Meet Dr Lisa Bowdin

Dr Lisa Bowdin was inspired to pursue dentistry after completing a high school work experience placement at a local dental practice. After graduating, while working in private practice in Bunbury, she was fortunate to treat a lot of children, which cemented her decision to specialise in paediatrics.

“There wasn’t a paediatric dentist at the time in Bunbury and the practice I was working at was quite well-equipped to see children, so we got a lot of referrals,” she recalls. “My boss is very involved in children’s dentistry, so I got a lot more exposure to working with children as a new graduate. I realised it was the part of dentistry that I really enjoyed.”

Lisa juggles various commitments as a paediatric dentist, including working in private practice at First Smiles, tutoring DMD students and providing after hours care at Perth Children’s Hospital. She also serves as the WA Federal Councillor on the Federal Australian and New Zealand Society of Paediatric Dentistry (ANZSPD) Council and as Secretary of the Dental Specialists Association of WA (DSSWA). However, she says she aims to achieve some work/life balance.

“I think the big thing is to try not to say yes to everything, which is not something I am very good at to be honest,” she laughs. “But I do make an effort. I only work four days a week in private practice and limit the number of on call days I work. I think it is important to assess where you are at and if you are comfortable with your level of commitments. It is not all about work, you have to enjoy life as well.”

They say never work with children or animals, although Lisa reveals the most challenging part of working in paediatrics is often managing parental expectation, rather than the children.

However, she clearly does get much enjoyment from her work and says the best thing about her job is getting to see children gain confidence at the dentist.

“We often have children who come into our practice really anxious, whether they need treatment or not. Being able to get them to the point where they are comfortable coming in and having a check-up and you know that they are going to be set up for life seeing dentists as an adult, is very rewarding,” she says.