Meet Middleborough Dental Care’s new dentist, Dr Nicole Wright

We’re delighted to welcome a new dentist to the Middleborough Dental Care family and would like to introduce you to Dr Nicole Wright.

As well as bringing a wealth of experience to our practice, the team and our patients are already appreciating Dr Nicole’s bright and bubbly personality and her caring nature.

To get to know her a bit better, we asked Dr Nicole a few questions about herself.

Where are you from?

I was born and raised on the border of Victoria and NSW, where I played junior state basketball with future Hall of Fame legend Lauren Jackson – until one of us stopped growing! I actually grew up on the land and have loved the outdoors ever since.

Not long after finishing school, I moved to north Queensland where I’ve been enjoying the warmth and sunshine of Cairns and Townsville for the past 20-plus years.

Tell us about your home life.

I have two boys, who are just heading into their early teens, so they’ve kept me pretty busy outside of work for the past 12 years or so, and moving to Melbourne is a whole new adventure for all of us.

I enjoy the outdoors and keeping active, partner Nate and I enjoy trying new things. We love entertaining and sharing delicious food with family and friends, so we’re looking forward to exploring some of the renowned restaurants of Melbourne.

Were you always going to be a dentist?

I always had a keen interest in nutrition and dietetics and a strong desire to be able to make a positive difference in people’s lives. I started off by studying pharmacy, but after a little while I realised it wasn’t quite right for me.

With a toddler in-toe and my second child on the way, I decided to go for my Bachelor of Dental Surgery at James Cook University, in Cairns. Juggling motherhood and a full-time degree was no easy task, however, I completed with a Merit of Academic Excellence in 2014.

What do you enjoy most about being a dentist?

Being a dentist is a very rewarding profession. Every day I get to come to work knowing that I’ll probably be improving someone’s quality of life. I mean, someone can walk in with a toothache that’s pretty much put a stop to everything and, after we treat them, they walk out pain free.

Once you realise that you can have such a positive impact on people within hours of meeting them, you feel very blessed to be a dentist. 

It’s an amazing feeling to create a smile that changes someone’s entire outlook, whether that’s rebuilding their confidence to go for a job, making them feel a million dollars for their wedding day or a reunion, or having a smile they’re proud to show their kids or grandkids.

Do you have any specialties or special interests in dentistry?

Apart from what I’ve just mentioned – my passion for rehabilitating patients with smile makeovers – I have always had a focus on helping patients manage dental anxiety.

I know that’s important to Dr Alice and the team here at Middleborough Dental Care, too. It’s so important to let patients know that you understand their anxiety, it’s completely normal and quite common, and nothing to feel guilty or embarrassed about.

Hopefully, my friendly “chairside manner” is a good starting point to keeping patients calm, along with the knowledge that I have treated a lot of anxious or nervous children and adults, so it’s always at the front of my mind to ease their worries.

For those who just can’t be treated in the dental chair, whether due to overwhelming anxiety or physical/intellectual reasons, I also have an extensive history of providing dental care under general anaesthetic; something I hope to continue to offer in Melbourne.

What do you expect from becoming part of the MDC team?

I’m already enjoying working hand in hand with Dr Alice in providing optimal and collaborative care for our patients and I look forward to the opportunities I’ll have here to further my knowledge and skills.

While I’ve got quite a lot of experience with oral surgery, root canals, restorative dentistry, and the like, every patient I treat is another person I know I can help, whether that’s shaping a new smile to restore their self-confidence or just treating an issue that’s been compromising their oral health and overall wellbeing.

I know I’m going to be able to make a difference to many lives with my skills in prosthodontics – crowns, bridges, smile designs, and so on – and I’m excited to have more opportunities to work with clear aligners, which I’ve studied up on more recently.

Is there anything else you’d like MDC patients to know about you?

I want people to see the person – the mum, the friend – underneath the white coat.

There are two rules in my surgery: 1) you’re not allowed to feel embarrassed, and 2) you’re not allowed to feel guilty (that goes for patients and parents of my paediatric patients alike).

I’m really looking forward to meeting more patients and their families and being part of a team that puts smiles on faces.