Associate Professor Jilen Patel is a clinical academic at the UWA Dental School and a Consultant Paediatric Dentist at Perth Children’s Hospital. He integrates research, teaching, and clinical practice, with a focus on paediatric oral health, cariology, and rural and remote service delivery. He is a director of the Kimberley Dental Team Ltd, which has provided dental services, oral health education, and advocacy to remote Aboriginal communities since 2009, and served as the Clinical Lead for the WA Early Childhood Dental Program, an $11.5 million state-wide initiative informed by his team’s research in teledentistry and preventive care. His work has influenced state and national oral health policy, and his teaching excellence has been recognised through multiple awards, including the ADA Outstanding Young Dentist Award and a UWA Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning.

He completed his PhD at the University of Western Australia, developing a consumer-led quality improvement framework for dental services in remote communities backed by long-standing, community-partnered research with remote Aboriginal communities. Since commencing at UWA in 2018 he has led major curriculum redevelopment within the Doctor of Dental Medicine program, pioneering innovative blended and problem-based learning approaches in cariology, dental public health, and paediatric dentistry. His current work is focused on enhancing rural and remote clinical training programs across Western Australia in partnership with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations. This project now involves over 50 students annually and supported by cross-sectoral partnerships. His broader research spans in-vitro and clinical studies, including Australia’s first randomised controlled trial using topical fluorides to arrest caries in refugee children. He has secured more than $3 million in competitive research funding as a chief investigator, supervises a substantial portfolio of student and collaborative projects, and has played a key role in establishing the Paediatric Oral Health Research Group as one of the most productive research groups in the Dental School. His research has been presented nationally and internationally, cited in a Senate inquiry into oral health in Australia, and recognised through the UWA Dental School Early Career Research Award and selection as a finalist for the Vice-Chancellor’s Research Awards.

Paediatric Dentistry; Cariology; Remineralising agents; Dental Public Health; Rural and Remote Oral health