Dental As Anything

The biggest issue with artificial intelligence isn’t that it makes mistakes, it’s that it has the potential to make mistakes at scale at the same time that people are trusting it to be infallible.Technology usually progresses at a speed that outpaces existing regulation and legislation, and we are then forced to play catch up when the cat is already out of the bag. This is complicated by a tech sector that is becoming increasing powerful and transnational, making regulation more difficult.The proliferation of artificial intelligence tools in healthcare broadly, and in dentistry specifically alongside the propensity of many practitioners to be technological minded early adopters, has the potential to be a gamechanger. But as we know, games can be both won and lost.The Therapeutic Goods Administration recently published a report on regulating medical software devices including artificial intelligence and the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare has created resources on the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence in healthcare.We need to understand the capability – and perhaps more importantly the reliability and reproducibility – of the tools that we are using. Ambient AI scribes listen in to a patient consultation to transcribe notes, but they can make mistakes and provide inaccurate or nonsensical outputs. This is an intrinsic characteristic of generative AI tools. They fabricate diagnoses, omit or add steps in treatment plans, and confuse similar words like ‘medication’ and ‘mediation’ or ‘meditation’.AI still struggles with complexity in a way that humans do not. Clinicians have – or at least should have – an ability to understand the nuance in a conversation, which includes interpreting non-verbal cues. Are digital scribes capable of doing that? How often are we checking the accuracy and veracity of the transcription? And if we don’t, what is the possibility of errors finding their way into the clinical record – and what is the potential impact of that?In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast I talk about the issues of regulation of artificial intelligence in healthcare, and the importance for practitioners in understanding not only the potential limitations of AI tools, but also their ethical and legal obligations when using such tools.

We make snap judgements about people based solely on their appearance, and draw negative assumptions about people with visibly poor oral health, contributing to shame, stigma and even bullying.The face is the window to the soul. Our physical appearance,particularly that of our smile, often dictates people’s first impressions of us. And first impressions flow through to behaviours – to how people treat us. And as we know, first impressions are hard to shake. That is why the dentalprofession has been shifting over time from one that has been solely focused on disease and function to one where appearance and aesthetics are key, both responding to and driving patient demand. But what of the people who sufferfrom poor oral health, and who struggle to access dental care?Two recent research papers piqued my interest, one looking at the issue of bullying related to tooth loss in Australian children, and the other an exploration of the issue of dental shame. They get to the heart of this idea that good oral health is fundamental to our appearance and to our self-esteem.We know this is important, because it is almost impossible to hide your dental condition from others during any form of social interaction. It’s why poor oral health is probably one of the most obvious and visible signs of poverty and disadvantage.In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcastI talk about the social and psychological impact of poor oral health and the importance of thinking more broadly about the impacts for people who cannot access dental care.References:Does Tooth Loss Lead to School Bullying? Evidence from the Longitudinal Study of Australian ChildrenDental Shame: A Call for Understanding and Addressing the Role of Shame in Oral Health

A new study has looked at the media coverage and the implications for the dentistry, particularly in terms of societal attitudes towards dental health and the dental profession.The recent trend of dental practices promoting the use of superannuation for dental treatment has become a hot topic issue in the dental profession over the past few years. From $108 million in 2020-21 to $526 million last year, the scale of use in dentistry far exceeds the other areas where superannuation is being withdrawn on compassionate grounds.Now, a new study Supercharged Smiles: A Discourse Analysis of Australian Media Coverage of Funding Dental Care Through Superannuation published in the Australian Dental Journal has looked at how the media has reported this phenomenon. Professor Alex Holden from the University of Sydney examined 36 media articles written by 25 different authors across 18 media platforms published between 2022 to 2025. Across all the media articles that were reviewed, there was a predominantly negative discourse which highlights the ethical, social, and professional challenges that early superannuation release presents to dentists, patients and the broader community, as well as policy makers.At the top level, there were three main themes that emerged from the 36 articles. The first was one of outrage at the necessity that patients were forced to use their retirement savings to pay for essential dental care, the second was about the exploitation of vulnerable patients by some dentists and the final theme was about abuse of the system by patients and dentists for elective and cosmetic dental treatment, when the guidelines are pretty clear about the criteria for use.In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast I talk about this new study and the narrative that has emerged about this scheme, and the importance of the dental profession in taking an active stand on this issue.

How much did you pay for your dental degree? Were you one of the lucky ones who received a free education? Did you come in during the early days of student fees in the early 1990s when $10,000 was enough to cover the tuition fees for dental school? Or are you a recent graduate or current student at a graduate entry school in a full fee paying place, paying more than $80,000 per year for your dental degree, on top of the twenty odd thousand dollars you paid for your undergraduate degree?As the cost of a dental degree at some Australian universities passes $400,000, there are clearly implications for potential students, graduates and the broader community.This week on the Dental As Anything podcast I talk about the burgeoning cost of dental education, and the implications for both graduates and the broader community.

What does the Australian constitution say about the powers of the Commonwealth to provide dental services and what impact might that have on the dental profession in the context of expanding Medicare?Medicare and dentistry is in the news again now that the new Commonwealth parliament has commenced, with the Greens vowing to use their balance of power in the Senate to pressure the government to add dental care into Medicare.One of the common concerns from dentists about Medicare funded dentistry is the impact on their earnings and the profitability of their business due to low rebates. It is also invariably linked to the spectre of NHS-style dentistry and the deterioration of clinical outcomes for patients. There are assumptions about the power and reach of the government to control the dental profession if Medicare is expanded to include some dental services.In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast, I discuss the history of the amendment to the Australian constitution which gave the Commonwealth the power to legislate for the provision of medical and dental services, and what the civil conscription clause means in the context of options for reform of public dental funding.Section 51xxiiiA: The Parliament shall, subject to this Constitution, have power to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of the Commonwealth with respect to: the provision of maternity allowances, widows’ pensions, child endowment, unemployment, pharmaceutical, sickness and hospital benefits, medical and dental services (but not so as to authorize any form of civil conscription), benefits to students and family allowances.

Dentistry is a $12 billion a year industry and growing, making it a valuable target for private equity investment. But what are the implications for patients when others seek to profit from healthcare?A recent article in the Australian Financial Review reported large dental chain Dental Boutique had appointed Morgan Stanley and Gilbert + Tobin to sell their business. It is part of a growing trend both here in Australia and internationally for the consolidation and corporatisation of healthcare businesses, and in particular for private equity funds to buy into healthcare.But is raises some important questions about whether this is a good thing, and who profits from healthcare?A recent scoping review on the role of private equity in health found that there were both positive and negative impacts on health outcomes, staffing and costs, but importantly found no evidence of consistently positive effects of private equity in health.In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast, I explore the issue of private equity investment in the dental industry, noting trends in dentistry from the USA (where 1 in 8 dentists are now associated with private equity) and trends in the medical profession in Australia.

Trust is essential to the normal function of society, yet it is perhaps not something that we spend a lot of time thinking about until it’s gone. Long term data on trusted professions shows that dentists rank in the top 5 – behind nurses, doctors, pharmacists and teachers, although trust has been declining since peaking in 2017.In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast, we discuss the important issue of trust - what it is, why it’s important and why we are seeing a gradual erosion of trust - in individuals and institutions. Rebuilding trust requires accountability, high standards of honesty and integrity, openness and transparency and most importantly good communication. Ultimately, building and maintaining trust is important for everyone, and therefore is everyone’s responsibility.

In this episode of the Dental as Anything podcast I talk about our new paper Oral Health Meets Commercial Determinants: An Opportunity to Bridge Individual and Structural Approaches published this week in the Australian Dental Journal with colleagues from the University of Sydney and Deakin University. We highlight the role of structural and commercial factors, operating outside an individual's control, that drive the high prevalence of oral disease and inequities at a population level, and argue that dental practitioners must also consider the broader commercial forces which contribute to oral disease in order to make meaningful steps in reducing inequities in the burden of oral diseases.

New guidelines on cosmetic procedures and a statement on the use of superannuation for dental treatment have again shone the light on ethical conduct and the tension between business and healthcare.In the past week Ahpra has released two guidelines and a joint statement with the Dental and Medical boards which highlight some ethical challenges facing the dental profession. They come off the back of a series of stories, and no doubt complaints and notifications, regarding cosmetic procedures and the compassionate release of superannuation.In this episode of the Dental as Anything podcast I talk the new Ahpra guidelines on cosmetic procedures and the implications for dental practitioners, and our role more broadly in upholding ethical standards to maintain trust in the profession.

What do we do when a dental practitioner breaks the trust of patients? Should we discuss that within the profession? What happens when those cases are picked up by the media and talked about in the public sphere? Should we engage in the discussion or try and shut it down.In this episode of the Dental as Anything podcast I talk about the vexed issue of the early release of superannuation, over-servicing, the role of the media in reporting stories of interest, and how the dental profession should respond.

Health is inherently political . Like any resource or commodity in our neo-liberal economic system, some social groups have more of it than others. We also know that the social and commercial determinants of health – more than just individual behaviours – are amendable to political interventions.In this episode of the Dental as Anything podcast I talk about the history of expanding Medicare to include more dental services, the broader support and advocacy for schemes such as Senior Dental Benefits Scheme and the important role of research in supporting advocacy efforts.References:Australian dental practitioner attitudes to expanding Medicare to include more dental services World Dental Federation. Universal Health Coverage - Oral Health for All (Fact Sheet)What is universal health coverage?

We often talk about the pros and cons of water fluoridation through the lens of benefits versus the risk of harm. But it's also important to understand the broader public health ethical considerations.Last month, Utah became the first state in the USA to ban fluoride in public drinking water and just last week a local mayor in Florida vetoed a county decision to remove fluoride, pushing back a little against a vote that seemed more about politics than health. In Australia we recently saw Cook Shire Council in far north Queensland also vote to cease water fluoridation.What we are seeing is a distortion of public health ethics – allowing a small number of fellow citizens to impose a disadvantage on the community at large for the sake of protecting their individual autonomy.In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast we explore some of the ethical principles that underpin public health measures, moving beyond beneficence and non-maleficence to consider how we balance individual autonomy with the broader public good, and the role of justice.

In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast I talk to Dr Brooke Nickel, an NHMRC Emerging Leader Research Fellow at the University of Sydney School of Public Health. Brooke is an expert in evidence-based healthcare communication and decision making, with a particular focus on the issue of overdiagnosis. She recently led a study reporting on how social media posts have the ability to influence over-diagnosis.We talk about the importance of health literacy, how social media and influencers are shaping patient behaviours and our role in fighting back against misinformation in the public domain.

Medicare is meant to help all Australians access affordable healthcare guaranteeing them access to a wide range of health and hospital services at low or no cost. Except if you have a dental problem.Today is World Oral Health Day, a chance for the dental profession to steal the spotlight for 24 hours and shine a light on the importance of oral health. I’m using it to call for a seismic shift that is needed in Australia to make access to dental care more affordable by launching the Give Medicare Teeth campaign in the lead up to the federal election. It is important that we don’t let dental care continue to be the forgotten issue yet again.You can go to the campaign website for more information and use it to send an auto-generated email to your candidates in the upcoming election, or engage with them on social media.In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast we explore the concept of universal health coverage and the need to reform dental funding in Australia.

Dentists. What makes us tick? For many people, a trip to the dentist at the top of the list of things they would prefer not to do. Makes you wonder why anyone would decide to be a dentist at all.In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast we talk to dentist and author Max Lee about his new book ‘Why am I a dentist? A search for clarity and meaning.’ Max is a general practitioner who works in private practice in Victoria, having previously spent time working as a dentist in Singapore. Max reflects on his journey from dental school to a new graduate dentist in a foreign country, and highlights some of challenging experiences and darker periods in his career, and how that has shaped the person - and health professional - that he is today.The book is available at Amazon, Booktopia and other online retailers.

Why is it so hard for the more than 1 in 4 Australians who live outside of capital and major cities to access dental care? And how much is that a factor that contributes to the higher burden of disease we see in regional and rural communities?In 2023, 74.3% of the population lived in major cities across Australia, and dentists disproportionately work in these areas. That means for one quarter of the population, access to dental care - both treatment and importantly prevention - is compromised.In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast we explore some of the factors that contribute to this maldistribution and look at some of the solutions that have been tried to address this.

How do we know if we are suffering from main character syndrome? Or even have strong narcissistic tendencies. And what impact might that have on the provision of patient care? Main character syndrome. We’ve all experienced it, even if you’ve never heard the term before. You’re driving to work when another driver – completely oblivious to the traffic around them – casually merges into your lane without indicating, causing you to brake suddenly to avoid an accident. Entitled. Selfish. Have you ever wondered though how much you are the main character in the soap opera of your life? Main character syndrome is the tendency to view your life as a story where you play the central role. Your views and opinions, your actions define the narrative arc of that story. You are central to the plot, relegating your friends and family to mere supporting roles – or worse, as simply extras – to be seen but not heard. It sounds extreme. But it’s a real phenomenon. According to Dr Shaun Sellers, ‘When a dentist falls into this mindset, they might see themselves as the ‘hero' of every patient's story. They may focus more on how they will be seen by their peers and the industry rather than listening deeply to what patients want or need. A dentist could start making decisions based on what they believe is best for their image, rather than considering the patient's personal preferences or anxieties.’ In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast we explore main character syndrome, spotlight bias and narcissism in the context of health professionals and the provision of patient care.

One in every six women in Australia experiences physical or sexual violence before the age of sixteen. In 2022, 64% of reported assaults to WA Police were family violence-related. We know that family violence has a significant impact on the health, inclusion, confidence, dignity and financial independence of women. Healing Smiles is a group of volunteer dentists who provide pro bono dental treatment to help restore the smiles of survivors of domestic violence. In this episode of Dental As Anything we talk to oral medicine specialist Jacinta Vu about her work with Healing Smiles. She did her dental training in Perth and then specialist training in Sydney, and works in private practice and as a consultant at the Perth Children’s Hospital, as well as having a teaching role at the University of Western Australia. She helped to found Healing Smiles, a group of volunteer dentists who provide pro bono dental treatment to help restore the smiles of survivors of domestic violence. She has just been formally recognised for her work as the Western Australian Local Hero in the 2025 Australian of the Year Awards. If you would like to volunteer or donate to Healing Smiles, you can find out more information here.

Australian dentists write around 70,000 prescriptions for antibiotics each month. And medical practitioners are also prescribing antibiotics for dental problems. But how many of those prescriptions are actually necessary, and are we contributing to antimicrobial resistance. This week is World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week, a global campaign to raise awareness and understanding of AMR and promote best practices to reduce the emergence and spread of drug-resistant infections. Antimicrobial resistance is already affecting the care of patients, and current trends indicate AMR will have an increasing impact over time. The World Health Organisation has described AMR as one of the greatest threats to human and animal health, as well as food and agriculture. Each year, hundreds of people die in Australia as a result of antimicrobial resistance.  “If we use antibiotics when not needed, we may not have them when they are most needed.”  -Tom Frieden, MD, Former Director U.S. CDC Antibiotics prescribed by dentists account for a significant 10 per cent of all antibiotics prescribed worldwide, but up to 55 per cent of those antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily by dentists in Australia. In this episode of Dental As Anything we talk to dentist and pharmacist Leanne Teoh about the issues of antimicrobial resistance and prescribing. Leanne works both clinically as a dentist and also as a researcher at the Melbourne Dental School. In collaboration with MIMS Australia she has commercialised the first clinical decision medicines tool for dental practitioners in Australia, called MIMS Drugs4dent®, and she has co-authored the Australian national dental guidelines, Therapeutic Guidelines Oral and Dental Version 2. Further Resources FDI World Dental Federation white paper ‘The essential role of the dental team in reducing antibiotic resistance’ FDI World Dental Federation MOOC - Tackling Antibiotic Resistance: What Should Dental Teams Do?

During the US presidential election campaign, Robert Kennedy Junior tweeted that a Trump White House would advise all US water systems to remove fluoride from public water supplies. Trump has previously indicated that Kennedy would likely have an influential health role in his administration. Now that the election outcome is clear, should the dental profession be concerned about this threat to water fluoridation? Already we have seen two Australian politicians – LNP Senator Matt Canavan and UAP Senator Ralph Babet make statements questioning water fluoridation. Babet went so far as to say that he would ban fluoride from all water supplies in Australia if he was ever in a position of power. This rhetoric emboldens those who campaign to remove or prevent water fluoridation, and we have previously seen the impacts with many communities pressuring local councils to cease water fluoridation. In Canavan’s home state of Queensland, 50% of teenagers have tooth decay, much higher than the national average of 38%. Moves to further reduce access to water fluoridation will see tooth decay rates increase, and this will be disproportionately felt in vulnerable and disadvantaged community groups. We have previously discussed safety concerns related particularly to cognitive impairment, and the problematic National Toxicology Report into water fluoridation. It’s although worth revisiting the NHMRC review of water fluoridation, which ‘strongly recommends community water fluoridation as a safe, effective and ethical way to help reduce tooth decay across the population.’  This review concluded that there is reliable evidence that community water fluoridation at current Australian levels is not associated with cancer, Down syndrome, cognitive dysfunction, lowered intelligence or hip fracture.   In this episode of the Dental As Anything podcast we look at the history and evidence of water fluoridation, and discuss the risk to public dental health if opponents are emboldened by events in the United States.