New arrivals, welcome to Townsville and congratulations! You have chosen to live in a wonderful part of the world.

With any relocation, there will be a need to find new health practitioners for yourself or your family (eg doctor, dentist, physiotherapist). In this era of Search Engine Optimisation and ‘Click and Pay’ website advertisements, an Internet search is not always reliable. Fortunately in Townsville, the standard of dentistry is high and most advanced therapies are available locally.

Oral health care may be accessed through private dental clinics, university-based clinics (e.g. JCU Dental), Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Service (TAIHS), Queensland Heath Dental Clinics and Queensland Health School Dental Services . Serving military personnel may attend Army and Air Force Dental Clinics. Please note that eligibility criteria apply for patients wishing to access care from public dental clinics*.

Word-of-mouth is certainly one of the best ways to find a good and caring dentist, however, there are specific and unbiased websites that can help you.

You can ‘Find a Dentist’ at www.ada.org.au and whilst you are there, please look at the Policy section to view the recommendations regarding some of the fringe areas that are creeping into dentistry.

Another useful site is the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) website – www.ahpra.gov.au, which oversees the registration boards of all Health Practitioners. The Dental Board section will outline a dental practitioner’s level of training (i.e. general dentist / specialist dentist), currency of their registration, any endorsements (e.g. sedation techniques) and any infringements.

Some practitioners’ websites may advertise ‘post-graduate training or specialised services’, however, a quick cross-check on the AHPRA website reveals that AHPRA does not recognise this training, nor these practitioners as specialists. If their training or specialised services are not formally recognised by AHPRA, then there is probably a good reason.

Even people who have lived their whole lives in Townsville can be faced with the same dilemma. That is, the need to find someone skilled in an aspect of healthcare for which they previously had no need. For example, you only need information on root canal therapy when you need one done.

The Internet provides easy access to information. Although information raises awareness, it also leaves the searcher vulnerable to misleading information and half-truths. Everyone is responsible for their own health care, but in order to make good decisions, we need good advice from health professionals offering treatments based on current research evidence. Slick marketing has become so widespread in healthcare that even clinicians themselves can be misled by false claims.

Recognised specialist training provides expertise in a range of clinical techniques and also an ability to critically assess information. This allows us to filter out the rubbish from the good quality information. Our training requires us to read research from as far back as 1920 to give us an historical perspective of our profession. Sadly, many treatments offered as ‘new developments’ are merely ideas that have been recycled every 25 years. Accelerating tooth movement with vibration was first patented in the 1970s and has been ‘rediscovered’ recently. Recent good quality research has shown that this technique provides no benefit to orthodontic patients. Both buyers and sellers must be wary for different reasons.

Dr Paul Hanrahan, Orthodontist
Townsville Orthodontic Specialists