In The Chair with Dr Charlotte Smith

Dr Charlotte Smith tells us about her decision to come practice dentistry in Australia, and how the experience in an Abano Healthcare clinic compares to the UK.

So, my inspiration to move from the UK to Australia for my business as an associate dentist was kind of based around the differences that there were within my practice. 1300SMILES Dentists, Maven, Abano, all of that makes it completely possible for me to be able to be privatised from the get-go, which I think made a huge, huge difference to what I can offer within my skill set.

The support that Abano Healthcare have given me in my transition from the NHS National Health sector to the Australian privatised health sector has been exceedingly comprehensive. So, to be honest, I can't even say any changes from that experience. 

Abano Healthcare has supported me and aided my personal development hugely. Here, I'm not arriving home late from work, and I'm also really proud of what I produce in my day because the maths makes sense. I am there to provide for the appropriate number of patients within my day.

Practising within 1300SMILES Dentists Clinic has been exemplary so far. I was brought into the clinic to basically broaden what I wanted to bring to my practice. They sat down with me and immediately asked what do I want and how do I want it to look.

If you're a dentist and you're considering a move to Australia, I genuinely just have to say, do it. You know, if that seed has already been planted, then ask yourself the why, why do I wanna go?

And if it's as simple as I wanna go somewhere that I wake up and it's sunny ‘cause that's pretty good for the soul, but they were able to let me pinpoint on a map, where do I wanna go? And for me, that was Cairns. Myself and my partner - who isn't a dentist, completely different field of work - this was like our home from home, somewhere where we wake up every day and you're somewhere where you've got the tropical rainforest, you've got the sunshine, and you've got the coastline. You've got all those kinds of parts of the lifestyle that I personally like.

But that's the beauty of partnering with 1300SMILES Dentists, is that they ask you these questions. They want to know where you wanna go 'cause they don't want you just to be happy in your working life; they want you to be happy and to stay here and to enjoy your entire life in Australia. So do it!