GETTING THE CONVERSATION GOING ON THE CONNECTION BETWEEN ORAL HEALTH AND CHRONIC CONDITIONS
With
Dr Carol Tran, Oral Health Therapist &
Scientific Program Chair,
Oral Health Association of Australia (OHAA) Congress &
Past President, Dental Hygienists Association of Australia (DHAA) &
Co-director, Oral Health Home
PEOPLE IN HEALTH CARE SEGMENT
Filmed in Brisbane | September 2025
Dr. Carol Tran is an Oral Health Therapist and co-founder of Oral Health Home, an organisation focused on innovative, prevention-oriented oral health education and outreach. She is a Past President of Dental Hygienists Association of Australia (DHAA) and currently is the Scientific Program Chair, for upcoming congress in October 2025, for the newly formed Oral Health Association of Australia (OHAA).
A pivotal moment in Dr. Tran’s career was her leadership work with the DHAA. Throughout her tenure, she has served as a Director and President, leading national advocacy strategies and chairing committees on governance and special needs dentistry. One of her major achievements was successfully campaigning for oral health therapists, dental hygienists, and dental therapists to receive provider numbers, enabling them to be recognised as Medicare health care providers in their own right. This experience helped shape her belief in the potential for oral health practitioners to drive broader healthcare reform, ultimately inspiring her to co-found Oral Health Home.
Dr. Tran enjoys making oral health accessible and meaningful, particularly for often-overlooked communities. Currently, she is piloting a chewing and oral hypofunction program in aged care that uses technology to enhance residents’ oral function, alongside collaborating with CSIRO on food engineering research. She observes a growing awareness of the connection between oral health and overall wellness, but acknowledges ongoing challenges such as workforce shortages and fragmented funding. For those looking to enter this sector, she advises aspiring professionals to advocate, innovate, and think beyond traditional clinical roles.
Source: Adapted from supplied text
-
Surgical Site Infection (SSI) Synopsis, including modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors
Talking to the Australian Health Journal, Professor Russo states there is a particular concern in joint operations, such as hip or knee replacements, as infections in these areas can have severe consequences, including the removal of the infected joint, prolonged treatment, and significant costs for both hospitals and patients. Despite the substantial impact of surgical site infections, Australia lacks a national surveillance program for these infections, making it challenging to obtain accurate data. However, an estimate suggests that around 45,000 surgical site infections occur annually in Australia, resulting in approximately 900 deaths.
-
Emerging researcher appointed to James Packer Chair in Mood Disorders at UNSW
The UNSW Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health is widely renowned as the pre-eminent psychiatry research department in the country and one of the leading university psychiatry research groups internationally. In 2023 it celebrated 60 Years of Psychiatry & Mental Health at UNSW Sydney.
Australian Health Journal spoke with Professor Kimberlie Dean, Head of the Discipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health at UNSW Sydney, about the recent appointment of mental health disorders expert and clinician researcher Dr Aswin Ratheesh to lead the James Packer Chair in Mood Disorders at UNSW Sydney. -
Ensuring stringent quality standards in the lifecycle of medical devices
Dr Jasjit Baveja is the Associate Director of Policy at the Medical Technology Association of Australia (MTAA), where she oversees regulatory affairs, clinical code of practice, procurement, industry policy, reimbursement, and advocacy. With over 20 years of experience in the medical device regulatory space, Dr Bavej’s expertise lies in providing educational opportunities for regulatory professionals in Australia to ensure continuous learning and professional development. She collaborates closely with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to run workshops that provide invaluable experience, networking opportunities, and skill enhancement.
