A bright start

The year-long contract as a Graduate Dental Officer at The Oral Health Centre of WA has always been a highly-coveted position – and now even more competitive with the position only offered to one graduate. Dr Pauline Wong considered the Graduate Dental Officer position carefully before applying, speaking to a number of dentists, including those who have previously worked in the position.

“Weighing up the advantages and disadvantages, I thought that this would be a good fit for me,” she recalls. “It was an excellent chance to really put into practice what I learned.There was only one position offered this year, so I didn't want to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity either. What sealed the deal was the offer of mentorship from Dr Alex Park.”

Pauline has jumped into the full-time role and says she is enjoying the experience and what the role is offering.

“The majority of my patients are concession/healthcare card holders in the catchment area,” she says.

“In addition to providing oral and dental care, I do patient screenings, emergency care, education and research/scholarly activity, and play a part in multidisciplinary treatments.

“I work with a good variety of cases and treatment plans of various complexities, on patients who may have complex medical histories or require more carefully tailored patient management,” she adds.

“I am so grateful for the fantastic mentorship and the OHCWA laboratory, and I am always keeping busy with the workload,” she says.

“It's not just check-ups, scale and cleans all day. It is wonderful to be working with the general dentists, specialists, registrars, and on a few occasions, the students too. My colleagues are supportive and willing to help me with some difficulties at short notice. It's reassuring that there is always someone I can ask for a second opinion if I'm stuck. I have access to quality materials and can work without the significant financial pressures because this is a public setting.”

Talking to Pauline only a few months into the role, she says the highlight so far has been the variety of work (especially restorative, fixed and removable prosthodontics, exodontia, endodontics) she has done in a short period of time and being able to learn something new from every case. It has also been rewarding building up a great rapport with her patients.

“It warms my heart having patients tell me that they'd want to keep me as their dentist – it’s a shame I'm only here for one year!”

During Dental School, Pauline was involved in a plethora of extracurricular activities, for example volunteering with TIMA, Healing Smiles, UWA Guild; plus dental assistant work, research and conference presentations, University Dental Students Society (UDSS), Australian Dental Students Association, UniMentor, UWA Open Days, illustrations for Pelican and Probe magazines, the UWA 2023 diary cover, and the current UDSS logo. As a new graduate she is continuing her commitment to giving back.

When asked about her advice to final year dental students considering applying for a Graduate Dental Officer position, Pauline says she would like to give an informal seminar to the students later in the year about her experiences in the role. “Chances are you'll have similar questions to your classmates, I'll be happy to answer them all together,” she says. “Otherwise feel free to ask me privately! I will be honest with my answers so you can decide for yourself if this is the role for you.

“There will be different challenges/ issues no matter where you go. I’ve always believed in trying to make the most out of wherever you are. In my opinion, I don't think you could get this much experience variety elsewhere, especially for a new graduate.”

After her contract as the Graduate Dental Officer has finished, Pauline says she would like to work in rural WA and broaden her horizons. “I have done a lot of rural shifts as a locum pharmacist, including during the holidays,” she says. “I really enjoyed serving the community, and I am looking forward to the challenge of working rurally now as a dentist too.”