Rate My Professor Andrew Flatau

Professor Andrew Flatau serves as the inaugural Dean of Dentistry and Oral Health in the Centre for Rural Dentistry and Oral Health, part of the School of Dentistry and Medical Sciences in the Faculty of Science and Health at Charles Sturt University. A distinguished academic and clinician, he holds a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) with First Class Honours and the University Medal from the University of Sydney (1982), a Bachelor of Arts (BA) with Honours and the University Medal (1988), and a PhD (2001) for his thesis on 'The anatomy of the infratemporal fossa: dissections and historical representations'. He joined Charles Sturt University in 2011 as Associate Professor in Clinical Dentistry, advanced to Dentistry Discipline Lead and Year 5 Coordinator, and was appointed Head of the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences in April 2020 before the school's restructure. Based in Orange, he practices as a general dental practitioner while leading efforts to enhance rural dental education.

Professor Flatau's extensive teaching career spans the University of Sydney, where he instructed in prosthodontics, restorative dentistry, oral anatomy, histology, and physiology across medical and dental faculties, and the University of Iceland in 1988 as Lecturer in oral anatomy and physiology and Supervisor of the Facial Pain Clinic. His research specializations center on dental education, encompassing the scholarship of teaching and learning, integration of reflective and inter-professional practice models, development of competency frameworks, and assurance of new graduates' work-readiness. Notable publications include co-authored textbook chapters on the anatomy of the temporomandibular joint (1990) and regional anatomy of the salivary glands (1995), as well as peer-reviewed articles such as "Integrating threshold concepts with reflective practice: Discussing a theory-based approach for curriculum refinement in dental education" (European Journal of Dental Education, 2018), "A discussion of qualification frameworks, work-readiness and dental education in Australia" (2018), "Co-designing a student mobile dentistry placement in rural aged care and community mental health settings" (2020), and "Reflective final year dentistry journal assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic" (2022). Additionally, he represented the Australian Council of Dental Schools on the Australian Dental Council’s Professional Competencies Advisory Committee from 2021 to 2022, contributing to reviews of professional competencies for newly qualified dental practitioners. His work fosters quality improvements in dental education and maintains robust connections with professional associations and communities.