DentalWords

Teeth, teams and technology. 🦷👥🤖
I am heading to Yeppoon for the Central Queensland ADAQ Sub-branch Annual Conference, where I will present three topics that reflect different parts of my professional journey:
1. Ageing teeth, dentine and adhesive dentistry. 2. Ten lessons from practice ownership that make perfect sense in hindsight
3. Making intelligent decisions in an artificial world
Each session will translate research, clinical experience and practical lessons into strategies that dental professionals can use in their everyday work.
The “Dentistry by the Sea” program includes 10 CPD hours, streams for clinicians and support staff, a trade exhibition, dinner and opportunities to connect with colleagues from across the region.
📅 15–16 August 2026
📍 Keppel Bay Sailing Club, Yeppoon
⏳ Registration closes 30 July
I look forward to seeing everyone there!

I had the privilege of meeting the founders of Dentroid and the inventors of the Neuralyte device, Dr Omar Zuaiter and Alaa Habeb, who paid a visit to my practice in Tewantin accompanied by their new partners from France, Septodont, represented by Dinesh Ahangama and Spring Zhao-Valire. 

If you’re not familiar with Septodont, they’re the global leader in pain management that includes local anaesthetics and a significant share of Australia’s anaesthetic market share. Septodont is also a third-generation French family-run company with an incredible reputation. It was wonderful to have everyone visit my practice, and I also had the chance to talk about my experience using the Neuralyte device as part of the clinical trial led by Dr Jessica Zachar, my friend and colleague at the School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland , who is completing her PhD supervised by Professors Laurence Walsh and Peter Reher

I believe this will change the course of healthcare, allowing us to provide much more effective pain management to our patients without the need for injections and also help our needle-phobic patients.

Some of the highlights of this visit was to understand the ethos behind Septodont, and the opportunity to meet the Alaa and Omar, two passionate and hard-working colleagues who get to finally see nine years of hard work and sacrifice come to life.

Also a big congratulations to Jess for working on a project that is going to change the way we practice, and for asking me to tag along, so that I could play a little role in adding innovation to our practice. What an honour. 

There’s something special about holding a physical book that you are part of.

Some of us recently caught up to reflect on the impact and outcomes of the teaching innovation grant led by Associate Professor Rachel Fitzgerald.

For many of us, it acted as a springboard to other projects and grants. These have included initiatives aimed at helping students improve communication skills using virtual patients, where they can practise in a safe space and appreciate the variation in human reactions and interactions. Other work has explored the differences between human-led and AI-assisted assessment marking.

One area I hope to continue contributing to through a project led by Rey is ensuring that future graduates do not lose their critical thinking skills in an era where AI can provide answers so readily. If we as future and current practitioners cannot discern between slop and something succinct and insightful, that too becomes a problem.

A big thank you to Associate Professor Rachael Fitzgerald for leading this project, and to John Raiti, who worked tirelessly to bring all of our chapters together into a cohesive volume and transform them into something tangible.

This textbook is now part of the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education program, which is certainly something to be proud of. While it gives us an opportunity to look back, it also highlights just how much has changed since a group of curious AI dabblers first came together and put our work on paper.

A link to our open-access publication can be found in my bio.

❓How long does it take you to read, synthesise and apply the findings from a research paper into your clinical practice?

💡16 minutes

I recently came across a fantastic podcast featuring our article on the use of AI in Australian dental and healthcare.

Dr Melanie Aley did a wonderful job unpacking the key findings and translating them into practical bite-sized pieces (couldn’t help it) for dental clinical practice.

Here is one of her prompts to kickstart your 16-minute listen:

“Think about a recent moment in your clinical practice where a digital or AI-enabled tool influenced your assessment or planning. How did you verify its output, and what steps can you take to ensure your clinical judgement, rather than the software, remains the primary driver of decision-making?”

The link to the podcast and article is in my bio. Happy listening 🙂.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget the things we accept as common practice today was once considered impossible if not disruptive. And to disrupt, it takes courage, passion and perseverance. A big thanks to Liam and the team from for bringing an original disruptor, to Sydney for a one-off event. Two days jam packed with 30 years of knowledge, experience, expertise and courage. It was a whirlwind trip to Sydney that was filled with knowledge-building, serendipitous catch ups (always the best) with people who share the same passions and joys.. with some pictured and others not. .lydiasee .samkoh .

A big thank you to the deadly Dr Ren Perkins for taking time out of his busy and inspiring life to yarn with our future dental practitioners 🖤💛❤️

We yarned about how to work alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to build resilience, strengthen relationships, and support oral health in ways that are meaningful and respectful.

Ren is a passionate educator who champions thoughtful education and works to create more opportunities for our First Nations students to enter tertiary education and professional practice. Because representation matters after all … we can’t be what we can’t see.

He’s also recently published an article on education reforms that engage children, families, and communities early, helping build capability across the lifespan. You can look it up on .aunz website under the title,’There’s a new plan to help First Nations students from daycare to uni. What does it need to work?’

Here’s to lifelong learning, strong communities, trust, and more deadly health practitioners ✨

If you’re curious about how to make your dental work last longer, join me for my webinar. I will explain what happens to the structure and quality of our teeth as we age and, with this context, discuss how to help your patients keep their teeth for longer — and for you to remain a star in their eyes. ⭐️

Who: Dr Arosha Weerakoon, hosted by the Australian Dental Association Queensland Branch
What: Webinar — How to help patients keep their teeth for longer
Where: Online (ADA Queensland Branch)
When: Thursday, March 19 | 6–7 pm EST
Why: To better understand age-related changes in tooth structure and support long-term patient outcomes
Cost: Free to Australian Dental Association Members, and $55 to non-member practitioners.

Register and RSVP by: March 18 via the link in the bio.

PreventiveDentistry LifelongOralHealth ClinicalDentistry DentalCPD ContinuingProfessionalDevelopment AustralianDentist ADAQ DentalWebinar EvidenceBasedDentistry DentalProfession OralHealthPromotion