In the late nineties, the future of UWA Dental School was clouded. Accreditation requirements were changing, the UWA Dental School was expensive to run and the facilities near Royal Perth Hospital were old and run down.
Together, a band of dedicated dental alumni and industry leaders established the Western Australian Dental Foundation (WADF), to support UWA Dental School. The first goal was to attract funds to support employment of an additional academic leader, and the dental community answered the call.
This show of support became a rolling stone that gathered moss. UWA’s Vice Chancellor found sufficient resources for additional academic staff that were vital for Dental School accreditation. Thanks to the advocacy of Dr Michael McGuiness AM BDSc '78, who became Head of School in 1999, then Premier Richard Court invested in the establishment of the Oral Health Centre of WA (OCHWA), which opened in 2002. This transformed the facilities available for patient care, training, and research. A recognition wall for the WADF Founding Fellows group, who donated in 2001-2002, sits at the entrance of this facility, which remains the primary hub of dental education for Western Australia.
Professor Hien Ngo, Head of School, remembers this time. “I was an academic at University of Adelaide during those years, and we were advised to prepare for the possible transfer of students from UWA. I am extremely glad for the people of WA that the community and the university came together to secure UWA Dental School’s future.”
Western Australian Dental Foundation then added a focus on helping students.
Since 2011, talented students that meet equity criteria have benefited from Western Australian Dental Foundation scholarships. Inaugural recipient Dr Jonathan Lo is now Principal Dentist of his own practice, Maylands Dental Centre. He is a Council Member of the Australian Dental Health Foundation, Member of the Australian Dental Association and Member of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons. Dr Nathan Turner recently completed his degree and has relocated to Burnie, Tasmania, as a Dental Officer in the Oral Health Services Tasmania Graduate program. The latest recipient of the scholarship is Ms Chantel Pei-Yeu Chen.
In addition, the Alistair Devlin Memorial Scholarship, established in 2014 in memory of much-loved paediatric dentist, clinical academic and WA Dental Foundation founding fellow, Dr Alistair Devlin, has enabled paediatric dentists to spread their wings and bring new expertise and networks back to WA. Dr Rodney Jennings, Dr Chaturi Wathuragamage, Dr Jilen Patel and Dr Gregory Celine are now alumni of this program. Although COVID-19 put a pause on travel, we hope to see future candidates soon.
Financial need grants have also been offered to students in recent years and in 2019 Australian the Dental Association of Western Australia (ADAWA) published a series of stories about some of the recipients of these grants – Dr Peter Terzi, Dr Bec Penco and Dr Sarmah Nayeem.
This vital support continued as the 2020 cohort suffered loss of income and other financial stresses due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
WADF has also supported research goals with the acquisition of equipment for the dental research lab. This has included support for the purchase of an Ion S5 next-generation sequencer and Ion Chef sequencing robot, that has been used to better understand the risk of different oral lesions transforming into cancer.
Western Australian Dental Foundation is now entering a new chapter, with a new MOU with UWA to reinvigorate the Advisory Board that endorses the allocation of funds, and a new project to contribute to the ongoing success of UWA Dental School. The refurbishment of the Dental Clinical Simulation Laboratory within the Oral Health Centre of WA will refresh these vital educational facilities for a new generation of dentists.
Alumni and friends of UWA Dental School are invited to contact the current WADF advisory board or Development Manager Kate McKenzie at [email protected] to learn more about this exciting project.