Journey to Prosthodontics: A Dental Hygienist's Transition

Welcome to the OHT pathways focus series by Dental Head Start. Listen to a limited series of interviews with OHTs that have taken the less traditional general practice pathway and used their scope to endeavour into a unique, different and fulfilling career. 

Hosted by Christina Potestas 

In this episode, I sit down with Amielia, an Oral Health Therapist working at The Centre for Prosthodontics based in Western Australia. For the last 7 years, she has developed her role and become fundamental in a team of specialists caring for vulnerable patients with complex cases. Amielia talks about how her role exercises a lot of her scope and provides variety in her day compared to your typical general practice role such as performing work ups and collecting data for prosthodontists and other collaborating specialists in the form of exams, scans, diet analysis and saliva testing. She emphasises the importance of confidence, experience and communication when dealing with the types of patients that are seen at the Centre for Prosthodontics and provides valuable advice for OHTs who might be interested in taking this fulfilling pathway beyond graduation.

NOTE: The discussions had in these series of interviews is only general advice and should not be considered an official outline of your scope upon graduating your Oral Health Therapy degree. Your university defines your scope of practice and should be your ultimate point of reference should you be unsure of what dentistry you are allowed to perform post graduation. 

Key moments

0:01:33 – Amielia’s university experience studying dental hygiene

0:02:36 – Applying for dentistry and discovering dental hygiene

0:05:00 – Completing the OHT course part-time while working

0:05:29 – First day as an OHT after graduating

0:10:00 – What drew Amielia to work in a prosthodontic practice

0:15:00 – A typical day in her role at the prosthodontic practice

0:20:00 – What Amielia likes and dislikes about her role

0:25:00 – What types of cases are seen by a prosthodontist

0:28:47 – Treating children in the practice

0:39:29 – Amielia’s plans for the next 12-24 months

0:42:00 – What Amielia enjoys about her role

Amielia Musulin

Amielia is a Dental Hygienist and Oral Health Therapist with experience across general dentistry, Periodontics and Orthodontics. After studying at Curtin University where Amielia completed both a Bachelor of Science in Oral Health Therapy and an Associate Degree in Dental Hygiene, Amielia joined the Centre for Prosthodontics in January 2016. Here she works closely with the resident Prosthodontists to gather and analyse dental information, ensure patient comfort and communication, and deliver exceptionally high standards of client care. Outside of work she has an eclectic range of hobbies from playing AFL, soccer and cricket, right through to craft and drawing.

Get in touch with Amielia – amielia.musulin@centreforpros.com.au

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