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I am a registered oral health therapist and an experienced health economist with a focus on oral health. My research applies health economics methodology to demonstrate the relative cost-effectiveness of dental programs and oral health preventive interventions, with a strong emphasis on health equity. I am the current Chair & Spokesperson for the National Oral Health Alliance, the peak national oral health advocacy body in Australia.

About Me

Education

Master of Science (Clinical Education) | 2013-2016

The University of Edinburgh

Certificate of Dental Therapy (Advanced Clinical Practice) | 2015

The University of Melbourne

Master of Public Health | 2013-2015​

The University of Melbourne

Bachelor of Oral Health | 2006-2008

The University of Melbourne

International Awards
Academic Expertise

Dental public health, health economics, clinical education, policy and advocacy.

Professional Recognition

  • Public Health Association of Australia (Fellow, 2023)

  • College of General Dentistry (Fellow, 2023)

  • Australian Dental and Oral Health Therapists’ Association (Life Member, 2021)

  • Royal Society for Public Health (Fellow, 2015)

  • Higher Education Academy (Fellow, 2014)

2024

  • 6th Annual Cost-Effectiveness Analysis (CEA) Paper of the Year Award. Tufts Medical Center - Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health (TUFTS-CEVR). Project ‘Modeled health economic and equity impact on dental caries and health outcomes from a 20% sugar sweetened beverages tax in Australia’.

  • Colgate Oral Health Research Award 2024, International Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research.

2023

  • Investigator Award in Preventive and Community Dentistry 2023. Project: ‘Modeled health economic and equity impact on dental caries and health outcomes from a 20% sugar sweetened beverages tax in Australia’. International Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research, Australia and New Zealand Division.

  • Australian Public Health Conference 2023 Scholarship. Public Health Association of Australia, Primary Health Care Special Interest Group.

2022

  • Haleon Award Competition, Runners Up. Project: ‘Cost-effectiveness analysis of silver diamine fluoride to divert dental general anaesthesia compared to standard care’. European Association for Dental Public Health Congress 2022.

  • Lion Dental Research Award by the Oral Health Research Group. Project: ‘Economic evaluations of oral health preventive interventions: A systematic review.’ 100th General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research

2019

  • Sunstar Foundation World Dental Hygienists Awards for Project/Activity Category. Project: ‘Integrating evidence-based dentistry within a public dental program for children’.

Pre-Prints and Peer-Reviewed Publications

  1. Nguyen, T.M., Hall, M. (2024). A policy option towards improving skill-mix efficiencies in Victorian public oral healthcare. Authorea. April 25, 2024. doi: 10.22541/au.171403788.80231111/v1

  2. Nguyen, T.M.,  Withers, L., Witton, R., Paisi, M. (2024). Economic evaluation of a community dental care model for people experiencing homelessness. Research Square. April 19, 2024. doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-4172687/v1

  3. Nguyen, T.M., Lin, C.E. (2023). A refresh on oral health messages for Australia to enable effective oral health promotion. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Oral Health Therapy. 11(2):1-5. https://hdl.handle.net/10779/DRO/DU:25365883.v1

  4. Lin, C.E., Nguyen, T.M., McGrath, R., Patterson, A., Hall, M. (2023) Dental Health Services Victoria value-based health care principles for oral health models of care. Journal of Public Health Dentistry. Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12581.

  5. Nguyen, T.M., Rogers, H., Taylor, G.D., Tonmukayakul, U., Lin, C., Hall, M., Calache, H., Vernazza, C. (2023) Fit for Purpose? The Suitability of Oral Health Outcome Measures to Inform Policy. JDR Clinical & Translational Research. Epub ahead of print. doi:10.1177/23800844231189997

  6. Nguyen, T.M., Lin, C., Raichur, A., Patterson, A., Hall, M., Aldrich, R., Robinson, S. (2023). Prioritizing population oral health through public policy in Australia: the Victorian experience. Health Promotion International. 38(4):daad086. doi: 10.1093/heapro/daad086.

  7. Nguyen, T. M., Tonmukayakul, U., Le, K.-D.L., Singh, A., Lal, A., Ananthapavan, J., Calache, H., & Mihalopoulos, C. (2023). Modeled health economic and equity impact on dental caries and health outcomes from a 20% sugar sweetened beverages tax in Australia. Health Economics. 1– 15. doi: 10.1002/hec.4739

  8. Nguyen, T.M., Bridge, G., Hall, M., Theodore, K., Lin, C., Scully, B., Heredia, R., Le, L.K.-D., Mihalopoulos, C., Calache, H. (2023) Is value-based healthcare a strategy to achieve universal health coverage that includes oral health? An Australian case study. Journal of Public Health Policy. doi: 10.1057/s41271-023-00414-9

  9. Nguyen, T.M., Arora, A., Sethi, S., Gavanescu, D.J.. Heredia, R., Scully, B., Lin, C., Hall, M. (2022). Is Australia’s lack of national clinical leadership hampering efforts with the oral health policy agenda? Australian Health Review. doi: 10.1071/AH22278

  10. Nguyen, T.M., Tonmukayakul, U., Lin, C., Scully, B., Heredia, R., Bischof, W., Hall, M., Calache. H. (2022). Learnings from a Victorian public dental model of care focused on periodontitis: A case study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Oral Health Therapy. 10(2):19-27. https://hdl.handle.net/10779/DRO/DU:24234934.v1

  11. Alsubhi, M., Blake, M., Nguyen, T.M., Majmudar, I., Moodie, M., Ananthapavan, J. (2022) Consumer willingness to pay for healthier food products: A systematic review. Obes Rev. e13525. doi: 10.1111/obr.13525

  12. Nguyen, T.M., Tonmukayakul, U., Le, L.K-.D., Calache, H., Mihalopoulos, C. (2022). Economic Evaluations of Preventive Interventions for Dental Caries and Periodontitis: A Systematic Review. Appl Health Econ Health Policy. doi: 10.1007/s40258-022-00758-5

  13. Nguyen, T.M., Tonmukayakul, U., Hall, M., Calache, H. (2022) Cost-effectiveness analysis of silver diamine fluoride to divert dental general anaesthesia compared to standard care. Aust Dent J. doi: 10.1111/adj.12936

  14. McPhee, C., Nguyen, T.M., Trezona, A., Tonmukayakul, U., Calache, H. (2021) Understanding the barriers and enablers to Minimal Intervention Dentistry in an Australian public dental program. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Oral Health Therapy. 9(1):8-15. https://hdl.handle.net/10779/DRO/DU:25602360.v1

  15. Nguyen, T.M., Tonmukayakul, U., Calache, H. (2021) Evaluation of an intervention to promote minimally invasive dentistry (MID) in an Australian community dental agency - a pilot study. International Journal of Dental Hygiene. doi: 10.1111/idh.12523.

  16. Nguyen, T.M., Tonmukayakul, U., Calache, H. (2021) A Cost-Analysis of an Outreach School-Based Dental Program: Teeth On Wheels. Children. 8(2):154. doi: 10.3390/children8020154

  17. Nguyen, T.M., Tonmukayakul, U., Calache, H. (2021) Dental restrictions to clinical practice during the Covid-19 pandemic – An Australian perspective. JDR Clinical and Translational Research. doi: 10.1177/23800844211000341

  18. Nguyen, T.M., Christian, B., Koshy, S., Morgan, M.V., (2020) A Validation and Cost-Analysis Study of a Targeted School-Based Dental Check-Up Intervention: Children’s Dental Program. Children. 7(12):257. doi: 10.3390/children7120257

  19. Lal, A., Peeters, A., Brown, V., Nguyen, P., Tran, N.H., Nguyen, T.M., Tonmukayakul, U., Sacks, G., Calache, H., Martin, J., Moodie, M., Ananthapavan, J. (2020) The Modelled Population Obesity-Related Health Benefits of Reducing Consumption of Discretionary Foods in Australia. Nutrients. 12(3):649. doi: 10.3390/nu12030649

  20. Nguyen, T.M., Tonmukayakul, U., Warren, E., Cartwright, S., Liew, D. (2019) A Markov cost-effective analysis of biannual fluoride varnish for preventing dental caries in permanent teeth over a 70-year time horizon. Health Promotion Journal of Australia. doi: 10.1002/hpja.283

  21. Nguyen, T.M., Tonmukayakul, U., Calache, H. (2019) A dental workforce strategy to make Australian public dental services more efficient. Human Resources for Health. 17(1):37. doi:10.1186/s12960-019-0370-8

  22. Nguyen, T.M. (2018) Case study: application of ICCMSTM and the ‘tunnel’ cavity preparation technique. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Oral Health Therapy. (1):11-16. https://hdl.handle.net/10779/DRO/DU:24234274.v1

  23. Nguyen, T.M., Jones, D., Ngo, K.L., Hayes, M.J. (2017) Developing Professionalism in Dentistry: A Systematic Review. MedEdPublish. 6(2). doi:10.15694/mep.2017.000085

  24. Nguyen, T.M., Hsueh, Y.-S., Morgan, M., Mariño, R., & Koshy, S. (2017) Economic Evaluation of a Pilot School–Based Dental Check-up Program. JDR Clinical and Translational Research. 2(3):214-222. doi:10.1177/2380084417708549

  25. Nguyen, T.M., Morgan, M., Koshy, S., Mathew, S., & Lew, S. (2015) Revisiting the value of school dental check-up programs. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Oral Health Therapy. (2):6-12. https://hdl.handle.net/10779/DRO/DU:24234775.v1

  26. Nguyen, T.M. (2015) Improving Child Oral Health with School Dental Check-up Programs. Australian & New Zealand Journal Of Dental and Oral Health Therapy. (1):5-8. https://hdl.handle.net/10779/DRO/DU:24234814.v1

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