Helping to heal smiles A long-held commitment to volunteering has seen Dr Jonathan Lo give back to the community in more ways than one. Now, as the co-owner and principal dentist of Maylands Dental Centre, he’s offering up his practice for Healing Smiles’ screening and emergency-treatment days.
Dentist Dr Jonathan Lo is no stranger to volunteering, first taking part in dental volunteering as a student. “I was lucky enough to be asked to join the committee for the National Dental Foundation almost 10 years ago, which eventually went on to become the Australian Dental Health Foundation (ADHF),” Jonathan recalls. “There was a small group of us, led by Dr Dennis Gregory, and I was a keen student wanting to get involved.
When private practices open their doors to our patients, it helps to make patients feel part of the community and cared for by wider society. Many of these patients have been marginalised, and their dental experiences may have been traumatising in the past, in addition to their life circumstances. A warm welcoming environment goes a long way to putting them at ease, and makes dental treatment less intimidating. DR JACINTA VU, HEALING SMILES CLINICAL COORDINATOR.
“Volunteering was a big part of my upbringing,” he says. “I enjoyed the idea of being able to help others. Even as a dental student, I wanted to be a part of it, which is why I joined the committee.” Jonathan became the voluntary State coordinator for the WA branch of the National Dental Foundation, helping to organise Dental Rescue Days and establish the clinic at St Pat’s (where he became the first volunteer dentist). Over the years, he’s also been a regular volunteer at the Homeless Connect Rockingham events. “I started this initiative with Sandra Wood, Andrea Paterson and Lisa Daw from DHS, years ago,” he recalls. “At the start, we were put in the far corner where smokers would go or be standing in the rain waiting for people to come! Now, we 16
EDITION 3 | 2022 WESTERN ARTICULATOR
have a nice inside waiting area, with the outside caravan. The Salvation Army has embraced us, and it’s been great that we’ve become such a big part of the day itself. “It is at the point where we have regular patients, which is wonderful to see them get the treatment they need, but shows the number of people who fall through the cracks in our public health system. It has become quite comfortable and established for both the patients, Salvation Army and the volunteers.”
PRACTICE INVOLVEMENT Over a year ago, Jonathan and his business partner Dr Justin Soon acquired Maylands Dental Centre. Although he’s now busier than ever, Jonathon wasn’t prepared to sacrifice his work helping the community. As such, providing clinical space for a Healing Smiles screening and emergency-treatment day seemed like the perfect fit. Healing Smiles volunteer dentist and committee member Dr Shanash Bishnulall volunteered for the day, assisted by dental assistant, Chika Ushijima. Over the course of the day, nine grateful patients were provided with more than $10,000 worth of treatment. While Shanash and Chika tended to patients in the designated treatment room, the practice continued their regular appointments. “It didn’t take a lot of coordination or effort, and (adawa volunteer coordinator) Sandra Wood did most of the work on the day itself,” Jonathan says. “The room was there and wasn’t being used, and not many consumables were required because it was mainly extractions. “This is something that I’ve always wanted to do and is one of the benefits of owning a practice. There are so many volunteers who want to offer their time and patients who need to be seen. It’s the first session we have run, and we will do more in the future.” Jonathan also said taking part in the screening day was a very enjoyable experience for his staff.
