ADOHTA QLD with Guest Speaker

Liza Pretorius, Oral Health Therapist & PhD candidate

PRESENT Forensics & Festivities

Liza will deliver a presentation on Forensic Dentistry as she's currently undertaking a PhD at CQUniversity within the school of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences. Her PhD investigates the characterisation of dental tissues with the use of near-infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics to differentiate teeth samples in terms of age, sex and environmental factors such as diet.

The presentation is 1 hour scientific CPD with Tylen's Trivial Pursuit to follow. Stay after the presentation for a fun night of trivia. Divide into teams and compete to claim victory in this Christmas challenge. Prizes will be awarded to the winning team.

Catering supplied.

MORE ABOUT OUR PRESENTER

Previously, Liza completed a Magister Technologiae at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa. Her masters thesis investigated the effect of arnica montana D6 on the level of discomfort in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. Liza also holds a Bachelor of Oral Health, a Certificate in Advanced Dental Leadership and recently completed a Graduate Certificate in Clinical Redesign at the University of Tasmania.

Prior to commencing her PhD, Liza worked as an oral health therapist clinical coordinator at Central Queensland Hospital and Health Services (CQHHS). This role saw Liza collaborating in teaching, training, project management and research activities with disciplines across the health spectrum. Liza is currently acting in the principal oral health therapist role at CQHHS and is also a clinical supervisor for third year CQUniversity Bachelor of Oral Health Therapy students.

Liza has almost three decades of experience in mentoring, lecturing and clinical supervision for a wide range of health disciplines. She a branch officer for the Queensland branch of the Australian Dental and Oral Health Therapists’ Association (ADOHTA), and she aspires to encourage a dedication to life-long learning amongst her students and health colleagues.

Current research projects:

• PhD – characterisation of teeth with the use of near-infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics

Industry and funding partners:

• CQUniversity-Funded Stipend Scholarship

Publications

• Pretorius NE. The effect of arnica montana D6 on the level of discomfort in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment. University of Johannesburg (South Africa); 2009.
• Pretorius NE, Power A, Tennant M, Forrest A, Cozzolino D. The use of vibrational spectroscopy in the geographic characterization of human teeth: a systematic review. Applied Spectroscopy Reviews. 2020 Feb 7;55(2):105-27.
• Pretorius NE, Subedi PP, Forrest A, Tenant M, Walsh KB. Near infrared spectroscopy in the characterisation of intact human teeth inside and outside custody bags. Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy. 2021 Apr 1;29(2):102-7.
• Gardiner W, Brown K, Richardson H, Pretorius N, Heales L. The incidence, characteristics and in‐hospital mortality of non‐ventilator‐associated hospital‐acquired pneumonia in regional Queensland: A retrospective descriptive study. Australian Journal of Rural Health. 2022 Sep 15.
• Pretorius NE, Forrest AS, Walsh KB. A review of near infrared spectroscopic features of teeth, bone and artificial hydroxyapatite. Journal of Near Infrared Spectroscopy. 2023 Jan 1:09670335231193117.