“I get to see trauma and cancer cases, medical cases. Ken said the work was more satisfying than private practice. “We can give out as many toothbrushes as we want, but in my opinion unless you change what you’re eating it won’t make any difference.” “These are the guys who still live off bush tucker and kangaroo, still hunt and know the old ways. “I’ve come across a couple of old guys who had their first dental visit in their 60s and they’ve got perfect teeth and they’ve never brushed them in their lives,” he said. Ken believes the loss of traditional culture has contributed to poor oral hygiene. “Smoking is a problem too and we see a lot of gum disease as a result.” “Prevention is always better than treatment. If we can change the diet we’ve got a better chance of saving ourselves thousands of fillings and extractions. “Things are slowly improving with what’s happening in shops and schools in communities. “We can design the best dental programs that we want, but we’re losing the battle to the global soft drink giants every day of the week. It gives perspective on things you might be complaining about and problems in your own life. “Most Australians have no idea what’s going on in this country. “Some of the health outcomes we come across are as bad as you see anywhere else in the world,” he said. Ken said the dental work was diverse and challenging. There are beautiful waterholes and great 4WD opportunities.” “You’ve only got to go 20km in any direction and you’re in the wilderness.
“There’s no rushing, it’s free of the rat race. I have to wear shoes to work but I go barefoot around the streets and no-one cares or looks at you.
I’ve never been one to wear suits and ties.
“It’s hard to convince people to come up and work in the Territory, especially people with good experience, energy, and a sense of humour and adventure,” he said. “I worked in private practice for a year, got fed up with that, heard about RAHC and thought this sounds good.”Īfter completing his placement, Ken went to work for the Northern Territory Department of Health and began recruiting through RAHC himself.
“I sort of figured I didn’t know enough about my own back yard as I would like, and went up to Darwin for a bit of a change,” he said. Ken followed these footsteps and worked on an aid project in East Timor. He had spent some of his childhood in New Guinea and his father worked in developing countries. Ken was sent to Central Australia after registering with the Remote Area Health Corps (RAHC), which offers short-term paid placements to urban-based health professionals to support the permanent health workforce in remote Indigenous communities across the Northern Territory. The 34-year-old has embraced the community, played local football and says he has seen things that most Australians will never see.