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CATEGORY THE FULL COMPLEMENT

Dr AlanCarlton shares a co eewith… Paul Healy

My aim in this column is to understand the dental community. I want every section of the dental community illuminated.

A: Paul Healy it is incredibly nice to meet you and I am looking forward to whatever you say. P: It’s good to see you. A: One thing that interests me is the fact you were born and bred in Hobart. Is that correct? P: Yes, it is. A: Can I ask you which school you went to? P: St Virgil’s. A: Which is not that far from here? P: No. St Virgil’s is close. A: So, do you see patients that go to St Virgil’s. P: We do. We see patients from all schools. A: Would you see a patient from St Virgil’s who was in the house you were in? Do you knowwhat house you were in when you went to school? P: It’s so long ago I have forgotten. Ha Ha ha. But I remember some of the classrooms I was in. e teachers that I had no longer teach there. So the memory of what house I was in has gone. I still catch up with some old colleagues every now and then but we talk more about sport. A: You’ve got to talk about the AFL. Ha Ha ha. A: So when you were at school at St Virgil’s, which is just up the road, were you thinking one day I’m going to be an orthodontist or one day I will be a dentist. What were you thinking? P: I never thought about it. e subject selection I took was more maths and physics so I was probably keen on doing engineering. My father was an engineer. And one day he said to me don’t do engineering. It is a very stressful job. P: I used to seeMartin Bastick and I always had a good experience. Part of me wanted to be a dentist because of the good experience I had when younger. Everybody has a story to tell. Everybody has a story worth hearing.

P: Never. I was more into sport so there would be people who would have been surprised at the path I took. A: Bringing their kids to see you says your practice is successful. Speaking of sport what sport do you play nowadays? P: I do a bit of rowing. I can’t do anything that jars the joints. A: Hobart is an ideal place for rowing? P: It’s beautiful to be out on the water. It’s so relaxing in the morning. We then talked about rowing in Hobart. P: What sport do you play? A: Well today I actually played golf and tennis and pickleball. And a bit of run ning as well. P: Do you do any of the Parkruns? A: Yes, every week. Are you thinking of doing it? P: No, my boys do it.

A: When you starteddentistry did youhave any idea of becoming an orthodontist? P: No idea. A: Okay there was a day when you did decide to become an orthodontist. Why? What happened? When you were at school did you see the kids with crocked teeth and did you think they need help? Were they being picked on? P: My brother had braces. My father said to me we are not getting braces for you. You are only going to get them knocked playing football. I probably had some mentors in the navy who sparked my interest. A: When you see a kid from St Virgil’s does it bring back memories? P: Ahh, yes it does. When you see the uniform, it does. A: When you see a kid from St Virgil’s can you see one who is going to be a dentist? P: We see a lot of kids who after treatment come back and ask to do work experience. at’s rewarding because they’ve had a good experience. Good enough to think they might do a similar path – which is what happened to me. A: At school there were kids in your class you see nowadays as the parents of patients. P: ose days are going. Now it’s the grandchild I see. A: Have you had people come in and say I remember you from school. Do they say I was always expecting you to be an orthodontist?

A: Do you ever go with them? P: ey don’t want me to go. A: How old are they? P: 17 and 15. A: ey would be fast. P: ey would smash me.

A: And me as well. But Parkrun is not about winning. It’s about being physically healthy. Doing your best. Physical activity. P: Except when it’s your son. And they talk. A: Well, I’ve been up there with my son and he beats me by about ten minutes. Ha ha ha. u

128 AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST