‘We can only help others if we are healthy ourselves’: Dental Board Chair Dr Murray Thomas discusses dental practitioner support on the Dental Head Start podcast

04 Nov 2021

Dental Board of Australia (the Board) Chair, Dr Murray Thomas, recently spoke with the Dental Head Start podcast about the dental practitioner support service and the importance of looking after yourself to look after your patients.

Dental Head Start describes itself as a podcast and blog aimed at helping dental students become great dentists, but is relevant for all dental practitioners. Dr Thomas spoke with podcast host David Keir about the Board-funded independent support service for dental practitioners as well as clarifying some misunderstandings about how the Board and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) work and what their goals are.

‘The driving force for the Board in funding this service is to support practitioners' wellbeing and to acknowledge that practitioners, like everyone, experience stress in their lives, be that from having a complaint made about them or because of challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic,' Dr Thomas said.

‘Ahpra’s purpose is to keep the public safe and the Board wants to help keep practitioners healthy and well, so they’ll continue to provide good and safe service to the community.’

Dr Thomas was joined by Mr Anthony Denham, Program Director at Turning Point, the organisation which runs the Dental practitioner support service.

‘The support service plays an important role in providing general support across mental health and wellbeing, particularly for people who might not have anyone to talk to, or anyone they feel comfortable talking to. The dental support service is funded by the Board, but it’s operates independently. It’s free to access for practitioners, their family, friends and employers and is available 24/7.’ Mr Denham said.

To listen to the podcast visit the Dental Head Start website or it’s available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, RSS and more.

For more information

• Visit the Dental Practitioner Support website.
• Call the Dental Practitioner Support on 1800 377 700.
• Visit the Board’s website.
• Visit the Dental Head Start website.
• For online enquiries visit www.ahpra.gov.au/enquiry.
• For registration enquiries: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 3 9285 3010 (overseas callers).
• For media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200