Dr Emma Perry

Dr Emma Perry has trained in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for nine years.

“Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a grappling martial art,” Emma explains. “That means it’s a little like wrestling, where no striking is allowed, (no punching, kicking, elbow or knee strikes). It involves lots of rolling around on the ground, with the aim of applying either a joint lock or a choke until your opponent ‘submits’ via a tapping motion or a verbal shout. (Or if you break/ dislocate their joint or they lose consciousness from a choke!). There is a saying in BJJ ‘tap early, tap often’. It’s expected that during training and competition that an opponent will choose to tap rather than experience the full consequences of the submission being applied.”

Emma was encouraged to first try out Brazilian Jiu Jitsu by her now husband. “He spent 10 years trying to convince me that I’d enjoy and appreciate the art, but I had misconceptions about the brutality and attitude associated with combat sports,” she recalls. “I thought it was for meatheads who like to fight and want to hurt people. I finally gave in and said I’d attend an introductory class, mostly to stop him nagging me. That experience showed me BJJ is not about hurting people, and has legitimately earned its moniker of ‘the gentle art’.

“The emphasis is on using leverage and body mechanics intelligently to submit an opponent, and it’s possible to subdue someone in a self-defence situation without causing any permanent harm.

This means it’s also possible to train ‘full tilt’ safely, unlike the striking martial arts where there’s a risk of CTE if the head is repeatedly struck. After that first class I was bitten with the BJJ bug and just had to learn more. To an inexperienced person, rolling with even a blue belt seems like they know some kind of magic.”

Emma is currently a 4-stripe blue belt, which means she is working towards her purple belt this year.

Emma says BJJ it is inherently difficult and complex, and surprisingly cerebral, sometimes referred to as ‘human chess’.

“Almost nobody is good at it right away, which means anyone who sticks with is has been forced to experience humility and check their ego at the door,” she says. “The origins of BJJ are in empowering a smaller person to overcome a larger opponent using leverage, balance, and timing. I was hooked when I was able to ‘sweep’ a 90kg person on top of me (60kg), using leverage for me to end up on top of them. I love the camaraderie and trust amongst teammates, who’ve all worked through the same challenges and are trusting each other to follow the rules and not hurt each other.”

Emma says she usually trains two to three days per week (her entire household trains, so since COVID they have set up mats for a training area at home), and her husband (who has his black belt) has become Emma’s main coach and training partner.

When asked about the benefit of BJJ in helping to achieve a worklife balance, she says there is a lot of talk about the importance of mindfulness in promoting mental health and she finds BJJ to be the ultimate in mindfulness.

“I also have a personal theory about the close personal contact of the sport, which explains why some people become essentially addicted. Particularly after COVID, physical contact with other people is limited in our modern lives. BJJ puts two people in intimate contact, which can be confronting at first, but once that hurdle is overcome there’s the potential for oxytocin release which is a fantastic mood booster and relationship enhancer.

My BJJ friendships are different. Enduring, non-judgemental, and with the shared experience of overcoming hardship. “As health professionals we are trained to appreciate and demand evidence for our practice,” she adds. “When the UFC was first conceived, it was intended as a way to determine which of the martial arts were most effective, and as such pitted boxers against wrestlers, BJJ practitioners against those who train in karate, and so on. It was quickly evident that BJJ was by far the most effective art, and now after 30 years of the UFC a competitor cannot get away without having significant BJJ skills in the context of Mixed Martial Arts. “I believe BJJ training serves as an excellent way to gain confidence, because it will actually work in close quarters, perhaps like in a dental clinic if the need arose to subdue an aggressive person without committing an assault."

Aside from the self-defence aspect, the fast-paced problem solving is well suited to a diagnostician’s brain, and the mindfulness provides welcome relief from the demands of everyday dentistry.

"It’s also an amazing workout. I thought I was fit when I started, regularly running 5km and lifting weights at the gym. I soon learned that ‘fighting fit’ is a whole new level, and the fittest I’ve ever been was when I was training several times a week. The benefits to mental health of vigorous exercise are well documented, I’ve found the workout just happens while you’re trying to survive a round, rather than forcing yourself to pound the pavement."

Meet Dr Vanessa William

Prior to her upcoming course in April, we caught up with Dr Vanessa William.

It shouldn’t be surprising that Paediatric Dentist Dr Vanessa William studied dentistry – it is in her blood. “My dad, Robert, is a retired dentist and has been my greatest influence in choosing dentistry as a career,” Vanessa says. “I have never looked back and am very grateful I fell into a profession I love.”

When it came to deciding to specialise in Paediatric Dentistry, Vanessa says you must be lucky to find a job you are passionate about and she feels fortunate to be one of those people. “I worked for five years in private practice, and also became a sessional dentist and ‘oncall’ after hours emergency dentist at Princess Margaret Hospital for children,” she recalls. “I received a lot of encouragement from the Paediatric Dentists in Perth at the time, particularly Drs Peter Gregory and John Winters. It is through these experiences, I decided to proceed with studying Paediatric Dentistry in Melbourne.”

They say it takes a special person to work with children, and it is clear Vanessa is in the right specialty. She says she loves working with children, chatting to their parents, and seeing the children grow.

“There is so much positivity and energy that comes with working with children, seeing their confidence grow and getting to know their family,” she says. “It is rewarding to see apprehensive children become more confident with time; children who are happy or even excited about coming back for their next visit; helping the children with special needs who may need a little more time and a slightly different approach; and providing comprehensive restorative dental care to children in their primary dentition and discharging them back to their dentist with a caries free dentition, reduced caries risk and arming the children and their parents with greater dental knowledge and greater dental appreciation.”

Vanessa will be presenting ‘The Primary Dentition: Pulp Therapy and Stainless Steel Crowns’ in April. The half-day course will take the participant through the indications for using stainless-steel crowns, a stepby-step guide for tooth preparation and its requirements for your dental practice.

Topics covered include

• Pulp therapy: diagnosis of pulp status, pulp treatment options (indirect pulp cap, pulpotomy), pulpotomy technique and current medicaments available.

• Stainless-steel crown restorations in the primary dentition: indications for use and technique guide.

• Hands-on practical session: pulpotomy treatment on two teeth using two different pulp medicaments followed by stainlesssteel crown preparations on three teeth.

Vanessa says the course is quite comprehensive. “I provide two lectures followed by a two and a quarter hour handson practical session,” she explains. “We have limited the course to a small group of approximately 18 participants. The advantage with having such a small group is that everyone has the opportunity to ask questions and gain as much information as they need to enable them to provide this treatment in their dental practice.

“My lecture style for this course is reasonably relaxed, where I encourage questions and discussion throughout,” she adds. “I believe this makes for a more interesting morning and more relevant for each participant. Following a quick tea break there is one or two more clinical tutors to assist in the hands-on component. Ms Wendy Walker from 3M provides the Stainless Steel Crowns and attends the course to assist the participants in any questions they have regarding the pricing of materials.”

Dr Vanessa William will be presenting The Primary Dentition: Pulp Therapy and Stainless Steel Crowns on April 1 at UWA Dental School.

5 minutes with Dr Vanessa William

What three words best describe you?

Meticulous, Positive, Creative.

If you weren’t in the dentistry field, what would you be doing for a living?

Playing tennis – just joking. Oh gosh, I can’t imagine doing anything different.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I think I spend nearly all my spare time with my family, especially my two boys, playing, riding bikes, swimming, going for trips in our caravan; when I have spare time during school hours, I play tennis.

Is there anything people might be surprised to learn about you?

(Perhaps a talent or unusual hobby?)

I love scuba diving and met my husband whilst scuba diving at Rottnest, and I love to play tennis, but wish I was better at it and would play five times a week if I had the time.