We spoke to the amazing team from Oceanic Dental Laboratories about their pro bono work.
We are lucky to have a growing number of giving dentists who volunteer their time for ADHF programs, St Pat’s and Healing Smiles. But for every volunteer dentist, there are also works going on quietly behind the scenes, to help make pro bono dental care possible.
A big part of this care is the lab work, which can be very expensive – and this is where the generosity of the Oceanic Dental Laboratories team makes such a difference.
Oceanic Dental Laboratories came onboard as sponsors of the ADHF in July 2018, and have provided pro bono lab services and dental prostheses to the value of over $40,000 (which includes chrome and acrylic dentures, bite blocks and custom trays). They also committed to sponsoring Healing Smiles cases. For Michael Moran, Nicholas Mann and Gerard Klingeholler and the Oceanic Dental Laboratories team, giving back is part of the culture.
“The values of Oceanic has always been around low-cost dentistry," Michael says. "We knew there were a lot of gaps in pathways for people to get assistance if they cannot afford it, so we were pleased to help ADHF. With Healing Smiles, we realised it was a space we could help to make a positive impact."
"We don’t get to see the patients often, but we definitely get a kick hearing a story about how someone has been positively impacted by what might have been just a couple of hours’ time for us.”
Oceanic organises everything for the pro bono cases, including paying for the courier for delivery. And even though the work they are doing is pro bono, no corners are cut. “There is no differentiation between a pro bono case from any other case and I think that is important that we keep it that way," Michael says. Everyone here knows we do a lot of ADHF and charity work but in terms of the day-to-day stuff, we just do the best that we can on each individual case."
"The volunteer dentists and practices appreciate the smooth process involved in utilising Oceanic’s lab support for pro bono cases. They pride themselves on their professionalism, friendly customer service and high standards. I’m very grateful for Oceanic’s ongoing support of our ADHF volunteer programs,” says Andrea Paterson, ADHF WA State Coordinator.
“It is always a pleasure speaking with Andrea, Sandra, Debbie at St Pats and everyone else involved with ADHF and Healing Smiles programs helping people in the community needing dental treatment,” Gerard says. To other dental laboratories considering volunteerism, Nicholas says to do it. “What have you got to lose?”
“It really is a no-brainer,” Michael adds. “If you have any time, you should do it. It is good for the soul, and I find it is much better than getting stopped at the shopping centre and being asked to donate to a cause you don’t know much about.”
The Oceanic team are currently doing improvements on their new premises, in Technology Park, near Curtin University, which they moved into a year ago. “We are probably three and a half times bigger than where we came from,” Michael says. “This actually used to be the old police forensics lab.”
Currently in their eighth year, Oceanic has grown from a two-person team to employing more than 14 people, and they are constantly looking for new talent. They are also supporting over 1200 clinicians nationally. Watch this space!
oceanicdentallab.com.au
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