Meet Dr Gaurav Vasudeva Prior to his upcoming WA Dental CPD course, we caught up with the owner of The Endodontic Practice Perth.
Gaurav was born in India and raised in multiple cities, as both his parents served in the defence forces. “My primary dental degree was also from India, where I worked for a few years and further qualified and completed my initial endodontic postgraduate degree,” Gaurav recalls. “The Indian medical/health education system is exceptionally competitive, and one had to sit one of the toughest exams to be selected in a dental school. “The majority of my late teens and my 20s was spent studying and expanding my skills as a professional. I had a keen interest in teaching, hence was associated with a few different universities in North India.” Gaurav says the experience of living and working in different countries and cities has been invaluable, with his extensive CV including heading an endodontic program in Muscat, Oman, and being awarded a diplomate in specialist field of endodontics with the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh. He moved to Sydney in 2012 to be closer to his dentist sibling, and then after some years working in Tasmania, he moved to Perth. Gaurav says he found endodontics to be the most challenging in dental school, which is why he chose to specialise in the subject. “I always considered myself someone with good hand skills and found endodontics fascinating,” he says. “It isn’t routine, predictable work due to complexity of the treatment. Every tooth has its own unique anatomy from inside. Besides the technical aspect, it’s very rewarding getting your patients out of pain and seeing the progress of healing of infections whilst patients retain their own teeth.”
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EDITION 2 | 2022 WESTERN ARTICULATOR
Gaurav always wanted his own endodontic practice. “I had a clear vision of what I wanted and the way I wanted to practice,” he recalls. “I established my practice, The Endodontic Practice Perth, in early 2021. I continue to teach remotely and present both internationally and locally as teaching is my passion. I love to be able to contribute and share the knowledge for the betterment of the profession and community.” For Gaurav, referral endodontic practice is challenging, which is what drives him to push himself. “I love interacting with my patients and how I feel when I can enhance their quality of life a tiny bit by retaining their natural teeth, free of infection and pain,” he says. “It’s greatly rewarding.” Gaurav will be presenting ‘Practising Safe and Efficient Endodontics’ in April, a CPD course that is suitable for dentists with all levels of experience. “Although endodontics is theoretically practised the same way as 20 or even 40 years ago, just like any other branch of dentistry, keeping up is important,” he says. “The idea is not to change the concepts and baseline treatment protocols that work and have always worked, but to add new layers and see what is available, including new techniques and materials/instruments that will help us do our job more efficiently. “We will have microscopes for attendees, which enable them to visualise the internal anatomy better. We’ll introduce them to newer materials and instruments for root canal preparation, including lots of tips and tricks along the way. The idea is to practise endodontics more confidently, predictably and with minimal iatrogenic mishaps.”
