Eight Victorian Aboriginal healthcare providers have made history after officially becoming the first Indigenous practitioners trained to apply fluoride varnish to children's teeth.
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At a ceremony held at the Bendigo and Districts Aboriginal Co-operative on August 4, the eight newly-qualified workers received their accreditation.
From as far as Mildura and Melbourne the healthcare workers travelled to celebrate becoming history makers.
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One of the graduates and BDAC practice manager, Arabana woman Jaydene Burzacott, said it was a great achievement for Aboriginal healthcare and its workers.
"I think it is really exciting," she said.
"I think there is no better time now in Victoria to be an Aboriginal health practitioner. I think things are really improving.
"The recognition for Aboriginal health practitioners across Victoria is becoming more known and more profound and I think that the respect for the work that they do is being more acknowledged."
Fluoride varnish is applied to children's teeth from around six months old at intervals while they grow up and can prevent tooth decay by up to 40 percent.
Ms Burzacott said a major benefit to these ground-breaking achievement was the trust that had already been built up between Aboriginal children and Aboriginal healthcare workers.
"With all healthcare for Aboriginal people, a big part of that is trust," she said.
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"(Aboriginal children) trust Aboriginal healthcare practitioners a lot when it comes to healthcare so a big part of access to healthcare is that they do attend and they do trust and it's delivered in a really flexible way.
"Enabling Aboriginal health practitioners to provide healthcare in a more holistic approach including allowing them to provide more services ensures the person's health overall in improved."
The training program has been funded by the State Department of Health and has been co-ordinated by the Dental Health Services Victoria.
The program will allow for a further 14 graduates to complete the training, allowing each graduate to deliver two fluoride varnish appointments, covering some 350 Aboriginal children.
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