data can contribute to improving access to oral healthcare for people with disabilities, both in Australia and worldwide. To read more: Comparing the BDA case mix tool and simplified case mix tool for stratification of public dental patients with disabilities in South Australia – PubMed (nih.gov)

Cancer research fundraiser

February 26, 2023

It was wonderful to get in front so many generous people and speak at the Life’s Good fundraiser supporting cancer research at SAHMRI. It is always a privilege to share on important topics such as this one. An important lesson I’ve learnt from my family’s lived experience with cancer, and the privilege of caring for people with head and neck cancer, is not to underestimate the profound impact that simple kind words and actions can have. Spending that extra time with someone to let them be heard, may not take a lot of time out of your day, but could mean the world to someone facing the daily battle for their life. There is a strong ripple effect which then helps the loved ones who are connected to that person too. So let’s give generously in the ways we can, whether that be through donations to support cancer research or cancer support groups, and also remember to give generously through kind words and actions.

#cancerawareness #cancerresearch #specialneedsdentistry

Autism and neurodiversity advocacy

February 15, 2023

Drawing upon the lived experience of my youngest brother Arron who has autism, and the autistic people I have cared for as a Specialist in Special Needs Dentistry, I met with Emily Bourke – Labor MLC, our nation’s first Assistant Minister for Autism to discuss the oral healthcare needs of people with autism and the barriers they face to accessing care, which impacts on their general health, wellbeing, and flows on to limit their opportunities to access education, employment and live life to their true potential. I heard concerns about the negative impact of poor oral health and the barriers to accessing dental care echoed this week at the Autism Community Forum. Thank you to all of the people who stepped out in courage and shared their lived experiences that night. I encourage all individuals and caregivers with lived experience with autism to share and bring visibility to the issues which are important to you through emailing a few sentences, a video or audio clip to SAAutismStrategy@sa.gov.au by February 20th 2023.

Let’s amplify the voices of those with lived experience in shaping South Australia’s First Autism Strategy and be a part of building a community which is more inclusive of neurodiversity

#inclusion #neurodiversity #specialneedsdentistry #advocacy #oralhealthcare

International day of people with disability 2022

December 3, 2022

Thank you to our Premier Peter Malinauskas for inviting me to attend the state dinner celebrating the Adelaide 500 last night. It was wonderful to continue our conversations regarding the importance of oral healthcare access and pass on this T shirt in celebration of International Day of People with Disability today! This day creates the opportunity to raise awareness and improve understanding of people with disabilities, so we can build a more inclusive community. Many people are unaware that Australians with an intellectual disability die 20 years younger than the general population, and the leading cause of their premature death is lung disease caused by inhaling dental plaque. I don’t want Australians to be dying from something that is so preventable, so thank you Premier for helping to spread the message that, “Brushing teeth saves lives!”

#idpwd2022 #specialneedsdentistry #oralhealthadvocacy #disabilityinclusion

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

Reflections after her Majesty’s funeral

September 25, 2022

It was an extraordinary honour to attend Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. I found the experience deeply moving, and will carry it closely for the rest of my life.

I felt a high intensity of grief seeing her Majesty’s coffin as it entered the Abbey, mourning that her Majesty, who had been a constant presence for so many, was no longer physically here with us. There were many moments which felt like a sensory overload, from the touching choir voices, to the respectful silence in which a pin drop could be heard, the seamless execution & attention to detail with precise timing & positioning of every person – all an outpouring of deep respect to honour an incredible woman devoted to the service of others. Akin to seeing the queue of people waiting to pay their respects before the funeral, I feel emotional processing the enormous impact of her Majesty: the efforts of every person who contributed to the service, the people across the world attending, the millions of people in the streets of London, the billions of people across the world watching – all representing her Majesty’s impact on the entire world. Her life is an incredible example of how much contribution a person can have from a young age, into older age and even their last days.

I have learnt through experiences of death of my family members, friends and patients, that even though they are no longer physically here with us, they still live within us in a different form. They live on through our memories, the stories we share, and the impacts they had on our lives. Her Majesty left a deep impact on the world, and even on the day of her funeral, she continues to deepen that impact, through extending an extraordinary honour for everyday Australians to be present –which has a profound impact on each of us, but also on the Australians who felt represented by us.

Through spending time connecting with the everyday Australians (sadly Chris was unable to join us), 2 things stood out to me: we are a diverse group of people from very different walks of life, ages, and cultures. Secondly, the underlying thread binding our contributions is empowering marginalised groups in our community. Dylan & I through advocacy for people with diverseabilities (my preferred term for disability), Helen, Kim & Danny assisting trauma survivors, Shanna’s support of geographically isolated communities, Saba helping migrants & refugees, Miriam-Rose through creating opportunities for Indigenous children, & Val helping people struck by illness or danger.

One of many things that makes me proud to be Australian is our value of everyone having a fair go, meaning equal opportunity & inclusion for every person, no matter their age, race, gender, culture, or diverseability. Every person matters & holds intrinsic value as a unique human being. I believe the diversity & support of marginalised groups of our everyday Australians is a great representation of Australia’s values of equal opportunity & inclusion. To stand alongside my fellow Australians and represent the values that make me proud to be Australian, I have Her Majesty to thank for this profound experience.

Thank you your Majesty, for the honour of attending your funeral, enabling everyday Australians to be representatives of the inclusion & diversity of our wonderful home.

Thank you for the opportunity to thank our Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for extending your invitation and express how much it meant to Australians that felt represented by my presence – Asian Australians, young females, Special Needs Dentistry specialists and oral healthcare professionals. It enabled discussions of equitable access to oral healthcare with our Prime Minister and avenues to action this.

Thank you your Majesty, for your dedication and being an inspiration to follow in your footsteps of contributing for many years to come.

Thank you your Majesty, for the impact you had on the world during your life, and your ongoing impact as you live on in our memories, stories, and through our lives. May you rest in peace.

Special needs dentistry

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