Program
- 25 – 27 SEPTEMBER 2025
- Crowne Plaza Queenstown, NZ
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
- Thursday 25 September 2025
- 5:30pm to 7:30pm
- Crowne Plaza Queenstown

FRIDAY EVENING
RECONNEXT Conference dinner
- Friday 26 September 2025
- 6.30pm to 11.00pm
- Cargo Brewery
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.

XX
- Dr. Shayden Bell

Novel methods for early disease detection in children using intraoral scanners
- Ms Bree Jones

What are you looking at?
- Dr Vanessa Cho


Health Equity in Action: Unleashing the power of implementation science and co-design
- Professor Dianne Shanley
- Dr Marjad Page

Exploring global and local oral health inequalities through a clinical lens
- Dr Jilen Patel

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

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