Healing Smiles

One in every six women in Australia experiences physical or sexual violence before the age of sixteen. In 2022, 64% of reported assaults to WA Police were family violence-related. We know that family violence has a significant impact on the health, inclusion, confidence, dignity and financial independence of women. Healing Smiles is a group of volunteer dentists who provide pro bono dental treatment to help restore the smiles of survivors of domestic violence. In this episode of Dental As Anything we talk to oral medicine specialist Jacinta Vu about her work with Healing Smiles. She did her dental training in Perth and then specialist training in Sydney, and works in private practice and as a consultant at the Perth Children’s Hospital, as well as having a teaching role at the University of Western Australia. She helped to found Healing Smiles, a group of volunteer dentists who provide pro bono dental treatment to help restore the smiles of survivors of domestic violence. She has just been formally recognised for her work as the Western Australian Local Hero in the 2025 Australian of the Year Awards. If you would like to volunteer or donate to Healing Smiles, you can find out more information here.