{"id":28788,"date":"2026-04-13T19:52:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T11:52:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/?page_id=28788"},"modified":"2026-04-15T13:50:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T05:50:16","slug":"the-bear-necessities-of-better-dental-care","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/our-community\/health-sciences\/curtin-health-community-enewsletter\/curtin-health-community-enewsletter-april-2026\/the-bear-necessities-of-better-dental-care\/","title":{"rendered":"The bear necessities of better dental care"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

13 April 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pictured here: Maddie Branson (left) and Milly Griffin-Appadoo (right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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For Curtin alumnae Milly Griffin-Appadoo and Maddie Branson – Molar Bears (a mobile dental service for children and families) wasn\u2019t just a business idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The concept grew from the quiet, confronting moments they witnessed every day, where families were trying their best to access dental care for their children, yet still falling through the cracks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between juggling work, school commitments, extracurricular activities and everything in between, booking a dental appointment became just another task on a parents ever-growing to-do list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cI kept seeing families who cared deeply about their children\u2019s health but simply couldn\u2019t access care easily,\u2019\u2019 Maddie said.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cParents were juggling work, multiple children, and long wait times, and dental visits kept slipping down the priority list, not because they didn\u2019t value it, but because the system wasn\u2019t built for them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, Maddie and Millie were seeing children arriving at dental appointments anxious, overwhelmed, and afraid – and stepping into unfamiliar clinical environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, it got them thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if care didn\u2019t require families to rearrange their lives?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What if it came to them instead?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Guided by a philosophy of prevention, Molar Bears provides mobile accessible dental care for children and families by taking dental services beyond the traditional clinic settings and into spaces where children already feel safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travelling to early learning centres, playgroups and patients\u2019 homes Maddie and Milly were able to deliver children\u2019s oral health earlier and in a setting that didn\u2019t trigger anxiety or fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a fully portable dental unit, Molar Bears makes dental care simple, supportive, and achievable for modern families by focusing on prevention, education and early intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through Molar Bears, Milly and Maddie are reimagining what accessible dental care looks like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For them, accessibility isn\u2019t just about convenience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about care that fits into people\u2019s lives,\u201d Milly said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLocation, timing, affordability, but also emotional safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That emotional shift is where the real impact lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The once-anxious child who now sits comfortably in the chair or the small hands that now grip a toothbrush with confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mille and Maddie said receiving photos from parents of their children brushing their teeth with big smiles \u2013 brings them the greatest joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIt goes far beyond teeth,\u201d Milly said.
\u201cIt\u2019s about confidence, dignity, and feeling safe.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Both Milly and Maddie bring complementary strengths to their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milly, who studied Oral Health Therapy at Curtin, draws on a strong clinical foundation and a willingness to challenge traditional models of care, while Maddie, a Human Biology Preclinical alumna, brings a scientific lens and a deep passion for creating positive patient experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Together, they are united by a shared belief that early, positive interventions can help shape lifelong health outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milly said looking ahead, Molar Bears hopes to expand nationally, reaching schools, aged care and special needs communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their vision is to become a trusted, community-integrated preventative health service that supports people at every stage of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because it doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s a child overcoming fear, or an elderly patient rediscovering comfort and confidence, the impact at the end of the day is the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offering quality dental care that is proactive, accessible and delivered in environments where people feel safe, and shaping healthier futures for every patient they reach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

13 April 2026 For Curtin alumnae Milly Griffin-Appadoo and Maddie Branson – Molar Bears (a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":459,"featured_media":0,"parent":28783,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28788","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/459"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28788"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28788\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29055,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28788\/revisions\/29055"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/28783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/friends\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}