KHPN project officer Sara just loves popping into visit the crazy, fun team at Broome Dental. On her last visit Rose mentioned that she had received assistance from Rural Health West in to her relocation to Broome – so what a perfect person to feature as our member of the month this July!
What are your professional interests/specialties? My main professional interest is oral disease prevention and dental hygiene education. I have a huge passion for educating all my patients on the basics of oral hygiene, why oral care is important and the link between oral and systemic diseases. In today’s society there is little dental and oral education outside of the dental clinic and its leads to many people suffering from preventable oral diseases such as tooth decay and gum disease. I really enjoy improving each patient basic knowledge of their mouth and seeing patients return with improved oral conditions. I also enjoy the aesthetic side of dentistry and love seeing the smiles of patients who have had broken teeth restored or undergone teeth whitening!
Tell us, where are you from and how did you get to be an Oral Health Therapist in the Kimberley region? I’m originally from Perth and moved to Broome at the end of 2021. During my degree we visited family in Broome and absolutely fell in love. A few years later we revisited Broome with our 3 daughters and I was toying with the idea of walking into Broome Dental Clinic and asking for a job, knowing how much we wanted to live here. After a few laps around the block I lost my nerve! We returned to Perth the following day and one week later they were advertising for an Oral Health Therapist! I rung them immediately as I knew this was a fabulous opportunity to fulfil our dream of living in the Kimberley and within the week our fate was sealed.
What do you love about the Kimberley? It’s definitely a combination of the lifestyle, the scenery and the people! The relaxed, easy going nature of so many people who live here make working and living here very easy and enjoyable. I’m still so amazed at some of the amazing scenery throughout the Kimberley. You can have be driving next to cascading red rock, down onto pure white sandy beaches and dip into the bluest ocean I’ve seen. It is truly beautiful, and I feel privileged to be able to experience it with my daughters!
Did you always want to be an Oral Health Therapist? Why? I stumbled across the Oral Health Therapy degree rather by accident. It wasn’t a career pathway I was familiar with and was instantly taken by the idea of treating my own patients, having an extended adult scope and being an independent clinician. I knew that I’d always wanted to have a career in the health industry and being a people person, I wanted a career where I could engage regularly with people. As a child I always loved going to have a dental check up. So much so, that when my twin sister had to have a tooth extracted, I begged to have mine out at the same time. Our family Dentist popped me in the chair and pretended to take my tooth out to keep me happy! When discovering the career of an Oral Health Therapist I thought it would be a perfect way to link my passion for engaging with people with my love for the Dentist!
What are your passions? My biggest passion is engaging with others and helping others. It’s what brings me most joy. I’m definitely a people person and will talk most people’s ears off. I also love being outdoors, being with my children, playing netball and definitely enjoying a drink or two over a beautiful Kimberley sunset.
When you aren’t working, where will we find you? Cape Leveque swimming and fishing or enjoying a sunset drink at Cable Beach!
