Established by paediatric specialist Dr James Lucas, Lucas Dental Care provides comprehensive treatment tailored to your individual and family needs.
It is important to realize that good dental health involves the whole families general health. The highly trained and experienced team uses the most up-to-date clinical practices in general and paediatric dental care. Both you and your child will leave Lucas Dental Care with a more positive attitude towards dental health.
Paediatric dental specialists are registered specialists who have completed extra training and hold extra qualifications in the field of children’s dentistry.
Our specialists have made extensive contributions to academic research, and are consultants at the Royal Children’s Hospital. They are experts in the field of children growth, development, special needs, trauma and complex dentistry.
Dr James Lucas is one of the leading paediatric dental specialists in Australia.
He has extensive experience in the world of paediatric dentistry and has been a consultant and Deputy Director of the Dental Department at the Royal Children’s Hospital of Melbourne. He is also a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne and has acted as an examiner for postgraduate training throughout Australia.
James has lectured extensively both in Australia and internationally and his areas of expertise are the management of dental trauma and the management of medically compromised children. He has published a number of research papers and book chapters and has also co-authored a children’s book about dentistry.
James was a visiting consultant to the National Hospital of Odontostomatolgy in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for 10 years where he was involved in education and a project in the evaluation and treatment of children suffering with cleft lip and palate in Southern Vietnam.
James has been President of the Australasian Academy of Paediatric Dentistry and also the Australian and New Zealand Society of Paediatric Dentistry.
In 2019 he was awarded the honour of being made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to Paediatric Dentistry and the dental community.
Dr Sara Shayegan obtained her Doctorate of Clinical Dentistry in Paediatric Dentistry from the University of Melbourne. She has a calm, gentle and friendly nature that makes her great with children. Sara has a diverse 17 years professional experience in volunteer projects, rural and metropolitan private and government practices.
In addition to her private practice role, Sara is a consultant at The Royal Children’s Hospital in the department of dentistry and dermatology where she oversees dental care of children with Epidermolysis Bullosa. She enjoys all aspects of paediatric dentistry with a special interest in management of dental trauma and treating medically compromised children.
Outside of work Sara enjoys keeping physically active, dancing and playing the piano.
Dr Janita Shah obtained her Doctor of Clinical Dentistry in Paediatric Dentistry from the University of Melbourne. She has 10 years of combined experience in general and paediatric dentistry in public and private practice. She is known for her gentle, bubbly, and friendly nature which makes her great with children and parents.
As a specialist paediatric dentist, Janita is passionate about all aspects of paediatric dentistry with considerable experience in caring for children with special needs and anxious behaviours, comprehensive management of developmental conditions, dental trauma, and early childhood caries. Her research on enamel hypomineralisation “chalky teeth” in primary teeth has been published internationally.
In addition to private practice, Janita also works as a specialist paediatric dentist at the Royal Dental Hospital and has a teaching role at the University of Melbourne. She is a member of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, Australian and New Zealand Society of Paediatric Dentistry, the Australasian Academy of Paediatric Dentistry, and the Australian Dental Association.
In her spare time, Janita enjoys spending time with her young daughter, travel and swimming.
Dr Shangeetha Gunasekaran (Shann) obtained her Doctorate of Clinical Dentistry in Paediatric Dentistry from the University of Melbourne. Shann has 12 years of experience in the field of general and paediatric dentistry in both the public and private sectors. On completion of her specialist training, Shann spent a year working at the Women’s and Childrens’ Hospital in Adelaide and then went on to pursue a Paediatric Dentistry Craniofacial and Special Care Clinical Fellowship at the renowned Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, where she spent a lot of time treating babies with cleft lip and palate. Following that, she worked as a Paediatric Dental Consultant at the Starship Children’s Hospital in New Zealand, before making her way back to Melbourne (which she now calls home!). Besides her vast clinical experience, Shann is also involved in research and has presented and published research papers internationally.
Shann has a calm, warm and gentle demeanour which puts children at ease very quickly. Shann enjoys all aspects of paediatric dentistry with a special interest in treating medically compromised children, children with special needs and specifically children who are anxious.
In addition to private practice, Shann also has an appointment as a specialist paediatric dentist at the Royal Dental Hospital Melbourne. She is a member of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, Australian and New Zealand Society of Paediatric Dentistry, the Australasian Academy of Paediatric Dentistry, and the Australian Dental Association.
Outside of work, Shann loves practising yoga, playing the piano and travelling!
Oral health therapists are registered dental practitioners that provide comprehensive care for their patients.
Our oral health therapists work alongside our specialists and family dental practitioners to provide a multi-disciplinary approach to dental care. They are excellent in improving your family’s oral hygiene, and have primary focus on preventative care.
Hillary is a caring and gentle Oral Health Therapist and is amazing with young children who are anxious. She is your go to person for dental hygiene, prevention and thorough scale and cleans.
Hillary graduated with a Bachelor of Oral Health from the University of Melbourne in 2013 and went on to complete her Honours in special needs and community dental health. She is now a clinical educator and lecturer for the Oral Health Therapy students at Charles Sturt University, and has previously been part of mentoring at University of Melbourne.
Hillary has been at Lucas Dental Care for 10 years and couldn’t be happier working in such a rewarding profession. She loves all aspects of dentistry, but truly has a passion for children’s dentistry. She is a multi-skilled member of the Lucas Dental Care team and has done further studies to obtain her Graduate Certificate in Oral Health Therapy for our adult clients. This means Hillary is able to provide comprehensive treatment to all age groups and refer for more complex dental work if needed. Her focus has always been prevention, and so she endeavours to keep you and/or your child on a preventative dental routine.
Megan has been part of Lucas Dental Care for 20 years, and has considerable experience in the dental industry. Megan manages the administration of Lucas Dental Care and all the behind the scenes work with patient care. She is your contact person if you have queries regarding your accounts or treatment under general anaesthesia. She liaises with hospitals and anaesthetists involved in patient care. Megan is also responsible for maintaining accreditation standards.
Megan is a valued member to the Lucas Dental Care team. She has been a part of numerous charity events including organizing the Walk for Chloe Saxby which raised $113,000 for Vanishing White Matter Disease and research. Megan was one of the head organizers of this charity event, and her contributions are well recognized in this area! We love Megan at Lucas Dental Care!
Our support staff comprises of both our friendly reception team and dental assistant team.
Our reception staff will greet you with a welcoming smile. They will assist you in making appointments with our specialists and general dentists.
Our friendly and qualified team of dental assistants are highly experienced in general and specialist dentistry. They are all friendly in nature and strive to provide the highest standard of care for all our patients.