University Archives - Dental Head Start

At Dental Head Start, our goal has always been to keep our conversations real and relevant for students and new grads, and so what better way to do that than to hear directly from you guys! In this episode, we are joined by some fellow students from around Australia, who are completing their final year of dental school, to get their perspectives on what it’s like for the new generation of dentists.

From USYD to UQ to La Trobe, join us to hear about the differences between each university’s curriculum and culture, the different committees and extra-curricular activities Richard, Anushka & Joanne are involved with, and the pearls of wisdom they have for younger students. We dive into what the future looks like for everyone and the topics that as future graduates, we’d love to learn more about.

And if there’s anything you’d like to learn more about, or even if you just want to chat, don’t be a stranger! We’d love to hear from you.

Find us on Instagram or Facebook!
Dental Head Start @dentalheadstart
Erica Hwin @ericahwin.dmd
Cigdem Kipel @dr.cigdemkipel
Graeme Pearson @dr.graemepearson

TIP #81 – Alternate Career Pathways with Dr Rohan Krishnan

April 7, 2022April 6, 2022Leave a Comment

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Being an operative dentist is the obvious career path after dental school, but it’s far from being the only option.

In this podcast, Dr Rohan Krishnan explains why dentists are uniquely qualified to work in non-operative roles such as governance, education, non-profit organisations and other professional and regulatory bodies.

He challenges us to explore how we can apply ourselves in an alternative capacity; perhaps as an advisor, board member, educator, committee organiser or executive, to unlock opportunities to do greater good and create true impact beyond our individual patients.

Not only is Dr Krishnan a successful dentist and practice owner, he is the vice president of ADA NSW, Chairman of the “Filling the Gap” organization and a board member of the Australian Dental Council.

Tune in to hear about his journey beyond the drill.

TIP #70 – Making the Most of Final Year with Dr Jeff Kho

December 13, 2021December 12, 2021Leave a Comment

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We all know that one kid who never seems to study, is always playing games or out hitting the town, and yet still passes with flying colours and is everyone’s favourite friend.
 Dental school is a rollercoaster. We’re learning the fundamentals of dentistry, figuring out what kinda dentist we want to be whilst trying to maintain a semblance of study-life balance. They say dental school is really just the beginnings of our journey and it all really starts the day we graduate, but what kind of things can we do now to really set us up on positive trajectory?

In this episode, Dr Jeff Kho reminisces on his days in dental school – and (surprise surprise!) how he wasn’t that superstar student. He talks about what he would do differently, knowing what he does now, and the stresses that in hindsight, he would’ve worried less about. We dive into the areas and disciplines that new grads don’t have as much experience in and what we can do to fill that gap in knowledge. Above all, we talk about the importance and value of investing in ourselves.

#35 – Dental students to Graduates with Dr Rohan Krishnan

May 25, 2020May 24, 2020Leave a Comment

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You’ve heard me say it before:

Helping Dental Students Become Great Dentists

This is our motto and our mission. So, it makes perfect sense to have Dr Rohan Krishnan on the podcast to share his views, experience and vision with the Dental Head Start community.

Dr Krishnan has spent many years contributing to ADA NSW, initially on and then as chair of the Recent Graduate Committee and more recently as a Board Director. He is also on the board of Filling The Gap and runs his own private practice.

Impressive, yet my interest was peaked when he shared his new project…

#17 – Instagram Influence with Dr Bharat Agrawal, Dr Aodhan Docherty, Dr David Attia and Dr Yo-Han Choi

September 16, 2019September 15, 2019Leave a Comment

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We’ve popped the panel interview cherry with four awesome guys. They are a powerhouse of amazing dentistry on instragram;
Dr Bharat Agrawal (@dr.bharat.agrawal),
Dr Yo-Han Choi(@dr.yohanchoi,
Dr David Attia (@dr.davidattia),
Dr Aodhan Docherty (@dr.aodhan).

These guys are simply killing in on instagram and it is genuinely a pleasure to see their cases. But there is more to them than just some fancy photography. I had the pleasure of picking apart their opinions, advice and the why behind what they do.

You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know…

August 26, 2019August 25, 2019Leave a Comment

During my undergraduate degree I spent a lot of time studying. The thing was, most of that time was spent studying poker.

Along with the game itself I dove into psychology, learning, emotional control and meditation. A lesson that stuck with me long after hanging up the poker hat was about the four stages of competence. The concept in poker was to move skills to unconscious competence a state where even the most emotionally frustrating situation (losing a ‘bad beat’, not dissimilar to an unreasonably difficult patient) would not affect the core skill. It was unconsciously working.