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Meet our friendly team of Oral Health Therapists
Michelle Rakhlin
Kendall Slaughter
Louis (Kinh Luan) Ngo

What is an Oral Health Therapist?

Oral Health Therapists (OHTs) are dual qualified clinicians. They have undergone specific university training as dental hygienists and therapists.
Their primary focus is prevention and they work as independent clinicians to optimise your oral health.
 

They are able to perform the following procedures:

 

Comprehensive oral examinations: to detect dental decay, teeth anomalies, oral pathology, orthodontic and skeletal discrepancies and gum disease. Throughout their training, a large emphasis is placed performing on examinations for children.

 

Preventative procedures: fluoride applications and fissure sealants.
 

Restorative procedures: (fillings) on adult and children teeth within their retrospective age restrictions (determined by their university institutions)

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Stainless Steel Crowns: sometimes a filling is not an optimal option for your child, an oral health therapist is trained to do non invasive stainless steel crowns and sometimes are required after paediatric nerve treatments, 

 

X-rays: prescribe and take dental x-rays

 

Impressions: for mouth guards, splints and bleaching trays

 

Extractions of children’s teeth when necessary

 

Gum disease treatment and prevention: OHTs have had vigorous training in detecting and removing calculus (tartar) above and under the gum line. Your dental cleans will usually be undertaken by the dental hygienist or OHT.

 

Whitening procedures: ZOOM in-chair whitening and instructions for at-home teeth whitening

 

Oral Health Instructions: discussing and demonstrating ways to remove plaque and prescribing dental products to improve your treatment outcomes

 

Orthodontic procedures: working under the instruction of a dentist or orthodontist in removing and placing bands and wires.

 

Health Promotion: you may see one of the OHTs at your schools, maternal health classes, special needs or senior centers talking about how to take care of your teeth, gums and mouth.

 

If you have any other questions regarding any of the information, please don’t hesitate to ask one of our friendly staff members on 03 9598 0033

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