Dr Vishal Bhikha is an enthusiastic dentist and has a deep passion for the profession, as well as empowering others in the dental profession. He completed his undergraduate studies at Wits University 2013 and furthermore carried out his MSc in dentistry at Wits University as well. He is the former president of the Young Dentist Council. Currently, he is a Medical Officer in the MFOS dept. at Tembisa Provincial Tertiary Hospital. Dr Bhikha has a great passion for self development protocols, mental health and holistic wellbeing and has realized the importance of integrating these techniques and principles into dentistry.

Dr Alisa Botbol qualified with her undergraduate dentistry degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg in 2017. She then embarked to do her Masters in Aesthetic Dentistry at King's College London. She qualified with her MSc in 2021. She lectures part time at Wits in the department of Prosthodontics and Oral Rehabilitation, as well as being the academic lead in South Africa for the internationally taught postgraduate diploma in advanced aesthetic and restorative dentistry. She practices full time in her private practice in Johannesburg where she provides her patients with both dental and facial aesthetic treatments. Dr Botbol is currently undertaking her second Masters degree with the University of Portsmouth in the UK.

Helen Bowes is a mom, wife, and all-around superwoman, business, and marketing extraordinaire. She’s the Chief Operating Officer of Enamel Clinic and has grown the brand to be one of the best-marketed dental practices worldwide. With a background in practice management and being the head of marketing at a PR firm, Helen has the experience and knowledge to know what it takes to manage staff and create a brand everyone wants to be a part of.

Dr Rhoodie Garrana is a Periodontist, Implantologist, and Oral medicine Specialist with a special interest in Aesthetic Implant Surgery and Periodontal Plastic Surgery. Dr Garrana completed his Undergraduate Dental Degree (BDS) and his two post-graduate Degrees (MSc) (MDent) at the University of the Witwatersrand.
Dr Garrana has undergone advanced certification locally for laser-assisted Periodontal therapy as well as Guided Bone Regeneration and Sinus Floor Elevation at the University of Bern and is Internationally Certified and registered in The Novel Minimally invasive Pinhole Surgical Technique to correct Gum Recession taught in California, USA.

With over 20 years’ experience in local and international ICT and commercial enterprise industries, Elton has firsthand experience in successfully mentoring business owners grow their businesses in an ever-changing ecosystem that constantly demands business adaptation and evolution.

Having served in various executive positions within multinational organisations, his experience has enabled him to contribute to and lead numerous local businesses to expand to greater heights.

His current focus as co-founder of Active Aligners is to help and grow local dental practices, not only in clear aligner therapy, but also in their overall business strategy.

SPEAKER COUNTRY: SOUTH AFRICA

Dr Mfolo qualified as a dentist in 2006 at the University of the Western Cape and completed her community service in Potchefstroom. She worked in private practice from 2008 and joined the Department of Odontology at the University of Pretoria (UP) as a full-time lecturer in 2010. Dr Mfolo was extensively involved in the clinical supervision, teaching, and training of undergraduate students in dental materials, paediatric dentistry, endodontics, and basic restorative dentistry. She was also a guest lecturer for postgraduate programs in Paediatric Dentistry and Aesthetic Dentistry. Dr Mfolo obtained a postgraduate diploma in Aesthetic Dentistry and also in Community Dentistry from UP. She joined the Department of Community Dentistry in 2015 where she co-ordinated the preventive dentistry modules and various outreach projects. She is currently enrolled as a registrar in the Department of Community Dentistry at UP. Dr Mfolo’s research interest is in maternal and child oral health advocacy. She completed her MSc program with her dissertation focussed on Early Childhood Caries (ECC) and maternal oral health. She represented South Africa at the first Global ECC Summit (2018) in Bangkok and she is the South African Representative of Nations at the Early Childhood Caries Advocacy Group. Dr Mfolo is currently the Vice-President of the South African Association of Paediatric Dentistry and an active member of the International Association of Paediatric Dentistry (IAPD) where she serves on the IAPD Awards Committee. Dr Mfolo has chaired sessions, adjudicated, and presented at local and international conferences. She also has a keen interest in Minimum Intervention Dentistry (MID) and has presented on Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) on various platforms like the IAPD and Global Symposium on MID. In line with her interest in SDF, Dr Mfolo co-authored an article on SDF with world-renowned researchers-Global oral health policies and guidelines: using SDF for caries control.

Dr Odirile P Moloi completed his BChD degree at University of Limpopo (Medunsa campus) and did his community service at the South African Military Health Services, where he developed a keen interest in Endodontics and Aesthetic Dentistry. He further expanded his skills by serving at numerous military sick bays helping military personnel from different parts of South Africa. He has been in private practice since 2007 and is based in Louis Pasteur Hospital, Pretoria Central. His main field of interest is Endodontics (Root Canal Therapy) and has recently completed his Postgraduate Diploma in Endodontics. He also does a lot of CAD/CAM Dentistry, Aesthetics Dentistry. and Minor Oral Surgery. He is a key OPL for Dentsply Sirona and gives lectures in Endodontics. He has appeared in numerous TV Adverts for Colgate-Palmolive and continuous to do Oral Heath interviews on local TV and Radio Stations. In his spare time he enjoys collecting vinyl records, camping, hiking and exploring Mountain Bike Trails.

RISIMATI EPHRAIM RIKHOTSO received his undergraduate degree in Dentistry (BDS) at the University of the Witwatersrand in 1993. He then worked as a dentist under Soweto Oral Health Services for one year before commencing private practice in Johannesburg. He completed his specialist training in Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2002. He obtained his Masters (MDent) and Doctorate (PhD) degrees in 2005 and 2019 respectively. He has been a fellow of the College of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery (FCMFOS-SA) since 2003. He is currently Head of Department of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery at Wits.

Satish completed the degrees B.Iuris, LLB and MPhil. In addition to his tertiary qualifications, he also completed a Harvard Executive Programme for Leaders in Government, a course on Negotiating International Contracts at the University of Cape Town, Transformation of Institutes of Higher Education at the University of Stellenbosch, and courses on Remuneration with the Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA).

Satish served as MEC for Safety and Security in North West from 1994 to 1999. He also served as Executive Mayor of Potchefstroom City Council from 2000 to 2003.
He is a practicing attorney and member of the Northwest Legal Practice Council, a member of the Ethics Institute of South Africa, and a Certified Director of the IoDSA.

Satish’s strategic leadership positions include National Secretary for Lawyers for Human Rights before 1994, Council member of the former Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education and former chairperson of the Bargaining Forum of the University of South Africa.

Satish has extensive experience in corporate governance, and he lectured on the subject at different universities. He serves on the boards of several companies. He is currently the Chairperson of the Petroleum Agency SA and a co-opted member of the Legal Services Committee of Legal Aid South Africa. His previous board positions include the Gautrain Management Agency, the iSimangaliso Wetlands Authority and ABSA North West.

Satish was appointed by the President to serve as a Commissioner on the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers. The Commission makes annual recommendations relating to the salaries, benefits, allowances, and resources required by public office bearers to enable them to perform their duties effectively.

Together, Shaun and Satish own and operate Roopa Ruysenaar & Associates, which focusses on consulting, and also has a training arm, WorkWise, offering development and facilitation of a wide range of topics.

Shaun is a research and business-management consultant, facilitator, and trainer. Having completed his Doctorate in Social and Political Science at Edinburgh University, Masters and Honours Degree in Environmental Management at Wits and BSc. in Physics and Geography at RAU, he has had a colourful career stretching from work as an environmental manager (generalist and wetland specialist), being a research consultant and GIS technician and then moving into management consulting.

Shaun has worked for the Presidency, several Premier’s offices and government departments developing research toolkits and reviewing institutional dynamics and operational effectiveness in a variety of programmes and projects.

He has also consulted to private sector companies in the field of change management, leadership, community surveys and development as well as developing training programmes. He now focusses on learning and development programmes aimed at building people and organisations and unleashing their full potential.

Dr Hussein Seedat
Dr Hussein Seedat attained a BDS degree from the University of the Witwatersrand in 1999. He completed a postgraduate diploma in endodontics with distinction in 2009, an MSc in endodontics in 2014, as well as a postgraduate diploma in aesthetic dentistry in 2016 at the University of Pretoria.
Hussein has presented at numerous congresses and meetings on endodontic topics, and has published articles in local and international scientific literature. He is a visiting lecturer to final year dentistry students at the University of the Witwatersrand since 2022. He is in private practice in Umhlanga Rocks, Durban, focused mainly on his passion area of endodontics.