Dr. Jack Gaffey

BDS, BSc Dent, (Hons)

Dentist in Cumberland Park, SA
Cumberland Dental

The best part of my profession is transforming patients’ smiles. When I see that look of amazement on someone’s face as they realise they can smile confidently in public without holding their hand over their mouth, it really lights me up inside. This happens every day, but it is always so rewarding to see that lift in self- esteem. Some of my patients really spend a long time looking at everything in the mirror, trying to work out how the magic was done. It really does feel that I am a magician some days when you get to that big reveal and deliver that straight white smile. The funny thing is that these transformations are just part of the job, to excel at providing high quality dentistry. I am in a position of trust, someone has put their smile in my hands and believes in the skills I can provide to get the best results.

Dr Jack Gaffey is a former Australian Dental Association (SA) president and one of the most respected dentists in Adelaide.

While he has broad experience in a variety of aspects of dentistry, he loves to focus specifically on treatments for the following

Education

2000 Bachelor of Dental Surgery (Adelaide)

2000 Bachelor of Science (Dentistry) Honours 2A

2011 Master of Business Administration (Executive) Australian Graduate School of Management

Member of the Australian Society of Endodontology (SA Branch)

Jack has served the Australian Dental Association (South Australia) in various capacities

2009-2011

• Member of the Dental Practice Committee

2011-2012

• Vice President
• Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee
• Member of Dental Practice Committee

2012-13

• President

Jack served on each of the various committees. During this busy year represented South Australia at the Federal level. This role involved considerable meetings with different government agencies, ministers and university officials in addition to the usual media interviews.

2012-13

• Member of the Public Relations Committee

2013-15

• Member of the Finance and Audit Committee

2011

Melbourne

• The Gordon Christensen Bottom Line. -Gordon Christensen. Power 2B.

Adelaide

• Anterior and Posterior Aesthetic Direct and Indirect Restorations. -Jean Francois Roulet. CPDent Adelaide.
• Lecture on Endodontics - Paul Abbott. EndoSoc SA
• Resin Infiltration- Icon Dental Ed.
• Dilemmas in Endodontic Case Selection. Paul Abbott. Dental Ed.

2013

Melbourne

• Ceramic Restorative Materials - Dr David Roessler
• 2D vs 3D diagnostic imaging: Some essentials the present-day clinician must know - Associate Professor Bernard Koong
• Predicting root resorption and causes of hypo mineralization - Professor Mike Hubbard
• The Missing Lateral Incisor Ortho and Pros - Dr Christopher Evans, Dr John Robinson
• Understanding the biomechanics of implant dentistry Part 1 and 2 - Dr Michael Norton

Mount Gambier

• Limestone Coast Lecture Series 2012.

Boston, USA

• Advanced Level (Boston MA). 6 Month Smiles.

Sydney

• Rapid Smiles Advanced certification.
• Day 3 Invisalign accreditation. SCDL.
• Rapid Smiles (Sydney) Initial Training.

Adelaide

• Sudden Impact. Are Mini Implants for you? David Roessler. Dental Ed
• Invisalign Day1+2. SCDL
• Maximising Success of Anterior and Posterior Restorations. Marc Geissberger. Kerr.
• Changing our Paradigm. (Anterior Aesthetic Composite Restorations). Sarkis Nalbandian. Gunz.

Melbourne

• Superior Composites (Melbourne). Buddy Mopper. Power2B.

2017

Melbourne

• StyleItaliano: Tips and Tricks - Dr Jordi Manauta.
• Periodontal procedures – what works and what doesn’t - Dr Stephen Chen Class II – a critical player in practice success- Prof Simone Grandini
• Malocclusion and how the bone structures alone do not explain the whole story - Dr Alexandre Vieira
• Simple and reliable procedures in modern restorative dentistry - Dr Carlos Sabrosa
• The future of dental re-mineralising via restorations - Biomechanics and treatment of dentofacial deformity -Prof Michael Burrow
• Demystify Temporomandibular Disorders -Clinical A/Prof Ramesh Balasubramaniam
• Modern Approaches in Plaque & Biofilm Control - A/Prof Axel Spahr
• Interdisciplinary Solutions for Aesthetic Periodontal Prosthodontic Rehabilitations - Dr Ken Malament Viral hepatitis - Prof John Lubel
• Infection Control standards AS4187 and 4815 - Dr Sharon Liberali
• Regulation - all things provisional – The consequence of a false or misleading statement - Ms Kellie Dell'Oro
• Emerging research that will change clinical practice - Dr Christopher Fox
• Practising high-quality clinical orthodontics: respecting the evidence - Dr Michael Woods
• Digital CAD/CAM Restorative Materials - Prof Dennis Fasbinder
• Evidence behind and controversies in early orthodontic treatment - Dr Mithran Goonewardene
• Navigating short course and evidence behind speeding up orthodontic treatment - Dr Mithran Goonewardene

Adelaide

• Bisphosphonates - Dr Glen Carter
• Traumatology -Dr Frances Andreasen

2018

Adelaide

• Cone beam CT - would it change the way you practise endodontics- Dr Mark Stenhouse
• Contemporary Endodontics: what works and what doesn't? -Dr Ove Peters
• Managing hot pulps: reflecting 20 years of research. Geoff Heithersay AO Oration - Dr Grant Townsend.

Jack is the only provider of Six Month Smiles in Adelaide, a fast method of braces that can straighten smiles in 6 months.

Story

Four and a half hours into my 70.3 2017 Asia Pacific Ironman Triathlon, I knew I had to shut it down to be able to finish under 5 hours 15 minutes for the day. It was 31 degrees, sweat dripped down my face while my shoes were making a squelching sound. The heat was starting to get to me.

I realised that it was time to hold everything together after months of training. I swallowed as much nutrition as I could handle at each aid station and counted off the final kilometres. As I crossed the line in 5 hours 13 minutes, my hands rose in the air, a personal victory to cut an hour off my time from 10 months previously and satisfaction of a job well done. This feeling of accomplishment after a long effort behind the scenes is the same in my field of dentistry.

People ask why I am a dentist, the answer is simple, I challenge myself each and every case to do the best I can. All the preparation that goes into a triathlon is the same as my continuing education that I do every year, it makes the result spectacular. The amount of effort that happens behind the scenes for each appointment would surprise many people. My working hours aren’t just the time I spend with patients in the chair, it also includes all the hours of journal reading and research at home combined with a variety of lectures to keep up to date. But in the end, it is worth it.

I started off in Dentistry because my father was a Dentist. It sounded like an interesting profession where I would get to meet people and I liked the ability to produce things with my hands. As I got further into dentistry, the harder it became, because there is always something better you could do, something more you could learn. I love looking at every case I finish and working out how I can improve my work. Dentistry is hard like that because most people can’t see what I want to improve, but it is a matter of personal pride.

My patients have changed my life over the years. As I grow with them and hear their different stories over decades of practice, I begin to feel sometimes like I am a part of their extended family. Births, deaths and marriages are a regular event in our practice and I am there to hear about all of them. We watch kids grow up and I am amazed when a Uni student comes in and I can’t understand why they are not a primary school student any more. Dentistry is more than just a job. It is how I am able to enrich people’s lives in my own way.