Jonathan Broadbent (31) was named Outstanding Young Dentist (2011) at a recent NZDA conference, following on from the success of colleague Jacob Grieve, who won the award in 2009.
The two-yearly national award was instituted as part of the NZDA centennial celebrations in 2005 and has also been won by Katie Adams, of Hamilton, and Erin Mahoney, of Wellington. Both women trained in Dunedin.
The Outstanding Young Dentist Award recognises "outstanding achievements in dentistry", including service to the profession and the community.
The award recognises future leaders in the profession.
Dr Broadbent completed his PhD in dental public health last year and focuses on research, including working on the Dunedin Multi-Disciplinary Health and Development Study (also known as the Dunedin Study).
He lectures at the School of Dentistry, speaks about his research at conferences, and works part-time at Knox Dental.
Each year, Dr Broadbent travels as a volunteer to Papua New Guinea and other Pacific islands, to provide dental treatment for remote communities.
Mr Grieve is the principal dentist and owner of Knox Dental and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons.
He does some clinical tutoring at the School of Dentistry, is involved in community work through South Life Church and has done voluntary dental work overseas in the past.
"The dentistry you do on a [voluntary] trip, which may include extracting 100 teeth in a day, is very different from what is done in the surgery here," Dr Broadbent said.
"It is rewarding to help people, either way."
For Mr Grieve, dentistry was an important way to help everyday people.
"I am totally passionate about dentistry," he said. "For me, it's all about helping the person on the street to have a healthy mouth."
