12 minute read
A year of unexpected possibilities
Nobody expected COVID-19 to have the effect that it did on our world – and is still having. However, there is still a heap of good news coming out of recovery from...
Story by Robyn Russell
Unexpected, unprecedented, unparalleled, unrivalled, unbelievable… All adjectives used to describe this year of COVID. Undone, unravelled, unprepared, unsure are just some of the emotions that many of us will have experienced.
The rolling events of 2020 shocked us all, forced us to disrupt our habitual routines and jolted us violently out of our comfort zones. We have been asked to consider the answers to big questions such as; ‘What matters?’ and ‘What is worth doing?’ Many of us have even questioned the career that we are all profoundly espoused to.
A year of complete career cataclysm with a wave of standdowns as the government directed dental practices to cease elective procedures. A situation that proved incredibly threatening and gyrated into an industrial relations ignominy for a large number of clinicians and practice owners.
All of this happened because immediate change was mandated. Change, a seemingly sullied term, conjured up by those who command us all pain and torment. Who wants to change? Who needs to change? Well, we all did. We were not ready, willing or in some cases able. Prochaska and DiClemente first conceptualised a transtheoretical model of behaviour change that silhouettes five stages of change. A model demarcated by phases including pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and a maintenance phase.
There was no time to pre-contemplate the change necessitated, whether you were ready or not- wasn’t important. Resistance was futile, COVID was here, standdowns materialised and the contemplation phase was now overbaked. Action was required. A modification of thought, capability and action was forced upon us all.
This threatening situation forced many of us to behave conservatively and become very risk-adverse. Uncertainty makes it arduous to dive into a new venture or further career enhancements. It became apparent though, more than ever, that forging forward with career enhancements was necessary during this time of change and uncertainty.
It is with self-reflection, on 2020 – the year of COVID, that an immense feeling of growth, achievement and certain opportunity must allow everyone to focus on re-inventing their careers. If you are like most dental practitioners, you will believe that we are fortunate enough to practice an amazing profession which offers a wealth of opportunity. The challenge for us all lies in the development of this opportunity. Reinventing your career, each and every year, beyond what you originally thought possible.
When you don’t know what the future will bring, or when the path you thought you were on takes an unexpected turn, it makes sense to pursue a diverse avenue of career options as a clinician. Looking extrinsically on the dental profession it becomes apparent that most practitioners feel that they are hygienists, dental therapists, oral health therapists, and that this is the precipice of career satisfaction and achievement. The introduction of the concept of a ‘possible’ clinician brings rise to a multitude of prospects.
‘Possible’ clinicians embrace the ideas that we all have about who we might want to become. Some of these are concrete and well-informed by past clinical experience; others are vague and fuzzy, embryonic and untested. Some are realistic; others are pure fantasy. Naturally, some will appeal to us more than others. Embracing the concept of a ‘possible’ clinician allows us all to see the possibility of career growth.
The forced downtime of COVID allowed practitioners time to explore the reality of becoming ‘possible’ clinicians. This concept of possibility replenished the motivation for many clinicians and allowed them the indulgence of time, to invest in their pet projects, side hustles, or aspirations to complete extensive CPD. Time allowed for the cultivation of knowledge, skills, resources, and relationships. COVID gave us all time – an unfathomable gift when used with intent and clarity.
Good news stories from members and industry partners
Time is free, but priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back."
A quote by Harvey Mackay
The advent of time, teamed with clarity, gave rise to a great many within the DHAA. With this new sense of optimism many DHAA members got on with the job and discovered a wealth of opportunity from their COVID experience. We have featured some of these inspiring stories from our talented DHAA members and industry partners in this edition. Their stories of growth during a time of extreme uncertainty are powerful reminders of what can be achieved when you allow yourself the absolution of perseverance and optimism. >
Anonymous Submission
I was looking forward to 2020 being a predictable year. Then being stood down happened.
No job, no income, no plans (PPE JobKeeper). What was I meant to do? Enrol in an MBA!
It has been an amazing experience to learn something outside of dentistry. I’m loving every single minute of it. It’s changed the way I look at how dental practices are run now and I’m advising the practice on what I’ve been learning.
Andrew Terry
The University of Sydney
COVID-19 provided many challenges in dental education for us all in 2020.
The University of Sydney’s, School of Dentistry was by no means immune to the required adjustments. It has been a challenging year but reflecting it’s appropriate to look on the positive aspects.
Rock bottom was a temporary shutdown of two weeks. However, we reopened the simulation clinics and kept the education of later years progressing to facilitate their graduation via simulated tasks ratified by the Australian Dental Council whilst the LHD clinics were still closed.
When the clinics reopened, we extended the operational time of the SIM clinic to 11 hours-a-day at both sites, with reduced numbers observing as always strict infection control protocols.
Working as a team both students and staff worked across student breaks and in the case of the BOH students on Saturdays also.
As we are positioned now both the BOH and DMD programs final year students will graduate on time, though hard work and perseverance.
Andrew Terry
Cathryn Forsyth
Western Sydney Local Health District
Over the past months I've been grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Franklin Woman mentoring program. Through this pandemic, our cohort actively participated in online group sessions and valuable 1:1 sessions with our mentors; successful leading researchers. I found the personal dominance profile, focusing on analytical, practical, experimental and relational thinking, to be very helpful in understanding the way my brain works. It’s been great to identify and reflect upon my signature strengths and inclusive behaviours to challenge my own perspectives, build confidence in managing conflict in the workplace, and strengthen my sphere of influence. Through interactive sessions, mentor meetings and individual reflection, I recognise my collaborative leadership style aligns with Participatory Action Research, where building relationships with key stakeholders and being personally involved in field research are significant to me achieving optimal research outcomes and improving job satisfaction. Perfect timing, especially during a crossroad in my career!
Carlene Franklin (BOH)
Private practice, Chermside Qld
What 2020 has taught me?
For me, 2020 has provided a unique opportunity to refocus and rethink about every aspect of my professional working career. I am thankful for the chance to stop, pause and re-evaluate what I do and more importantly, why I do it. I am not one to willingly accept change, however 2020 has taught me how important it is to accept change, think differently and pivot in order to grow professionally.
I spent my time during lockdown completing over 50 hours of CPD, including courses in leadership, professional resilience and clinical supervision as well as all the usual dental related webinars. I spent time developing ways to completely overhaul how dental hygiene services are provided within our private practice, with a clearer focus on health messaging, which after all is the essence of what we do. I learnt how to create video content for social media promotion and created a professional Linkedin page. I also discovered the importance of investing in yourself as a professional by ‘building your own brand’ and elevating to a higher level of learning and thinking. All of this was during a sixweek stand down period, whilst homeschooling two young kids!!
After 20 years in the industry, it can become very routine doing the same thing day in day out, however I have had a complete mindset change around what I do as an OHT. I am so grateful to work with a strong and motivated team who are equally as committed to elevating and re-creating how we do dentistry. None of this was on my agenda for 2020 but I feel I have grown immensely as a professional and discovered a renewed passion for my career and profession. I am excited for the future and the change I feel is coming to oral health therapy and dental hygiene in Australia.
Carlene Franklin
JB
OHT in primary care.
Gained precious time to spend with family at home which was a luxury prior to COVID. The lockdown also provided the golden opportunity for the refurbishment of the private practice, and an in-depth review of the business resulting to a well researched and considered business plan moving forward post-COVID. COVID certainly had provided the opportunity to reflect, recharge and rejuvenate.
NSK
The March ADX was the last time the NSK family were able to get together physically as a team, however our team has grown incredibly during these trying months. We got to know each other and our customers on a new and personal level, with Zoom inviting us into each other’s homes. We even got to meet each other’s pets and children as they came and went through our meetings, which made for some very entertaining moments!
NSK globally has responded fast and efficiently to COVID-19, by developing new products to safely control aerosols, as well as investigating and proving the efficiency of our “Dual Defense” systems which stop suck back and cross combination through our handpieces, motors and couplings. The safety of our dental professionals is always at the forefront of our minds and being able to provide safe solutions for dentists to continue treating patients in a safe environment has been our driving force this year.
Peter Beard
CEO Healthygums
They say you should celebrate now, Healthygums P/L have clocked up seven years!
Couldn’t have done it, without a lot of hard work but more importantly the support from an ever growing group of dentists and hygienists around the country, we have become a proud company.
Our goal when we started was to give the Australian public an oral care brand – SYSTEMA that would offer something different in the market. We soon realised that dentists and hygienists really liked our toothbrushes that featured SYSTEMA’s super-tapered soft and slim bristles. That’s the difference, along with a much more compact head size.
We were also given a great boost this year having been accepted as a valued stockist with Woolworths. Over 900 stores now carry our most popular toothbrush, the SYSTEMA Super Soft Compact Gum Care. Patients that are given our SYSTEMA toothbrush when attending their surgery for treatment are able now to purchase the same toothbrush at their local Woolworths store. How good is that!
Thank you so much for all your support and please keep safe!
Dr Marks HyGenie
Perhaps nowhere in our society did COVID-19 hit harder than residential Aged Care, which happens to be an area of committed passion for our business and moreover our founder Dr Mark Wotherspoon.
Dr Mark made it a mission of his, and ours, to do all we could to the degree we could, during lock-downs and as restrictions eased, to support Aged Care home residents and carers with in room oral care visits and complimentary denture care products from the HyGenie range. Introducing and demonstrating how the HyGenie ‘ Ultimate Denture Care Kit ’ quickly and safely left their dentures squeaky clean and fresh was a big hit with them, their families and their carers. Made all the better when the kits were gifted to the patients, much to their surprise. We managed to create a handful of smiles through what was a pretty delicate and lonely time for some Aged Care residents.
Colgate
Colgate hosted a virtual oral health promotion conference on 14 October, 2020, to coincide with World Cavity Free Future Day.
The theme of the conference was sustainability in an oral health context. The conference highlighted the importance of implementing fluoride varnish programs and school toothbrushing programs, as sustainable public oral health promotion measures.
Significant discussion was sparked following the presentation by Emerita Professor Cynthia Pine, who discussed the sustained dental health benefits seen in adults who took part in toothbrushing programs as children. Dr Susan Cartwright, highlighted Colgate’ s work and commitment in the sustainability space, including Bright Smiles, Bright Future’s, which is Colgate’s flagship corporate social responsibility program.
Colgate aims to bring oral health education to two billion children globally by 2025.
Colgate has also introduced the first-of-its-kind Recyclable Toothpaste Tube, and is sharing this innovative technology with other companies as part of its campaign to decrease waste. "We were delighted to host this year’s Conference and highlight how we as a profession and industry, can all work together to practise more sustainably," Dr Susan Cartwright, Colgate Scientific Affairs and Public Health Manager."
TePe
The TePe GOOD Regular soft toothbrush is made from bio-based plastic – without compromising on product quality, efficiency or design. For this, the product was awarded Dental Care Product of the Year in Australia’s largest independent consumer survey.
Anne-Kristin Ottosson, General Manager of TePe Australia & NZ, said: “We are delighted to receive this award as we believe the TePe GOOD Brush is a great example of how we can look at oral health from a sustainable perspective. For such a young company to be recognised by Product of the Year is an outstanding achievement and one we are really proud of.”
The award was granted by a judging panel from 8,000 household shoppers surveyed by Nielsen, which assessed many products to find the best products in dental care.
The TePe GOOD toothbrush, made from renewable sources, was introduced as the first step towards increased sustainability in the entire TePe range.
The TePe GOOD series offers consumers the possibility to make a conscious, sustainable choice in the dental care category. Like all of TePe’s products, TePe GOOD is developed in collaboration with dental experts. The production takes place at the TePe manufacturing plant in Malmö, Sweden, using 100% green energy. Part of which comes from the company’s own rooftop solar power facility – another of TePe’s initiatives for the environment.
TePe Australia & NZ was established in 2019 as a subsidiary of TePe Oral Hygiene Products, headquartered in Sweden and founded in 1965.
