After working as a dentist across regional Queensland for many years, Townsville local Dr Navdeep Singh identified the growing need to provide high-quality dental services to regional and rural communities across North Queensland.
With this goal in mind, Dr Singh opened My Family Dental in 2013 with just a single private practice in the cane-farming community of Ingham.
Nine years later, the My Family Dental group has proven to be highly successful and has since grown to six dental clinics across North Queensland, including two in Townsville at Kirwan and Bohle Plains Kalynda.
Despite their incredible growth, Dr Singh says their mission remains the same: to support regional and remote communities in their dental health journeys.
“Our mission is to continue to increase quality dental treatments and services available to rural and regional communities across Queensland,” explains Dr Singh.
“Our teams are locals who live in and support their communities, many of whom have been born and raised in regional Queensland and are passionate about giving back to their communities.”
When it comes to choosing a dental provider, Dr Singh says it’s crucial for patients to choose someone they can trust and who will work alongside them to achieve their desired dental outcomes.
“A great smile does more than just make a good first impression. Research shows that it can also have a positive impact on your mental health,” explains Dr Singh.
“Studies have found that smiling can help to reduce anxiety, both in the short and long term, and improve work performance and overall happiness.
“In one experiment, participants who were instructed to smile while completing a difficult task not only felt happier and less stressed, but also performed better than those who didn’t smile.”
While Dr Singh acknowledges that there are many rewarding aspects of dentistry, he says nothing beats the physical and internal transformation that occurs when a patient finally gets the smile they deserve.
This certainly was the case with one of his recent patients who first came to the clinic with multiple tooth infections, broken teeth and extensive decay.
“One of our patients, Damien, was finding it difficult to eat and didn’t like how his teeth looked. Over the course of several weeks, we were able to provide full mouth rehabilitation and give Damien a new lease on life,” explains Dr Singh.
“Damien has since gone on to smile with confidence,and it is people like him who constantly inspire us on a day-to-day basis.”
A recent survey found that over half of all Australians don’t visit a dentist regularly. Dr Singh notes that this is particularly prominent in regional areas, which he attributes to barriers such as patients’ anxiety or embarrassment and of course their accessibility to certain services.
“In some cases, people may be embarrassed about the state of their teeth and fear that the dentist will judge them. Our dentists will explain the options available to improve your oral health and they will never judge you” continues Dr Singh.
“For regional and rural areas, accessibility can also be a big issue for many patients, which is why My Family Dental has made a commitment to not only servicing these areas but providing our patients with advice and support on how they can improve their oral hygiene.”
As My Family Dental approaches the 10-year mark in February, Dr Singh says his team will continue encouraging patients to take ownership of their oral health journey.
“Modern dentistry provides patients with multiple ways to decrease anxiety and procedures are not painful,” he adds.
“By inspiring patients to take action to improve their dental health, it will ensure they will be on their way to a healthier mouth, mind and body.”
