Ashleigh Raikuna
- New Graduate Member
- ash.raikuna@live.com
What brought you to becoming a Paediatric Dentist?
I went to an amazing paediatric dentist as a child who inspired me to pursue dentistry. It has been twenty years since my first appointment and here we are!
Where do you work now?
I work at two private specialist paediatric dental practices in Sydney – Norwest Paediatric Dentistry and Dental Paediatrix.
Where do you see your future in Paediatric Dentistry?
I plan to work in private practice and continue to help grow the well-established practices I’m fortunate enough to work at. I also have an interest in Indigenous Peoples oral health and oral health inequalities, and would love to pursue a Masters in Public Health later in my career.
What aspects of Paediatric do you most prefer?
I practice the full scope of paediatric dentistry but have a special interest in treating children with additional needs and acute dental and orofacial trauma management.
I joined the AAPD to/because:
I want to keep up with the continuing advancements in paediatric dentistry and to be able to connect with colleagues across Australia and New Zealand.
The people I would like to connect with in the AAPD are:
Colleagues working within Sydney and in regional communities as well as other recent graduates from interstate.
What is your most memorable or favourite part of practicing Paediatric Dentistry?
My most rewarding moments in paediatric dentistry are seeing children who are anxious or those who have additional needs achieve their dental goals. Whether that is sitting in the chair for the first time or getting through chairside treatment. It’s those moments that make me feel the proudest to have the privilege of being a paediatric dental specialist.
What do you like doing outside of Paediatric Dentistry?
I love going to Carriageworks farmers markets every Saturday, trying to find the best coffee in Sydney and cheering on the Matildas.
In an alternate universe, if you were not a dentist what would you have liked to pursue?
I love dentistry and that has always been my plan since I was 9 years old, otherwise either an OB/GYN or a midwife.
Dr Hannah Polley
- Established Member
- hannah@pdcare.com.au
What brought you to becoming a Paediatric Dentist?
As a new dental graduate, I worked part time in general private practice and part time in public for SA Dental in the School Dental Service. I quickly realised that my general practice days were not very enjoyable and I looked forward to my School Dental days. As I joined ANZSPD, started teaching the undergraduates in their paediatric dental rotations and got to know more specialists and postgraduates, I decided to apply for a postgraduate position. But I like to tell my patients that I became a Paediatric Dentist because grown-ups are gross and are always complaining!
Where do you work now?
I own my own specialist practice, Paediatric Dental Care, in South Australia. I started Paediatric Dental Care in 2016 with Dr Jenny Branson, who recently retired. We bought the practice from Dr Margaret Evans, who retired in 2018. Both Jenny and Margaret were a fantastic support for me as a new specialist and as I navigated the challenge of being a working mum.
It is a privilege to be currently working side-by-side with three other fantastic paediatric dentists (Drs Ninna Yuson, Alice Howarth and Nikki Morgan) and two incredibly skilled general dentists (Drs Sophie Teager and Ngan Nguyen). I am extremely proud of our cohesive team – we have worked to build a culture in the practice that is centred in excellence in dentistry and camaraderie.
Where do you see your future in Paediatric Dentistry?
Now that my children are both at school, I am considering dipping my toe back into public work. There is a shortage of Paediatric Dentists in SA, particularly as many of my colleagues are in the parenting trenches with babies and young children, and it would be nice to give back to the specialist team in my state and the Paediatric Dental Department at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital. And if I could get my hands on a Time Turner, I would love to get back into teaching.
What aspects of Paediatric do you most prefer? What is your most memorable or favourite part of practicing Paediatric Dentistry?
I live for the chit chat with my patients and their families. The fabulous stories that they have told me about themselves and their lives bring me such joy, enlightenment and laughter. I have said many times that if my hands give up on me and I can’t do treatment anymore, I would happily still do check ups and treatment planning for my clinical team.
I joined the AAPD to/because:
We are a very small group of professionals across the country, joining AAPD allows you to build connections with other specialists who you may not otherwise have had means or opportunities to meet. It is also important to me to have the ability to seek CPD at a specialist level.
The people I would like to connect with in the AAPD are:
Anyone and everyone! It is always a pleasure to catch up with colleagues who I studied with but now practice interstate or overseas. It’s fantastic to reach out to other practice owners to discuss the highs and lows of business ownership. It is also wonderful to meet postgraduates and new graduates and hear about their research and career plans.
What do you like doing outside of Paediatric Dentistry?
My 5-year-old son similarly asked me this summer what my hobbies are. It really stumped me because the first five things I thought of were not actually hobbies for me, rather just things that I feel satisfied about when they are completed…housework, pulling weeds. The following weekend he helped me fix the needle on my sewing machine and we dug out some fabric and craft supplies from my pre-parenting days, and we made a few things to re-ignite something that used to be a hobby of mine. An unfortunate down-side is that I now have some garish superhero fabric cushions on the couch!
In an alternate universe, if you were not a dentist what would you have liked to pursue?
I would love to own a business that put together personalised gift baskets and hampers. A seamstress. A literary critic. A Time Turner distributor.
A/Prof. Mani Ekambaram
- Academic Member
- mani.ekambaram@otago.ac.nz
What brought you to becoming a Paediatric Dentist?
The wide scope of paediatric dentistry is something that I always liked. I was very lucky to receive training from world renowned experts in a prestigious institute which shaped me to what I am today.
Where do you work now?
I work as a full-time academic paediatric dentist at Otago University.
Where do you see your future in Paediatric Dentistry?
I recently took over as Head of Discipline and postgraduate program director for paediatric dentistry at Otago University. I see this as a great opportunity to train our future paediatric dental colleagues and therefore, see myself in this role for the foreseeable future.
What aspects of Paediatric dentistry do you most prefer
Although I like all aspects of paediatric dentistry, development of dentition and dental anomalies are of great interest to me.
I joined the AAPD to:
Connect with fellow paediatric dental specialists across Australia and New Zealand, and to be a regional voice for children’s oral health.
The people I would like to connect with in the AAPD are:
Infact, I would like to connect with all the members of the academy as they all share the common interest, which is paediatric oral health.
What is your most memorable or favourite part of practicing Paediatric Dentistry?
Our specialty gives me a unique opportunity to interact with children and young people. Such interaction enables me to educate them (at an earlier stage of their life) about the importance of oral health.
What do you like doing outside of Paediatric Dentistry?
I like to spend time with my family, practice Yoga, I like to read a lot…mostly non-fiction. I like to be up-to-date with current world affairs.
In an alternate universe, if you were not a dentist what would you have liked to pursue?
A CEO of a public company
