Meet Dr Michael Mandikos

Prosthodontist Dr Michael Mandikos initially studied dentistry with the intension of switching to a medical degree, but within a couple of years he realised dentistry was the path he wanted to take.

He received his Bachelor of Dental Science Degree with First Class Honours from the University of Queensland in 1992. “I was fortunate back then find a job in private practice on the Gold Coast, with two very well-established dentists,” he recalls. “They taught me a lot and helped inspire me to think ‘big’ about cases – to think beyond treating individual teeth and thinking instead about the patient and their mouth as a whole. It helped cement my desire to do Prosthodontics.” 

Michael went on to do a three-year Residency Program at the State University of New York at Buffalo, graduating with a Certificate in Prosthodontics and Master’s degree in Biomaterials. He has researched composite resin materials extensively and is an in-demand speaker and lecturer within dental circles both within Australia and internationally, with his impressive lecturing CV including Unconventional Conventions in Tanzania and Antarctica.

Michael will be heading to Perth in March 2023 to present two courses:

Anterior Composite Workshop – a workshop that will cover clinical tips and techniques, but also delve into the often-challenging topic of Shade Matching. Michael will discuss the importance of opacity/translucency as distinct from colour alone, to assist participants in selecting the right shade when trying to match tooth structure, and to allow them to select the right composite system for use in their own practice.

Perfect Posterior Composites – a comprehensive workshop that will review the role of Bulk Fill materials as well as the dentine bonding agents presently in the market with their respective advantages and possible pitfalls. The main causes of post-operative sensitivity with posterior composites will also be addressed. 

“Both of these workshops are designed to provide a predictable technique for each application, that is as simplified as it can be, yet still achieve more than a basic outcome,” he explains. “There is also theory addressing a few common clinical side effects or post-operative complications that you see with these techniques.

“You always get the best result in your clinical procedures if you don’t just follow the technique, but you understand the material as well,” he adds. “Then you know what it is meant to be doing on the tooth, so I make the point of explaining that it is important to have a good understanding of the materials.” 

For Michael, who also works three days a week at Brisbane Prosthodontics, educating others is very rewarding. “I am grateful for the mentors I have had and for being able to meet some really amazing clinicians and educators,” he says. “What you get from someone who is not only passionate about what they do, but also a good communicator and a good teacher, is that desire to also share that experience and knowledge. 

“If you can help people to extend their skills (and do it in a way that they can actually achieve what you are teaching them) it is a really satisfying experience.”

5 Minutes with Dr Michael Mandikos

What three words best describe you? “OCD,” he laughs. “I think I am meticulous and methodical. I like that idea of work hard and then rest. I would be happy to do two 20-hour days and then have the rest of the week off rather than do 9-5, five days a week. I like to work with some intensity, get it right, and then really enjoy the downtime that I feel I have earned.”

If you weren’t in the dentistry field, what would you be doing for a living? “Dentistry wasn’t something I set out to do but a lot of doors have opened and it has been very good to me,” he says. “When it comes to earning a living, I honestly couldn’t imagine doing anything else. In terms of doing something else to occupy my time and let someone else pay the bills, I would be thinking about something agricultural. My parents have a hobby olive and grape farm. It doesn’t produce any money – we make oil, and we give it to friends and family – but I would love to do that full-time if someone else made the ends meet.”

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
“Lecturing tends to provide the opportunity to go to places, like Perth, and (when the kids allow) my wife will come with me and we’ll make a couple of days of it. We can often use these little trips as a break from everyday life and see some lovely places both in Australia and overseas, and we can get to go to a number of nice restaurants.”

What is your favourite musician? “I like what I refer to as classic music, not classical but classic of my age period, like Van Morrison and Jackson Browne. I’m a big fan of Ray Charles.”

What future plans are on the horizon for you?
“I have five kids and one on the way, so I am too young and too committed to retire,” he laughs. “There will probably be an extension on the teaching side of things and a slight scale back on clinical treatment in the future.”