Population Oral Health and Periodontics
Academic Staff:
- Prof Ivan Darby (Head)
- Professor Mike Morgan
- A/Prof Matthew Hopcraft (Senior Lecturer)
- A/Prof Julie Satur (Senior Lecturer)
- A/Prof Rodrigo Mariño (Senior Lecturer)
- Ms Julie Owen (Lecturer)
- Dr Anu Polster (Lecturer)
- Dr Margaret Stacey (Lecturer)
- Dr Denise Bailey (Lecturer)
- Dr Luan Ngo (Lecturer)
- Dr Parul Marwaha
- Ms Brenda Ryan
- Mr Geoff Adams
- Dr Orit Oettinger-Barak (Senior Lecturer)
- Dr Su-Yan Barrow (Lecturer)
Teaching Activities:
Undergraduate:
Areas of teaching responsibility in the Bachelor of Dental Science include Community Dental Health, Preventive Dentistry, Diagnosis and Treatment Planning, Behavioural Science, Epidemiology and Public Health, Ethics and Jurisprudence, Practice Management and Periodontics. The Unit has total responsibility for the didactic, preclinical and clinical teaching of dental hygiene and dental therapy students undertaking the Bachelor in Oral Health. Staff also lectures extensively in the Bachelor of Dental Science over all years of the course as well as providing academic direction for clinical work and placements in both courses.
Postgraduate:
The Unit provides a Master of Dental Science (MDSc) course in Preventive and Community Dentistry.
Research Activities:
Community Oral Health:
Clinical trial of a preventive agent, caries progression, caries prevention in the elderly, oral health of military recruits.and the role of dental hygienists in the provision of dental services to special needs groups. Community perceptions of fluoridation in a rural community
Periodontics:
Major themes of research are the microbiological pathogenesis of periodontitis, host biomarkers of periodontal disease, healing around and immediate loading of dental implants and the periodontal-systemic relationship.
Oral Health Promotion Research:
Health promotion in the elderly; oral health behaviours of adolescents with cleft palate; health promotion for rural preschool children and Evidence Based oral health promotion reviews
Health promotion research is also a core component of the undergraduate area of the Bachelor of Oral Health; recent projects include smoking cessation counseling for dental practitioners, oral health promotion with community groups such as methadone users, Sudanese refugees, disabled and nursing home residents, childcare and maternal and child health settings and schools.
Oral Health Policy Research and Advocacy:
Oral Health Therapy Workforce regulations and access to dental services
Members of the unit have also recently participated in;
- The Auditor General’s review of Community Dental Services in Victoria
- Dental practice regulation
- National Advisory Committee on Oral Health (NACOH)