A Future in Oral Medicine With a distinct shortage of Oral Medicine specialists in WA, it’s an excellent time to consider specialising in this varied and rewarding field.
Each year, the Doctor of Clinical Dentistry (Oral Medicine) course at UWA Dental School accepts two to three new students. Currently, there’s a shortage of Oral Medicine specialists across Australia, as Oral Medicine was not recognised as a speciality until 2009 in Western Australia, after Program Convenor, Associate Professor Ramesh Balasubramaniam OAM, advocated for the speciality to be recognised in WA. “Associate Professor Agnieszka Frydrych, myself, and Dr David Booth visited Nicola Roxon, the Minister for Health at the time, to get Oral Medicine a speciality recognition in the State,” Ramesh recalls. “In 2010, it was nationally recognised.” More Oral Medicine specialists are required to improve access to care. “Even in Western Australia, where we have nine registered Oral Medicine specialists in the State, my personal waiting list in private practice is seven months,” Ramesh says. “Even the first-year graduates in Oral Medicine are booked up a few weeks ahead. If patients have delayed access to care, it could mean a delay in diagnosis, which means delayed treatment, and ultimately an increase in morbidity and mortality. That’s why access to care is so critical.”
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EDITION 3 | 2022 WESTERN ARTICULATOR
THE ORAL MEDICINE COURSE The three-year program is led by Ramesh and other academic staff, including Associate Professor Agnieszka Frydrych and Research Supervisor Dr Omar Kujan. The program is supported by adjunct staff and clinical supervisors, Oral Medicine specialists Drs Alissa Jacobs, Amanda Phoon Nguyen and Lalima Tiwari. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr Frank Chang assists students with the surgical procedures. The course curriculum includes oral and maxillofacial diseases, oral oncology, salivary gland disorders, orofacial pain, temporomandibular disorders, and dental sleep medicine. “The best thing about our program at UWA is we have a very strong didactic component, with seminars in orofacial pain, oral disease, oral biology and histopathology,” Ramesh says. “We also have histopathology sessions, and five to six clinical sessions a week of patient care in the first and second years. As part of the program, you are also expected to publish two papers – one review paper and one experimental paper on a study that you have conducted. “In your third year you will be seconded to various medical rotations, as well as required to spend time in other Oral Medicine centres, such as The University of Sydney, The University of Melbourne and The University of Queensland, and the medical rotations include pathology, rheumatology, psychiatry, sleep medicine, pain medicine, neurology, radiology, paediatrics, dermatology and oncology.”
