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A Perth-based initiative is demonstrating how the free oral rehabilitation of women who have suffered family and domestic violence is a step towards the patient’s overall healing. By Frank Leggett.
63,059. That’s the number of family violence-related tasks the WA Police Force logged for the year 2018 to 2019. It works out at around 180 family violence-related tasks each day.
“Western Australia is the state with the highest rate of reported family and domestic violence (FDV) against women,” says Dr Jacinta Vu, clinical director at Perth-based Healing Smiles. This collaborative initiative of volunteer dentists and dental specialists is dedicated to restoring the smiles of FDV-affected women. “In 2021, the stats revealed that approximately 1250 per 100,000 women had been affected. Ninety-three per cent of reported assaults were women who were the victims of FDV.”
How it works
Healing Smiles is linked with case workers and partner organisations that support women who have left relationships where they’ve suffered from family and domestic violence. Some have had direct trauma to the head and neck. Some have been under coercive control, not allowed to leave the house and not able to access money. Others were trying to protect their children and had no motivation for self-care. Drug and alcohol abuse have sometimes also been used as coping strategies. The common outcome is that all these elements have had a disastrous impact on the client’s oral health.
“Our patients are women who have escaped domestic violence and are attempting to take the next step forward,” says Dr Vu. “After they are referred to us by a caseworker, we assess their eligibility. If they have an emergency dental need, we accommodate that as best as we can. Less urgent cases are waitlisted. They are then assigned to general dentists or dental specialists who treat them in their own practices.”
Healing Smiles is a completely female-operated organisation in order to treat patients who have been traumatised physically, emotionally and financially.
It’s impossible for many of our clients to be treated by a male, even if the dentist is very gentle and expressing the best of intentions. The position of the client, reclining in a dental chair with a man looming over them, can trigger all kinds of mental trauma.
Dr Jacinta Vu, clinical director, Healing Smiles
“It’s impossible for many of our clients to be treated by a male, even if the dentist is very gentle and expressing the best of intentions,” says Dr Vu. “The position of the client, reclining in a dental chair with a man looming over them, can trigger all kinds of mental trauma. The patient feels powerless and incredibly vulnerable in this situation. Due to this, it’s untenable for Healing Smiles to use male clinicians in any capacity.”
Exponential growth
Graduating from the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 2001, Dr Vu worked as a general dentist for the government dental service, in both rural and metropolitan communities. Several years later, she undertook a Doctor of Clinical Dentistry (Oral Medicine/Oral Pathology) at the University of Sydney. She returned to Perth to work in private practice between having her kids, while also teaching at UWA, giving continuing professional development lectures. In November 2022, Dr Vu opened her own practice in Perth, the Centre for Oral Medicine and Facial Pain.
In 2018, Dr Vu was also president of Women in Dentistry, a not-for-profit organisation that provides support for female dentists and dental specialists in Western Australia.
“At that time, the committee was discussing how Women in Dentistry could become involved with projects that help other women,” says Dr Vu. “The idea to assist women escape the cycle of domestic violence became Healing Smiles. I became the clinical director of Healing Smiles in 2020, and over the past three years our growth has been nearly exponential.”
Giving back
The clinical coordinator at Healing Smiles liaises between the various referral agencies and the patients, linking them with the relevant dental service provider. Obviously, dealing with such vulnerable and injured people can be challenging and confronting.
“As dentists, we’re in this fortunate position with a very unique skill set,” says Dr Zara Torre, former clinical director at Healing Smiles from 2018 to 2019. “It’s wonderful to do something for a group of women who have been told repeatedly they weren’t worthy of care or weren’t good enough. While there are often tears by the end of the appointment, there’s a positivity to it because you know you are doing something good.”
The dentists who volunteer with us have really big hearts and are very empathetic. They understand that our clients may choose not to talk about what they’ve been through. Others choose to open up and require sensitivity and understanding.
Dr Jacinta Vu, clinical director, Healing Smiles
Dr Torre is still involved with giving back to the community, developing and expanding The Difference, an app she founded and launched on open banking in 2023.
“My idea was to remove the barriers to giving,” she says. “The Difference makes donating easy, simple and more affordable. A user’s daily digital transactions are rounded up to the next dollar and transferred to a cause of choice.”
It’s a way to donate with complete transparency. The money goes exactly where you wish, from food waste to emergency relief. There is no lock-in contract, and absolute choice.
“The Difference is a free app to download and completely 100 per cent not for profit,” says Dr Torre. “I’m thrilled that it’s already having such a positive impact.”
A community of care
All the female dentists and support staff associated with Healing Smiles receive training in dealing with their clients. Meetings are held a few times a year with guest speakers talking on subjects such as trauma informed care. Other training has been provided on how to recognise signs of potential abuse and how to broach that conversation with patients.
“The dentists who volunteer with us have really big hearts and are very empathetic,” says Dr Vu. “They understand that our clients may choose not to talk about what they’ve been through. Others choose to open up and require sensitivity and understanding. Some patients will start out very closed but slowly reveal more and more as trust grows. It can be a very emotional experience for both patient and dentist.”
We are reaching out into regional spaces and have engaged two dentists in Geraldton who are seeing patients. While it’s depressing that we even have to exist, at least we are providing hope for people.
Dr Jacinta Vu, clinical director, Healing Smiles
The group of people involved with running Healing Smiles are regularly in contact with each other. It’s designed so no single person is providing treatment in isolation.
“We are a community with multiple contact points,” says Dr Vu. “Our providers hear things and feel things that are far beyond normal clinical practice. Having a support network is essential.”
Dental rehabilitation is an intrinsic part of the patient’s overall healing. They feel more willing to smile and their general confidence improves. They can go to job interviews or pick up the kids from school and not be ashamed of missing teeth. While FDV can have them believing that they are not worthy of care, the professionals at Healing Smiles insist that not only are they worthy but actually provide that care.
“To see patients finally have the confidence to smile and to look people in the eye is very gratifying,” says Dr Vu.
Dedicated clinic
Healing Smiles has recently been the recipient of a grant from the WA state government. They are planning to utilise those funds to build a dedicated clinic in Perth in order to reliably give patients access to care.
“We have a very hopeful future in terms of continuation and expansion of our program,” says Dr Vu. “We are reaching out into regional spaces and have engaged two dentists in Geraldton who are seeing patients. While it’s depressing that we even have to exist, at least we are providing hope for people. In the past, FDV was often kept behind closed doors but now that it’s out in the open, I think we’ll see more effective change in the future.”
Learn more about Healing Smiles at healingsmiles.com.au.
Visit The Difference at www.the-difference.org.
Thank you for highlighting the importance of dental treatment for women who have experienced family and domestic violence. This initiative is crucial for supporting their healing journey and restoring confidence. Your insights into the specific needs of these patients are invaluable. This post sheds light on a vital topic—great work!