Program

PROGRAM

Thursday 25 September: Postgraduate Day

Thursday 25 September / 5:30pm: President’s Cocktail Party

Thursday 25 September 2025

9:00am - 4:00pm

Postgraduate Day

12:00pm – 1:00pm

Lunch

1:00pm – 4:30pm

Paediatric Dentists: NuSmile hands-on course

  • Identifying when full coverage esthetic paediatric restorations can and should be used.
  • Learn tips and tricks along with common errors and troubleshooting for placing full coverage paediatric restorations.
  • Practice proper prep and cementation techniques for success.
  • Hands-on training with NuSmile’s products including: Zirconia Crowns

If time permits, Dr. Patrick Ruck will also discuss vital pulp therapies using MTA products.

4:30pm

Vital pulp therapies using MTA products
Dr. Patrick Ruck

5:30pm – 7:30pm

President’s Cocktail Party

Friday 26 September 2025

8:00am

Tea, coffee on arrival

8:30am

Mihi Whakatau

8:40am

Opening address
Dr. Katie Ayers, AAPD President

8:45am

Assessment and management of dental hypersensitivity in children
Dr. Joana Monterio, Paediatric Dentist

9:45am

Black is back! Clinical application of Silver Fluoride and SDF in Paediatric Practice
Dr. Harleen Kumar, Paediatric Dentist

10:30am

Platinum Sponsor Address

10:35am

Morning tea

11:00am

Update on restorative materials utilized in paediatric dentistry
Dr. Patrick Ruck, Paediatric Dentist

12:00am

Non-invasive management of aesthetic concerns
Dr. Joana Monterio, Paediatric Dentist

12:45pm

Lunch

1:45pm

AAPD Colgate Recent Graduate Speaker Award – presentations

2:15pm

IADR Research Competition

2:45 – 3:45pm

Australasian Academy of Paediatric Dentists Annual General Meeting

3:45 - 5:00pm

Debate
Dr. Erin Mahoney, Chair

6:30 - 10:30pm

Conference Dinner and Awards
Cargo Brew Hall (Transfer by Bus)

Saturday 27 September 2025

8:00am

Parkrun
Enjoy a 5km walk or run in beautiful Queenstown. Register online and bring your barcode.

9:15am

Pilates and injury prevention for Paediatric Dentists
Vicky Stuart-Jones, Physiotherapist/Pilates instructor

10:15am

Morning tea

10:45am​

Restorative management of posterior teeth in children with MIH/AI
Dr. Joana Monterio, Paediatric Dentist

11:30am

Management of deep carious lesions in permanent teeth
Dr. Shayden Bell, Endodontist

12:15pm

15 years of complex oral health needs for adolescents in the Waikato
Dr. Andrew Mackie, Prosthodontist

1:00pm

Lunch

1:45pm

Restorative management of anterior teeth in children with MIH/AI
Dr. Joana Monterio, Paediatric Dentist

2:30pm

Fragment reattachment secondary to dental trauma
Dr. Patrick Ruck, Paediatric Dentist

3:30pm

Gender 101: Lessons from my Transgender child
Dr. Alex Wallace, Paediatrician

4:00pm

Conference Close

4:30pm

Live screening of the AFL Grand Final

SOCIAL EVENTS

THURSDAY EVENING

PRESIDENT'S COCKTAIL PARTY

FRIDAY EVENING

RECONNEXT Conference dinner

Program overview

The conference offers a rich program, covering diverse topics within paediatric dentistry. Here’s a glance at some of the speakers and their topics from our program.

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Bree Jones

Novel methods for early disease detection in children using intraoral scanners

Intraoral scanning and automated disease detection methods promise reliable and precise diagnostics and enhanced patient communication tools. In this session, we will discuss the clinical validation of these technologies in paediatrics. We will focus on developing the knowledge and skills for clinicians to understand their biases and limitations to be able to use them safely, ethically, and responsibly.
Dr Vanessa Cho

What are you looking at?

In this presentation Dr Cho will discuss the use of eye tracking technology in paediatric dentistry; it’s applications, what’s been done, what is to be done and how this affects your learning and practice.
Dianne Shanley

Health Equity in Action: Unleashing the power of implementation science and co-design

This talk will showcase a compelling example of how community co-design and implementation science drove real world change and tackled the problem of limited access to healthcare in the remote First Nations communities of Northwest Queensland. We’ll explore practical strategies to dismantle barriers such as limited resources, stakeholder engagement and systemic challenges. Together, we can create tangible solutions that pave the way for a more equitable and inclusive healthcare landscape.
Dr Jilen Patel

Exploring global and local oral health inequalities through a clinical lens

This presentation will showcase examples of global and local oral health inequalities and present some of the innovative strategies used to address these disparities through a clinician’s perspective.
Prof Nigel Curtis 02

To ChatGPT or Not To ChatGPT: everything you always wanted to know about large language models but were afraid to ask

This presentation will dive into the fascinating world of ChatGPT. Learn about the revolutionary potential of large language models in shaping the future of academia, research, and healthcare (‘The Good’), while also considering their inherent limitations and challenges (‘The Bad’). The session will also address the role of ChatGPT in disseminating or perpetuating disinformation (‘The Ugly’). Whether you’re an AI novice or a seasoned expert, this session promises to offer valuable, multidimensional insights into this transformative technology. And yes, of course, the paragraph above was indeed written with the help of ChatGPT!
Dr Michelle Mun

Clinicians leading the charge: Why a data-driven culture is essential for the AI age

Digital and AI technologies promise to revolutionise healthcare. How can we realise the benefits for our patients, practices, and the population, without losing our identities as clinicians? Beyond service delivery, dental practitioners must now understand the power of digital data to inform clinical decisions, enhance patient care, and contribute to system-wide improvements. We will discuss how a developing a strong data culture in dentistry is not only possible, but necessary for clinician-led digital transformation, and for refining dentistry’s role as an integral part of whole person-centred care.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsors

Silver Sponsors