Competitions & Awards
A number of competitions and awards are offered by the Society:
The Colgate Postgraduate Research Award is offered at each ANZSPD Biennial Congress.
The ANZSPD Louise Brearley Messer Undergraduate and Postgraduate essay competitions are held each year.
The ANZSPD Alistair Devlin Memorial Grant is awarded to oral health initiatives and community research projects in the memory of Alistair Devlin in acknowledgement of his significant contribution to the society.
2024 Professor Louise Brearley Messer Post-Graduate Essay Competition
TOPIC: Access to GA – why is this an issue now and comparison globally. Alternative strategies to managing behaviour?
ELIGIBILITY: Paediatric Dentistry post-graduate students who are currently enrolled in a Doctorate, Masters or a Post Graduate Clinical Diploma in a Paediatric Dentistry program at an Australian or New Zealand Dental School.
PRIZE: A Prize of AU$2500.00 (or equivalent in New Zealand dollars) will be awarded.
The winning Essay will be published in the ANZSPD (Inc.) Newsletter, “Synopses”.
DEADLINE: Friday 4th October 2024
2024 Professor Louise Brearley Messer Under-Graduate Essay Competition
TOPIC: Discuss local anaesthetics, how it works and barriers in children? How to overcome these?
ELIGIBILITY: Open to all dental under-graduates or students enrolled in a graduate program leading to the student’s first dental degree and who are enrolled in an Australian or New Zealand dental school.
PRIZE: A first prize of AU$1,500.00 will be awarded to the best entry and the prize winning Essay will be published in “Synopses”, the newsletter of the Australian & New Zealand Society of Paediatric Dentistry Inc.
The winning Essay will be published in the ANZSPD (Inc.) Newsletter, “Synopses”.
The deadline for the submission of Essays is Friday 4th October 2024
Past Winners
Historical Essay Competition Topics and Winners.
Louise Brearley Messer ANZSPD Undergraduate Essay Competition
2023 Winner
Sharon Si Lin Huang
The University of Adelaide
TOPIC: Avulsion – should we replant teeth in the growing child? (Discuss the prognosis and treatment considerations involved in decision making).
2022 Winner
Shi Han Su
The University of Western Australia
TOPIC: Discuss the risks and benefits of silver diamine fluoride. What cases do you think would most benefit? Should this be a public health initiative?
2021 Winner
Megan Khaw
La Trobe University
TOPIC: The use of resin infiltration in uncavitated enamel lesions is considered a novel technique. Based on the evidence, would you implement this preventive approach for your own patients in practice? Discuss.
2020 Winner
Richart Tien
The University of Western Australia
TOPIC: Does Water Fluoridation still have a place in today’s world? Explore the arguments for and against and summarise your findings to form an opinion.
2019 Winner
Paul Mueller
La Trobe University
TOPIC: Biosilicates have been found to have multiple applications in paediatric dentistry. What are they and are they as good as the alternatives?
2018 Winner
Kumudika Gunaratne
The University of Sydney
TOPIC: Dental caries in children – infectious disease or parental lifestyle choice? Discuss your views based on current knowledge of aetiology and epidemiology of the disease.
2017 Winner
Jamie Jing Wen Leung
The University of Western Australia
TOPIC: Bioactive and biomimetic dental materials have advanced from relatively specialised highly biocompatible low strength medicaments to include newly emerging restorative materials. Explain the definition of bioactive and biomimetic in the context of these materials and consider how the well developed and newer materials may be utilised in paediatric restorative dentistry
2016 Winner
Joon Soo Park
The University of Western Australia
TOPIC: Children who brush their teeth at least once a day with a toothpaste that contains fluoride will have less tooth decay. Twice a day use increases the benefit. Marinho et al, Cochrane 2003. Discuss the amount of fluoride contained in the toothpastes in widespread use for children in Australia and New Zealand. What are the differences in the minimum fluoride concentrations of these toothpastes between the two countries for different age groups and how have these changed over time? What are considered to be the net benefits in increasing fluoride concentration in toothpaste used for younger children?
2015 Winner
Lisa Otway
The University of Western Australia
TOPIC: Deep Dental Caries – to leave or to remove. New Perspectives on an Old Theme.
2014 Winner
Kenneth Koh Shou Bin
The University of Adelaide
TOPIC: There is an emerging trend on the use of probiotics and organic diets. Discuss the effects of these supplements and diets on the oral environment of a child.
Louise Brearley Messer ANZSPD Postgraduate Essay Competition
2023 Winner
Dr Lyndon Abbott
The University of Western Australia
TOPIC: E-cigarettes – effects, considerations and how do we educate parents and teens?
2022 Winner
Dr Caitlin Hurley
The University of Western Australia
TOPIC: Discuss the dental implications of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease in children and how these might be managed.
2021 Winner
Dr Asika Lathif
The University of Sydney
TOPIC: Paediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnoea is considered the most severe in the spectrum of sleep disordered breathing and affects up to 1-4% of children. Discuss the role of the dental professional in proper screening, diagnosis and earlier treatment of paediatric obstructive sleep apnoea.
2020 Winner
Dr Amanda Leske
The University of Melbourne
TOPIC: Discuss the indications for using cone beam CT radiography to all aspects of paediatric oral assessment and management compared to traditional radiographic investigations. Where CBCT is indicated, what are the barriers or precautions to be considered in obtaining these images as the first line investigation?.
2019 Winner
Dr Jana Nikolovski
The University of Sydney
TOPIC: We are into a new era in which parental-based research from internet searches and social media exposure is having a significant influence on what oral health care services they are wanting their children to receive. Discuss examples of services that may be requested by parents from you based on their research that may be deemed alternative to conventional oral health care practice. How you would approach each of these situations? Include in your answer evidence for and against both alternative and conventional treatment option outcomes.
2018 Winner
Dr Vanessa Cho
The University of Western Australia
TOPIC: A new class of anticoagulant drugs, the new oral anticoagulants or NOAC’s, have begun to play a role in the management of thrombotic diseases. Discuss: (1) Thrombotic disease in children and whether there may be a place for NOAC’s in the management of these children, and (2) The dental management of patients on anticoagulants and how this would need to be altered for any children taking NOAC’s.
2017 Winner
Dr Greg Celine
The University of Western Australia
TOPIC: Over the last decade, endodontic treatment has changed significantly with access to technologies including NiTi files, reciprocating motors and advanced obturation techniques and materials. Discuss the application of this advance to primary dentition endodontics, indications and contra indications and alternate treatment modalities.
2016 Winner
Dr Maansi Juneja
The University of Sydney
TOPIC: Over the last five years there has been increasing awareness of the role of the labial and lingual frenulae on a neonate’s attachment and efficiency during nursing. Discuss the oral physiology of a baby nursing, factors that can decrease a baby’s ability to nurse efficiently and problems these cause. Also discuss management options and the possible relation between poor nursing efficacy and the risk of early childhood caries.
2015 Winner
Dr Chaturi Neboda
The University of Western Australia
TOPIC: Discuss tooth coloured crowns in the primary dentition: Developments, improvements and limitations
2014 Winner
Dr Rana Yawary
The University of Western Australia
TOPIC: Discuss the management of the oral biofilm in paediatric dental patients
2016 Winner
Dr Maansi Juneja
The University of Sydney
TOPIC: Over the last five years there has been increasing awareness of the role of the labial and lingual frenulae on a neonate’s attachment and efficiency during nursing. Discuss the oral physiology of a baby nursing, factors that can decrease a baby’s ability to nurse efficiently and problems these cause. Also discuss management options and the possible relation between poor nursing efficacy and the risk of early childhood caries.
2015 Winner
Dr Chaturi Neboda
The University of Western Australia
TOPIC: Discuss tooth coloured crowns in the primary dentition: Developments, improvements and limitations
