20th Anniversary Collection: How power and fear play out in the dentist's chair

Sharonne Zaks is not your average dentist. After treating a patient named Anna, Sharonne saw the power relationship with her patients differently. She developed a new branch of dentistry to help care for survivors of sexual assault.

Sharonne grew up in a family of dentists, and when she too became a dentist, she developed an empathetic relationship with her patients, never judging them even if they'd avoided the dentist for years.

A patient named Anna profoundly changed Sharonne's understanding of a patient's experience in the dentist's chair.

Sharonne realised that for those who have been through a sexual assault or trauma, the extreme powerlessness of being treated at the dentist can be highly triggering.

Sharonne undertook study into the area, and began a new regime to treat survivors in her own practice.

She then began explaining what she'd found about the power dynamic between dentist and patient, to her own colleagues.

Further information

2025 update: Sharonne regularly presents on trauma-informed care to groups across the dental profession and beyond, including lawyers, nurses, doctors and carers.

Trauma-informed dental knowledge and skills have recently been made core competencies for all newly qualified dentists by the Australian Dental Council.

You can read all about the Conversations origin story on the ABC News website.

This episode of Conversations explores dentistry, Maxillofacial surgery, fear of the dentist, overcoming fear of the dentist, sexual trauma, power dynamics, tooth pain, tooth ache, root canal, medical industry, helping patients, fear of medicine, oral hygiene, avoiding the dentist, dental appointment, finding a dentist who cares, empathetic dentist, pain free dentist.