A diverse career in Australia and in developing countries has given Dr David Sheen AM great satisfaction.

Throughout his 54 year dental career, Dr David Sheen AM highlights his volunteer work in developing countries as his most satisfying.

This work has taken him to some of the most impoverished parts of the globe including undertaking dentistry in Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Eritrea – a small country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. 

Dr Sheen was employed as the provincial dental officer in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea (PNG) from 1981 through until 1983. His work there was critical in upgrading the skills of locals to provide adequate dental care.

“In that part of the world there was one dentist for a quarter of a million people,” he said. “You train and mentor a young PNG dentist. I had four dental therapists that worked with me and I had an outreach program in my province.

“There were ten health centres staffed by nurses and other staff. We left every health centre in the Eastern Highlands with nurses who could diagnose, provide local anaesthesia, and extract teeth.

“It’s a large responsibility in that part of the world. You are dealing with trauma, broken jaws, I had to teach myself to do that with the support of the hospital surgeon. It was a very satisfying few years of my life. I liked that we were supporting someone to then take over and create a quality health service for their own country.”

Dr Sheen also worked closely with the late Fred Hollows in another country during his career. He was the coordinator of the Australian support for the Eritrean Maxillo Facial and Dental Program in Africa from 1992 to 1997.

The program was supported by ADA Inc. who provided accounting services and a corporate entity for funds raised from Aus AID. Dr Sheen was inspired by Professor Fred Hollows. They worked closely supporting each other’s programs in Eritrea until Prof Hollows died in 1993. His life changing work continues today via the Fred Hollows Foundation. 

There were a number of severe facial injuries he saw in Eritrea, including gunshot injuries to the face. Dr Sheen supported an Eritrean dental and maxillo-facial surgeon named Dr Laynesh in performing facial surgery. Dr Laynesh came to Australia to upgrade her skills in cleft palate surgery as part of the program. Dr Sheen did this vital work in Eritrea until 1997.

His work overseas would continue in 1999 when he visited Timor-Leste. Dr Sheen did initial clinical work and survey preparation for a report to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Federal government body AusAID commenced a program of support for dentistry in Timor-Leste in 2001 which was completed in mid-2003. 

That same year, he co-founded and coordinated the Rotary Timor-Leste Dental Program (TLDP) with Dr Sandra Meihubers. He was invited to partner with the Carmelite Sisters in their health centre near the capital city, Dili. Dr Sheen was joint coordinator until 2012 and clinical team leader until 2018. He continues today as Treasurer and member of Management Committee. 

“It was important to upgrade the skills of the Timorese oral health therapists. Provision of materials and equipment is a vital part of the program,” Dr Sheen said.

“Our Timor-Leste program has been going now for more than 20 years and continues today. We now have six visits a year by dental teams. From 2003 to 2019, I visited every year. It is a program supported by Rotary Australia world community service. Our sponsoring club is Rotary Club of Chatswood / Roseville Chase.”

Since 2013, the program has continued under the leadership of coordinators Drs Blanche Tsetong, Dr Mary Tuituinnik and Dr Henry Gilkes. Dr David Digges, Dr Wayne Pearson, Dr Peter Shakes, Dr John Moran and Dr Andrew Moran have also been significant contributors over many years. 

Dr Sheen was also a clinical educator at the Sydney Dental Hospital, The University of Sydney in the DMD Program. 

Closer to home and he worked in locum positions at Walgett Aboriginal Medical Service and Maari Ma Aboriginal Health Corporation in Broken Hill in Western NSW from 2022 to 2024. 

“Many patients have difficulty accessing oral health facilities,” he said. “I developed an understanding early in my career that a lot of people are challenged with access to dental care, not just in developing countries, but also in our own country.”

When Dr David Digges and others established the ADA Dental Health Foundation (ADA DHF) more than 15 years ago, his Five Dock Dental Practice participated in volunteer days and in the ‘Adopt a Patient’ program.

“With Filling the Gap, we know one visit to relieve pain is just the start of their treatment and we know they had a lot more work to do,” he said.

The Adopt a Patient program allowed him to continue to see patients who required more than a one-off visit. He was able to follow through on their treatment plan which could sometimes be up to six sessions.

After finishing work in April 2019, Dr Sheen continued to participate in Filling the Gap programs at Dr David Digges Dental Surgery in Bellevue Hill in Sydney’s East.

In recent years, he has also participated in several Filling the Gap volunteer days at the ADA NSW Clinic at St Leonards. 

“The work that Filling the Gap do is fantastic. You are dealing with a range of issues to help patients, including mental health and addiction issues. Their improved oral health and pleasing new smiles improve their self-esteem considerably,” he said.

“I’ve had the opportunity to have a lot of variety in my career and have enjoyed all the opportunities. I’ve been part of great teams throughout. This work requires great teamwork and the support of many very capable people.”

Dr Sheen said Keith Mentiplay of A-Dec Australia (now retired) has been a long term supporter of dental programs in developing countries. Henry Schein and Southern Dental have also been significant contributors to the Timor-Leste Dental Program. “Without their generous support these programs would not continue,” he added.