From being tipped backwards into someone's lap, the smell of latex, to the power dynamic that leaves patients vulnerable in the hands of their dentist - when Sharonne Zaks realised how many triggers a sexual violence victim was confronted with when they visited the dentist, she knew there had to be a better way to provide care.
She says trauma prevents many from coming to the dentist, whether it be directly linked to a dentists visit in the past, or another kind of trauma.
And in turn this has massive consequences on people's oral health, self-confidence, and the ability to live their lives to the fullest. She realised what she had sensed all along as a dentist - that high trust, consent, and providing care in a trauma-informed way, was the best way to conduct dental work.
Since then educational videos she has created to teach dentists how to care from a trauma-informed perspective have become compulsory teaching material for all dental undergraduate students across Australia.
In 2023 she was awarded a medal of the Order of Australia for her significant contribution to dentistry and to the arts. She's on a mission to spread the word about how important trauma informed care is and how it can be achieved. Sharonne Zaks speaks to Kathryn Ryan from Melbourne.
In 2023 Sharonne Zaks was awarded a medal of the Order of Australia for her significant contribution to dentistry and to the arts. Photo: Supplied by Sharonne Zaks
