Inspecting a child’s mouth in the remote Northern Territory after a 10-hour journey – while a young crocodile lurks menacingly nearby – is not exactly an everyday experience for a dentist.
For Specialist paediatric dentist, lecturer and researcher Dr Sherene Alexander, however, it was another memorable moment in her incredibly varied and inspiring career.
“It’s definitely not something you see very often,” Dr Alexander, who was volunteering for a Federal Government-supported Indigenous oral health initiative in the remote Northern Territory at the time, said.
“Some of our other encounters included power cuts, equipment hiccups and a young child patient who didn’t want to let go of his pet emu chick while we examined his teeth. It has highlighted the importance of being flexible in the dental profession.”
As a Senior Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry at Westmead Hospital and the Sydney Dental Hospital, Dr Alexander’s career has included working in regional NSW and training undergraduate and postgraduate dentists.
In her specialist career spanning more than twenty years, Dr Alexander’s areas of specialisations have included
paediatric oral pathology, paediatric minor oral surgery and dental trauma.
Like many of her colleagues, Dr Sherene’s future career was inspired by her experiences of the dentist as a youngster.
💬 “When I was a child, I had issues with my dentition and lip incompetence and it affected me adversely,” she said. “I remember being so self-conscious about my teeth.
“At school they would say, ‘this child never smiles’.
“I can still remember giving a big smile to the orthodontist after I had braces fitted. It reinforced for me the importance of maintaining my teeth and the impact oral health has on your overall quality of life.
“From there on, I wanted to be a dentist – especially a paediatric dentist – to be able to make a difference and a positive impact in the life of another child.”
🦷 The satisfaction of providing treatment
After graduating and undertaking her specialist examinations, Dr Alexander worked at the world-class Tufts University in Boston and Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital. She was also Regional Dental Officer for Dental Health Services Victoria before becoming Senior Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry at the Westmead
Centre for Oral Health and Sydney Dental Hospital for approximately 20 years.
In addition to being actively involved in the training of junior colleagues, Dr Alexander has also provided ‘out of hours’ emergency care and management for medically compromised patients at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and is a Visiting Specialist at The Children’s Hospital at Randwick.
Dr Alexander confirmed that specialising in paediatric dentistry has been a “hugely” rewarding experience – but she believes there are some essential traits needed for anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps.
“You have to be incredibly patient (as a paediatric dentist),” she said. “You have to be open-minded and willing to learn.
“Keeping calm with an anxious child patient or a stressful situation is a vital attribute. If things don’t go to plan, be prepared to change tack and be adaptable to achieve a desirable outcome.
“What I’ve found most satisfying is seeing a child smile after treatment. It’s incredibly rewarding to know that you have made a difference in a young person’s life.
“As a paediatric dentist, you also play a role in the early detection of other medical conditions in children, such as Crohn’s disease, Osteogenesis Imperfecta and Ectodermal Dysplasia. It’s not just about teeth.”
🔵 The rewards of teamwork
Dr Alexander said that the challenges she has encountered working in the public system have been far outweighed by the positives.
“I’ve found it hugely gratifying working as part of a multi-disciplinary team,” she said. “You are working with colleagues who all have a vital role in the patient’s dental journey.
For me, it has never just been about ‘drill and fill’ when it comes to work. Working in the public sector has allowed me to meet different colleagues, work with different patients and develop a variety of skills.
“The frustrations? Well, of course I wish there was more funding to help relieve some of the staffing and other pressures. We have had an increased workload, especially since COVID without a proportionate increase in staffing.
“Working in that environment has also impressed upon me that we need to improve our oral health education message. There are some great programs out there doing this, of course, but when you see the waiting lists, you realise we must focus more on this message across the entire profession.”
Dr Alexander is the current President of the NSW branch of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Paediatric Dentistry. Her other professional affiliations include the Australasian Academy of Paediatric Dentistry and the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, International College of Dentists, and Pierre Fauchard Academy.
In addition to being actively involved in the training of her junior colleagues at Westmead, she has also published widely in several international peer reviewed journals.
Starting in 2008, she also volunteered in different spells over several years for the Government program in remote Northern Territory, treating young Indigenous children in remote areas such as Alice Springs, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Gove.
“I’d never before seen a road train, the expanse of the red desert or a raging bushfire in the distance,” Dr Alexander said. “I had always wanted to work with First Nations children and give something back to the community.
“Some days, we would start at 7am and still be working 12 hours later. In that sense, it was similar to working at Westmead – the feeling of ‘we’re in it together. We never leave the last person standing alone.’
“Although one could encounter power failures and crocodiles, you also had other unforeseen challenges such as patients arriving several hours late for their appointments and an entire group that attend (an appointment) for various reasons.
“Volunteering is definitely something I would recommend because the sense of reward I experienced making a difference in the children’s lives was incredible.”
🟢 Giving back to communities
Dr Alexander lectures for The University of Sydney and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Charles Sturt University. She is also one of the few specialists to have provided specialist paediatric dental care to patients in remote and regional NSW, having worked at clinics in Orange and Dubbo for more than a decade.
Dr Alexander encourages a united approach to entice more dental professionals to work in regional areas.
“Providing financial or other incentives to work in regional areas are important, but it’s not just about that,” she said. “We need to work on creating those multi-disciplinary teams so that dentists don’t feel isolated and there’s that essential support.
“I’d recommend any young dentist to work in a regional area, even if it’s for a short time. You come across a different cohort of patients and it’s obviously a much more relaxed way of life in country areas.
“Remember, it’s not always about financial gain. I think it’s important that general dentists have the ability to work with patients who don’t have that access to care and also give something back to these regional and rural communities.”
Dr Alexander also advises dentists – especially younger practitioners – to remember the change their work can have on people’s lives.
“Whether it’s young patients, their parents, junior colleagues and graduates, I have been able – even if only in a small way – to create a positive impact in their lives and their futures,” she said. “That’s always been my motivation throughout my entire career – to make a difference.”
