Dental care for older Tasmanians

ISLAND Dental is working to improve the oral health of older Tasmanians by offering the only private aged care mobile dental service in the state.

After a long career in the public sector offering outreach services in rural and remote Australia, Island Dental owner and director Dr Girish Sasidharan moved to Tasmania in 2013 to continue his practice.

Dr Sasidharan recognised the barriers preventing many in the community from accessing dental care, and had a strong desire to make dentistry both accessible and affordable for people of all ages.

Easter treats at Banjo’s

WITH Easter just around the corner, local bakery Banjo’s Rosny is baking fresh hot cross buns each and every day and have you covered for all your freshly baked goods.

Incredibly passionate about the baking industry, Banjo’s Rosny owners Robbie and Anita Iles employ 25 local Eastern Shore residents and have recently taken on another two young locals as apprentice bakers.

Robbie is a qualified baker with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry. He works with a team of eight bakers with almost 50 years of baking expertise, all passionate about producing high-quality products for Banjo’s customers to enjoy.

Baking seems to run in the family, with the Iles’ youngest son Leo (pictured) super keen to get involved whenever he can.

Leo loves tasting all the Banjo’s products, with the double choc hazelnut buns his favourite this time of year.

When it comes to Easter, Banjo’s Rosny really is a one-stop shop. They really do have something for every taste – traditional fruit-filled hot cross buns sure to please any crowd; gourmet buns with extra fruit, spice and peel; decadent chocolate chip buns; and the even tastier double choc hazelnut variety.

Banjo’s offers an Easter pre-order form for those who like to be organised - but rest assured, there is plenty of buns on offer each day at Banjo’s Rosny.

So head into your locally owned Banjo’s Rosny and grab your Easter buns before they hop away for another year!

Banjo’s Rosny is open seven days a week, including Good Friday.

Monday to Friday 5am6pm; weekends and public holidays 6am6pm.

Banjo’s Rosny is also now producing its own low-GI sandwich loaves every day to help locals who previously purchased specialty lowGI bread from Bakers Delight at Eastlands, which unfortunately closed recently.

“When we moved to Tasmania it was clear that Tasmania could really benefit from a less commercial approach to oral health,” he said.

“As I began to understand more about the demography and economy of Tasmania I realised there was a real need for more accessible and affordable dental services, especially in the aged care sector.”

Twice a month Dr Girish and his team of dentists visit aged care facilities across Southern Tasmania.

“We have such a large elderly population and no one wants to take the responsibility of offering a dental service that works to reduce oral health issues in older Tasmanians,” he said.

“A lot of the patients we see haven’t been checked by a dentist for a long time, meaning we see a lot of ongoing problems that could have been avoided through regular check-ups.

“Making these patients dentally healthy again improves their quality of life and improves their ability to chew and enjoy food. It also prevents many adverse health outcomes like aspirational pneumonia and cardiovascular events.

“For many of our older, less mobile patients our mobile dental service allows them to receive dental care from the comfort of the aged care facility.

“We charge just enough to cover expenses, with no focus on profit and instead a focus on improving the overall health of the community.”

Island Dental also work with a number of organisations trying to make dentistry more accessible for Tasmanians, including the Australian Dental Health Foundation, Royal Flying Doctors Service and Tasmanian Aboriginal centre.

The Hobart and Sorell practices also offers discounts for patients with pension or health care cards, and bulk-billed dental treatments for children under the Medicare children’s dental benefit scheme.

To book an appointment, go to www.islanddentalhobart.com.au