What’s her back story:

I started off in dentistry as a dental assistant and I’ve progressively added to my skills so that now I work with Dr Miller as a hygiene therapist. This means I can do fillings on children up to the age of 18 and help with teeth whitening and Invisalign.

For me there are two great parts to what I do. The challenging work and interacting with patients to make them feel comfortable.

Some days in this role, it’s necessary to bring every ounce of communication wisdom you have to the table, because for some people, especially kids, getting in that dental chair is like fighting a lion. It’s a very real fear. It is great to combine technical work with softer communication skills to help people overcome their fears.

What makes Penny tick?

I’m a relative newbie to Dental as Anything, but here’s what I know: there is a sense of caring and family here that is hard (very hard) to find in other practices. It’s great to have this back up when there is such a strong focus on kids like there is here.

Dr Miller encourages us to build a relationship with our patients in a way that instils confidence and trust. Having that responsibility adds another dimension to the work, which is difficult to describe, but makes it totally worthwhile.