2019 award recipients

At the conclusion of last year, we once again celebrated members of our ADA community who are making a difference - to the profession, or even to the world. We reach out for nominations every year to recognise the contributions of those oral health professionals who act as mentors, role models and leaders in their field. In the past, our winners have included volunteers, key research contributors and those dedicated to further innovation and education.

In presenting the 2019 ADA Awards and choosing from a field of impressive nominees, the ADA was proud to congratulate the following individuals.

Valuable Service Award

John R Owen AM

This Western Australia-based orthodontist and past ADA president established the Kimberley Dental Team in 2009, providing dental care to remote Aboriginal communities, and has also provided dental care to the homeless communities of Fremantle and Perth. He has held the position of president of theDental Board of WA (1999-2010), is a Foundation Member of the Australian Society of Orthodontists’ Give a Smile program, and was appointed a member of the Order of Australia in 2010.

Jeffrey Swann

Based in Darwin for many years, Dr Swann is one of only two orthodontists in the Northern Territory. He is a passionate ADA member who services both public and private patients, sometimes travelling to rural and remote locations, and has also been involved with the cleft lip and palate service in Timor. Dr Swann has been on ADANT Council since about 1995 and has held every position on Council, including the role of President three times.

S. Timothy Wigmore

Hailing from Birmingham in the UK, Dr Wigmore has crossed the globe, working in Papua New Guinea, then in the NSW public hospital system before settling in Hobart in 1995 as an orthodontist. He has worked in the Cleft Palate Clinic at Royal Hobart Hospital, and served 12 years on the ADA Tasmania State Council (three as president). He has sat on the Australian Consulting Panel for Dental Protection Limited for over a decade, and the Australian Dental Council since 2002.

Distinguished Service Award

Any dentist who has rendered long and distinguished service to the ADA or to dentistry at a national level.

Michael Foley

For over 30 years, Dr Foley has pursued a goal of public oral health, from treating inmates in correctional centres to the advocacy of fluoridation, in a career prioritising prevention and the oral needs of the socially disadvantaged. As Director (2011-2017) of the Brisbane Dental Hospital, Michael developed a multidisciplinary team philosophy that was committed to excellence, and he also has a history of passionate advocacy in his home state of Queensland.

 Sharon Liberali

A/Professor Liberali is the Director and Senior Consultant of the Special Needs Unit at Adelaide Dental Hospital and holds an honorary Associate Dental Consultant position at Royal Adelaide Hospital; she is also the Program Director of the specialist training program in Special Needs Dentistry at the University of Adelaide. This past President of both the ADASA and the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Special Needs Dentistry currently Chairs the national ADA Infection Control Committee, as well as representing the ADA on both the HE-023 Committee for Standards Australia and the NHMRC Infection Control Guidelines Advisory committee.

David Manton

Professor Manton is a well-respected clinician, researcher, and educator who is highly respected in the field of paediatric dentistry. Since 2010, he has been Elsdon Storey Chair of Child Dental Health at the Melbourne Dental School, and has been deeply involved with numerous ADAVB and ADA committees since 2006. He has been awarded numerous research grants, is a member of three editorial boards, and has co-authored many referred and non-referred articles.

Outstanding Young Dentist

The name of a  young member (under 35 years old) who has made a significant contribution to the Australian Dental Association and/or dentistry and the community at a national level by excelling in their career, reflecting positively on the dental profession and has acted as an ambassador for the profession.

Kang Kim

Since graduating in 2008, Dr Kim has had a high-profile career in his home state of Western Australia, having held the position of president of the ADAWA (2015-2017) and of Clinical Tutor at the School of Dentistry of University of Western Australia for two years. He continues his work as a public speaker, as an advisor for a health technology start-up and advocate on dental policy within Western Australia.

Honorary  Member

Katie Ayers

The current president of the New Zealand Dental Association, Dr Ayers holds a Masters degree in Paediatric Dentistry, a PhD in Dental Public Health, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Management (Governance). She has been awarded the New Zealand Dental Association Outstanding Young Dentist Award, a membership of the Royal Australian College of Dental Surgeons, and a fellowship of the International College of Dentists. She frequently lectures to dentists and dental therapists (nurses) both in New Zealand and overseas, and has published widely in academic literature.