Dental News - Study grants announced for Indigenous oral health students

Search Dental Tribune

Study grants announced for Indigenous oral health students

The Australian Dental Health Foundation and Dental Hygienists Association of Australia have recently awarded five study grants to assist undergraduate Indigenous oral health therapy and dental hygienist students with their studies. (Photograph: Greg-Ward/Shutterstock)

Thu. 20. June 2019

save

MELBOURNE, Australia: Offering dental professionals who are in the midst of further education assistance with their journey is something that can only be beneficial to improving the oral health of people throughout the community. Recently, the Australian Dental Health Foundation (ADHF) and the Dental Hygienists Association of Australia awarded five study grants to assist undergraduate Indigenous oral health therapy and dental hygienist students with their education and work placement semesters.

Each recipient will receive A$5,000 to go towards the cost of dental equipment and textbooks and to provide financial support while they are on placements or living away from home. In addition to financial support, recipients will receive mentoring by a qualified dental hygienist during the year of the grant.

Aboriginal health reports indicate that Indigenous Australians are more likely than other Australians to have multiple caries and untreated dental disease because of factors such as poor access to dental clinics, cost and lack of awareness. Therefore, the hope behind the grants is to break though some these barriers and improve oral health across the board.

ADHF Chairman David Owen said, “The foundation hopes that the grants will provide recipients with valuable assistance to help them complete their courses so they can embark on delivering care to help reduce the inequality that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.”

Speaking about the recipients, Owen noted that they are passionate about enhancing oral health, implementing preventative measures and reducing dental disease in the Indigenous and wider community.

Successful applicants for 2019 are:

- Corinne Webster, New South Wales

- Jasmine White, South Australia

- Kellie Gleeson, New South Wales

- Latish Sykora, South Australia

- Tyla McMillan, New South Wales

Tags:
To post a reply please login or register
advertisement
advertisement