We are excited to announce that the Monash Health Dental Services, Smile with Confidence team has been named a finalist in the 2025 Victorian Public Healthcare Awards, in the Partnering in Healthcare category.
This category recognises outstanding collaboration between services delivering public healthcare, with a focus on how the partnership is enabling services to genuinely work together to address common problems and improve outcomes for patients.
The Smile with Confidence project is a collaboration between our Dental Services team and Multidisciplinary Centres (MDCs) that supports victim-survivors of family violence and sexual assault. Other programs involved included South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault (SECASA), the MDC Community Health Nurse Program, Monash Youth and Family Services, Better Futures, and Mentis Australia.
Service Director of Monash Health Dental Services, Ramini Shankumar, is proud of the collaboration, not just for the recognition, but for the improved confidence it has given their patients through trauma-informed care.
‘Our dental team has developed trust with patients with low confidence,’ she says.
‘We are now seeing this vulnerable group of patients with improved care, confidence and trust with our teams.’
The project aimed to provide a safe and welcoming dental experience for survivors, with trauma-informed care at the heart of every appointment. By taking extra time, building trust, and empowering patients, the team has helped many people feel comfortable accessing dental care, sometimes for the first time in years.
Feedback from patients has been overwhelmingly positive, with many sharing how supported and valued they felt throughout the experience.
The winners will be announced at the 19th Victorian Public Healthcare Awards Gala Night on Wednesday, 26 November 2025.
Congratulations to everyone involved in the Smile with Confidence program and we wish you the best of luck on awards night.
Pictured: the Smile with Confidence team