One person can make a world of difference – as dentist Dr Tracey Gold beautifully demonstrates.
Dr Tracey Gold always wanted to volunteer. “My kids hate hearing it from me, but I just feel we are very lucky, and I feel very privileged,” she says. “I grew up in Perth, which is such a wonderful place, and in a household with a good, functioning family who loved each other. I always felt I had every opportunity to do anything I wanted to do, and be anything I wanted to be, and I was supported.
“I am conscious that not everyone has those opportunities and I always thought that I needed to do something to try to help people, as it feels like so much was given to me.”
Tracey fulfilled her calling to volunteer after reading the Western Articulator a couple of years ago.
“I had left my private practice and had started working at Curtin, where they encouraged community involvement,” she recalls. “I happened to be reading the Western Articulator and saw the volunteering opportunities and started thinking about Dental Rescue Days. Then Zara (Torre) mentioned Healing Smiles and I realised this was exactly what I wanted.”
In 2019, Tracey contacted ADHF state coordinator Andrea Paterson about the possibility of arranging a Dental Rescue Day at OHCWA, utilising Curtin’s OHT students.
“When I started working at Curtin, I saw a need amongst the students to get involved in volunteering,” she says. “Students only see a certain demographic of patients, so I thought it would be very useful for our students to be introduced to volunteering, and to see the difference they could make as oral-health therapists.
“I called Andrea and asked if it would be possible to have a large-scale Dental Rescue Day. She said: ‘Of course, let’s do it,’ and it has been amazing.”
The first Dental Rescue Day, held at OHCWA, was in July 2019. The initial plan was to hold a Dental Rescue Day once a semester, and although COVID-19 restrictions stalled some of these plans, many Dental Rescue Days have gone ahead, usually treating around 30 grateful patients each time.
As well as being an amazing experience for the students, it has also been well received by the volunteering dentists.
“They’ve all absolutely loved it,” Tracey says. “Every person who has volunteered has said: ‘I want to come back. Please include me in the next one,’ because they’re helping patients who are in need.
"When you see the state of (the patients') mouths, compared to the patients you see on a day-to-day basis, there is so much need out there, because these people haven’t had access to care. Most of them don’t know where they can go and they can’t really afford even a co-payment plan through a government service, so that part of it is very rewarding.
“Another thing the volunteer dentists say is they love the atmosphere and the vibe on the day and that is my thing as well,” she adds. “Every single person who volunteers is the person that you want to be around. With any job, it’s not what you do but also who you are working with, and this makes it such a rewarding experience.”
In 2020, Tracey joined the Healing Smiles committee, in an admin and organisational role, working closely with other members of the committee, Drs Jacinta Vu, Lida Sayadelmi and Shanash Bishnulall.
“With all of the committee members – all of them – nothing ever seems to be too much,” Tracey says. “They are the most accommodating people you will find, and their willingness to do whatever they can within their means is amazing. It is such a nice team to be a part of.”
Although Tracey's involvement with Healing Smiles has not involved treating patients, she says the screening days have been particularly satisfying.
“We have done a couple of screening days for Healing Smiles – during which Lida and I have seen people on the waitlist, so we can allocate their care to some of our volunteers,” she says. “These people get signed up by their case worker and at that time, we are just a name, and they are a name on a list. Finally, when they come to that screening day, we say: ‘I see these problems and now we are going to fix it’. Not: ‘We’re going to put your name on another list.’ You see the relief of these women’s faces that they are finally at that point where someone is going to take care of them.”
Tracey also volunteers at St Pat’s whenever she is able. "Whilst working at Curtin for the past few years, I've had the opportunity to volunteer at St Pat's during non-semester times," she says. “I don’t have access to my own surgery, and I really wanted to treat some patients myself, because my other volunteer work is largely administration and enabling, which is great, but I also wanted the chance to treat patients.
“Volunteering at St Pat’s is such a humbling experience,” she adds. “I have never been thanked so deeply and profoundly as I get thanked by every patient there. When you go to work you get thanked by money, but when you get thanked by someone who has had a broken-down tooth for the last 10 years and you take that tooth out, they are so happy that you really feel like you have done something that has made a difference.
“It is a very well-run clinic, and it is a very easy place to work,” she says. “It’s a very flexible and easy-going workplace, which has so many different clinicians coming through. The practice manager there and the nurse are very understanding, so it works so well.”
Tracey says taking the step into volunteering has opened a world of new colleagues and people who are like-minded and inspiring.
She recommends volunteering to one and all. “There are lots of ways to volunteer and none of them are more important than the other,” she says. “Find the one that works for you. If you have your own clinic and you have some time, see someone there. If not, get involved in a Dental Rescue Day. If you have a day, even once a month, then you can go to St Pat’s, they will be very thankful to have you.
“You will never regret that moment and think, ‘I wish I was at the beach or out for coffee.’ It is the best thing you can do on any given day and if everyone did a little bit, we could take care of a big need.
“I think there are many people who do want to volunteer but feel there are certain barriers,” she adds. “Andrea (from ADHF) is a beautiful person to talk to – and has her finger on the pulse of all the different ways someone can volunteer. You can find a way that works no matter how your hectic life is. Some people cannot do a regular commitment and that’s fine, there are so many options and people will be so thankful, whatever you can offer.”
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