• Alumnus Professor Jake Ball appointed Charles Sturt’s Dean of Rural Dentistry and Oral Health
• Charles Sturt is educating dentists and oral hygienists to fill workforce shortages in regional Australia

Charles Sturt University’s new Dean of Rural Dentistry and Oral Health has a wealth of experience in regional dentistry education and services with plans to build on the University’s dentistry school and clinics.

Professor Jake Ball is an alumnus of the University’s dentistry course and previously worked as the Clinical Director of the University’s Dental and Oral Health Clinics,

Professor Ball’s ambition is to build Charles Sturt’s dentistry school and clinics into regional Australia’s leading dental and oral health centre.

And that starts with the more than 460 students enrolled in the University’s Bachelor of Oral Health (Therapy and Hygiene) and Bachelor of Dental Science courses this year.

“Training students in regional areas matters because regional careers are built long before graduation,” Professor Ball, 38, said.

“I want regional students to see dentistry and oral health as careers that are within reach.

“And I want our graduates to see regional practice not as a compromise but as a place where they can have a rich, meaningful and impactful career.”

According to the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, there are an estimated 69.5 dentists per 100,000 people in Australia’s capital cities compared to 20.5 per 100,000 people in remote areas.

Professor Ball said this shortage impacted people in multiple ways.

“Regional communities need a strong oral health workforce because oral health is deeply connected to general health, confidence, dignity and quality of life,” he said.

Charles Sturt has public dental clinics at its campuses in Albury-Wodonga, Bathurst, Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga.

The clinics offer hands-on clinical opportunities for students under the supervision of eight dentists and 35 other staff, performing cleanings, fillings, root canal, denture fittings, extractions, crown and bridge work and other procedures.

Professor Ball said the clinics helped the students build the skills and confidence they need while providing a much-needed service for regional patients.

“Our students develop their skills while training at the University’s clinics and in multiple placements with health services and private clinics,” he said.

“I benefitted from this myself when I was a student at Charles Sturt and that experience meant that when I graduated, I was ready to go.

“Charles Sturt has built a pathway that starts with regional students, supports them through high-quality education and clinical training, and creates real reasons and opportunities for them to stay connected to regional communities as practitioners.”

Professor Ball graduated with a Bachelor of Dental Science from Charles Sturt University in 2013.

He also has a Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Periodontics from the University of Melbourne, is a Membership of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons in Periodontics, has a Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, and is a Senior Fellow of Advance Higher Education.