Dr Mark Wotherspoon | Mobile Dentist, Inventor and Oral Health Activist
The global population is ageing and we now have a wave of cashed up and outspoken “Boomers” starting to enter the Aged Care system [ Facilities and Home Care]. Most of this demographic have natural teeth and many have bridgework and implants and they will be demanding at the very least a basic level of preventive maintenance and support at home when travel becomes difficult or near impossible. Best Practice dictates continuity of care from their existing dental provider and all modern dental surgeries will need to add some level of home care service to their existing range of services in the near future.
A recent audit of denture hygiene and sports mouthguard home care proved our patients are confused and ill-informed as to the why, how and what for removeable dental appliance hygiene. The results show a very poor standard of hygiene with sometimes life threatening implications. Plus removeable dental appliance therapies and designs have expanded rapidly in the last 10-15 years and yet the tools and products we give or recommend to our patients for home care have not changed in over 50 years. Take a walk through the science behind how a contemporary dental practice should be providing OHI and some of the new products now available.
Ageing Population Part 1 – Talk the Talk 
Understand the ageing population and oral health implications
- Review the current state of oral health in our frail elderly
- Learn how to condition your existing patients for healthy ageing
- Learn how to educate and upskill carers – introducing “Gordon” and iTOP for Seniors
- Why? – introducing a part-time Portable Dentistry service to your fixed practice is critical for best practice continuity of care.
The Ageing Population Part 2 – Walk the Walk
- How to plan and introduce your portable dental service
- Fees, Time, Governance, SOPs
- Understand portable equipment options, materials, techniques.
- Observe the “real life” implementation of a successful portable service.
- Case Studies that demonstrate clinical success and profitability.
Critical chairside OHI for Removable Dental Appliances and becoming an Oral Health Activist
- The why? -why is it so critical we provide best practice OHI to our patients and what are the consequences if we don’t?
- The how? – a review of the science, information and mis-information currently available to help us develop “how” our patients should clean and care for their new and existing dental appliances.
- The what? – what are the latest products available and what best practice home care routines should be established?
- Learn why each and every Dental Professional needs to move from advocate to activist and how to make the leap.
Bio:
Mark Wotherspoon is a successful General Dental Practitioner who wears a number of hats. Mark has had many years in private practice as principal and practice owner as well as experience in the Public Service, Military Service and even Corrective services. He firmly believes in establishing best practice oral hygiene routines for his patients and educating other health professionals and the public as to the close link between oral health and general health. Mark is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer and Clinical Team Leader [Portable Dentistry] CSU and has successfully run his own private practice portable dental service -Dentist To Your Door since 2016. Dr Mark has also led a team that invented and developed a range of removable dental appliance hygiene products, Dr Mark’s Hygenie, now selling in 14 countries worldwide. He is an active member of the Australian Dental Association and in 2022 Mark was made an Honourary member of the Dental Hygienists Association of Australia.
Dr Mark Wotherspoon BDSc (UWA)
Principal -Dentist To Your Door
Inventor Dr Mark’s Hygenie & Hygenie Sport
Adjunct Senior Lecturer and Clinical Leader, CSU – Portable Dentistry
ADA member, Honourary Member DHAA, Oral Health Activist
Dr Caitlin Hurley | Paediatric Dental Registrar
Everything is Hypnosis – communication for happy patients and happier OHT’s
Communication is fundamental to human interaction and engagement, and effective communication is essential to the delivery of quality health care. Our ability to establish meaningful rapport with our patients and their families, and therefore to carry out our roles as health care providers, is reliant upon our communication skills.
Well intentioned efforts to communicate openly and honestly with patients may carry undesired effects such as increased anxiety and hyperalgesia. Negative experiences can influence expectations and experiences in the future. Dental patients frequently present in a heightened state of anxiety, presenting a particular challenge for health care providers who are required to complete procedural interventions.
This session will introduce principles of clinical hypnosis and communication strategies for improving patient comfort and compliance. The impact of considered and positive communication in dentistry reaches beyond the dental clinic and can help enable patients to build agency and resilience to manage challenges and be the best they can be in their daily lives.
Learning Outcomes:
- Identify that communication can have both detrimental and positive impacts on patient experience and compliance in health care settings
- Define agency, boundaries and resilience
- Identify that positive health care interactions can improve patient agency, boundaries and resilience
- Summarise specific communication techniques and provide examples of how to apply them in a paediatric dental appointment
Bio:
Caitlin Hurley completed degrees in Speech Pathology and Dentistry at the University of Sydney. She has worked as a dentist in both public and private sectors in New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia. She has been involved in teaching undergraduate students at the University of Sydney, James Cook University and the University of Western Australia. Caitlin has a particular interest in improving patient outcomes through effective peri-procedural communication and completed a Diploma of Clinical Hypnosis through the South Australian Society of Hypnosis. She has presented at local and international conferences on hypnosis in paediatric dentistry. Caitlin is currently completing specialist training in Paediatric Dentistry through the University of Western Australia.
Meredith Blake – Associate Professor, Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching), Law School
Ethical Issues and Legal Principles: Managing the Challenges of Modern Dental Practice
This lecture will focus upon two key challenges posed by modern dental practices – the management of health information and the treatment of older clients who may be living with cognitive impairment. It will discuss key ethical issues arising and identify key strategies in managing these. It will then turn to discuss the relevant legal frameworks associated with these issues, including the law relating to confidential information and consent processes.
Bio:
Meredith Blake is Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia and is currently Director of International Partnerships and Exchange of the Law School, and was a Deputy Head of School from 2017-2019. She has taught and researched in the areas of medical law and criminal law for over 20 years, including at King’s College London and City University London. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Authority. Her specific areas of interest lie in the law and ethics of end-of-life decision making, consent, elder law, obesity regulation and criminal fault. Her expertise is regularly sought by the media and the professions in relation to the regulation of health and criminal matters.
Meredith was a member of the UWA Human Research Ethics Committee for nine years, and a Board member of the Mental Health Law Centre (WA) for five years. She currently serves as a member of the Health Department’s Advance Care Planning Reference Group, as an ambassador for Advance Care Planning Australia, and as a member of an expert reference group of the Law Reform Commission of WA. Meredith is the co-author (with Dr Sonia Allan) of ‘The Patient and the Practitioner: Health Law and Ethics in Australia’ (LexisNexis, 2014) and ‘Australian Health Law’ (LexisNexis 2018), and the co-author (with John Devereux) of ‘Criminal Law in Queensland and Western Australia’ (Lexis Nexis, 2016). She is currently working on several Healthway grants in partnership with the Cancer Council WA.
Living Proud
A Guide to Gender and Identity
This presentation will offer an introduction to LGBTIQ inclusive language, providing an understanding of some of the key concepts and common terms for LGBTIQ people.
By creating a safe space in your dental clinic, using inclusive language and correct pronouns, you can become an ally of the transgender community and help change culture, making society a better, safer place. We will seek to uncover any misconceptions we have on the transgender person and present the best practice on addressing, receiving, and treating our transgender dental patient. LGBTIQ terminology, healthcare experiences and tips for working more inclusively with trans people and all LGBTIQ+ folks will be covered.
Event registration from 8.00am – Tea, coffee on arrival. Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea provided.
Programme commences 8.30am.
Programme concludes 5.00pm
CPD 6.5 Hours
Bookings
Bookings are closed for this event.