Portrait of a volunteer: Dr. Julee Birch (Member spotlight)

This profile was first published in the ADA's News Bulletin, July 2022

A born and bred Queenslander and principal dentist at More Smiles Dental Practice on the Sunshine Coast, Dr Julee Birch has invested her time and energy into dental volunteering for 10 years now and is now the Queensland Chair of the Australian Dental Health Foundation (ADHF). Here, she tells us what life is like when volunteer work is so effectively incorporated into practice life.

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND?

I am married with two adult sons, a rescue dog and cat, and I have practised in the RAAF, Queensland Health and private practice in both Melbourne and Canberra before settling on the Sunshine Coast in 1996.

WHAT FIRST BROUGHT YOU TO CHOOSE DENTISTRY AS YOUR PROFESSION?

I knew it was what I wanted to do when I was about 15; once I had decided that, there was really nothing else I could see myself doing. I was the first member of my extended family to attend university, coming from a working-class background. I often tell people I’m the black sheep – no other even vaguely medical people in my family, before or since!

When I was a dental student, I remember long periods when it was very quiet, waiting for something to be checked by a supervisor. I am naturally an introvert, but found these silences with the patient uncomfortable, so I started talking with them. And I found I really liked them! Back then there wasn’t the emphasis on communication skills like there is now. As much as I like the technical aspects of dentistry, I really like that there is a patient attached to the tooth, and I love that I have been seeing some patients and their families for so long.

YOU AND YOUR TEAM HAVE BEEN VERY INVOLVED IN DENTAL RESCUE DAYS AND OTHER ADHF INITIATIVES. TELL US ABOUT THAT?

When I heard other dentists talk about their time volunteering in third-world countries, I very much felt that I would like to do this too – but I knew I just couldn’t cope with primitive living conditions in remote areas. Then in early 2012 in a practice staff meeting, we discussed how we would like to volunteer our expertise to give something back to the local community. This started me searching – and I found the National Dental Foundation.

Our practice held our first Dental Rescue Day (DRD) in 2012. One thing led to another, and after the practice holding a couple of DRDs, I became the Queensland Chair of the National Dental Foundation. In 2017, the NDF merged with the ADAF to become the ADHF, the charitable arm of the ADA. I remain the Qld Chair of the ADHF. We still hold an annual all-of-practice Dental Rescue Day with everyone in the practice volunteering their time and expertise. Traditionally, in our practice, this is held mid-year on a Friday, with the next night a More Smiles ‘Christmas in July’ feast – I am a terrible cook but I always cook the turkey, and everyone politely eats it.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE MORE DENTAL PROFESSIONALS GET INTO VOLUNTEERING? WHY CAN YOU RECOMMEND IT?

I would absolutely commend any volunteering activity to all dental professionals, and indeed all members of the dental team. From the very beginning we have found it so easy to volunteer because of the organisational work done by the ADHF – it literally just took us making the decision to do it and the rest was pretty much done for us.

The fact that you volunteer in your own practice – in comfortable surroundings, with familiar equipment and materials – means it’s a very easy thing to do. We get just as much out of a DRD as the patients we treat. All my staff say how much they enjoy the day and how good it makes them feel. It does leave us feeling how much need is out there though – a rather sobering thought. 

I think our volunteering efforts in the practice extend beyond our walls and into our community, both local and dental. Helping our local community was our initial intention all those years ago. My staff happily talk about their volunteering to anyone who will listen. We occasionally have local business donate food, or coffees, or other items to us on the day we volunteer. This helps to give visibility to both the quiet need in the community for dental services but also to the impact that dental treatment can have on individuals.

And while this is great for the patients, it’s also raising the profile of dentistry in a positive manner. Plus it has also given permission to my staff to pursue other charitable endeavours knowing that they have the support of the practice. I’ve lost count of the number of outside causes we have supported due to staff interest over the years.

Similarly, volunteering through the ADHF has been good for the dental community also. We have dental prosthetists and dental laboratories who volunteer their time and expertise. Many members of the dental industry – from the biggest companies to small dental supply companies – donate goods and services. We absolutely could not help dentists volunteer without the support from the dental industry. I cannot recall a time that a dental industry company when asked for assistance that it hasn’t been given freely and generously. And how positive is it to think that the entire dental community can come together for a common worthwhile goal? It’s something we don’t advertise or celebrate nearly enough.

I’ve been very grateful for the number of kind-hearted people I have met through my volunteer work. While I do donate my time to help the cause as well as my skills as a dentist, there are so many people who give so much more than I do – I am absolutely a very small part of this. The number of kind-hearted and selfless people out there trying to make the world a little better is truly heartwarming. Unfortunately, it is generally the negative story that gets the headlines and not the good work that is quietly being done by so many. If the past two years has taught us anything surely it is to value the people in our lives and to let the trivial things go.

If there was one thing I could say to Australian dentists, I’d encourage them to volunteer in your own community. You cannot know the impact it can make to some people’s lives and the boost to your own self-esteem is enormous. There really is no downside. My motto is ‘Live life generously’.

WHAT KIND OF PROGRAMS CAN YOU RECOMMEND TO POTENTIAL VOLUNTEERS?

Some of the programs run through the ADHF are to organise in-practice Dental Rescue Days like my practice do annually; Adopt A Patient where one patient has their treatment plan completed; or the Rebuilding Smiles programme treating patients impacted by domestic violence. The disadvantaged patients treated are often the homeless, patients from shelters and refuges, or even concession card holders who find it difficult to access dental treatment. My hope is that the dental treatment may be the catalyst to help a person improve their own life through increasing their self-esteem.

The ADHF is a charity active in all states and territories, with each state having a part-time co-ordinator who liaises with local charities to coordinate appointments. The State coordinators are mostly housed within their State ADA branch offices with our National Coordinator housed at the ADA Federal Headquarters in Sydney. The National Rebuilding Smiles Coordinator is also located in Sydney. The National Board and State Chair positions are all voluntary appointments.

HOW HAS DENTISTRY AND VOLUNTEERING SHAPED YOUR OWN LIFE?

Dentistry has always taken up a large part of my time, both at the practice but also away from work. I used to take my kids to work after school – I still have patients from the ‘old days’ who ask about them! I guess I am also someone who does things – whether it was doing Kindergarten visits for Dental Health Week, when my kids were young, sponsoring the local footy team with mouthguards or donating toothbrushes to villages in Africa and Fiji when I travelled recreationally, if there is some way to help then I am up for it.

I have been active at all levels of ADA especially at State level becoming ADAQ President in 2016, been involved in women’s issues in dental practice for as long as I can remember, raised awareness of the mental health issues faced by dental practitioners using Facebook (that was a learning curve), and have been interested in sustainability initiatives in dental practice. In the past two years since we haven’t been able to travel due to the pandemic, I have spent my holidays from my own practice clinically supervising dental students at James Cook University. I have really enjoyed interacting with the next generation of dentists, far more than I expected before I started. And I’ve really enjoyed the feeling of being able to give some of my experiences back to them. They are so thirsty for knowledge – I am sure the future is in good hands.