Rate My Professor Lynda Wixon

Dr. Lynda N. Wixon holds the position of Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Otago. She earned her Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) from the University of Otago in 1987 and a Diploma in Graduate Studies (DipGrad) from the same institution. Following graduation, she spent 18 months working in hospital dentistry before pursuing opportunities overseas, combining professional practice with travel. As a practicing general dentist, she maintains active involvement in clinical care and education. Wixon serves as Clinical Lead for Te Kāika, a program focused on cultural competence and safety in dental education. She co-coordinates the BDS paper DENT533: The Dentist in the Community, emphasizing communication skills and community engagement for dental students. Additionally, she is listed as a contact for the Oral Diagnostic and Surgical Sciences department and contributes to the Interprofessional Education (IPE) Centre within the Division of Health Sciences.

A member of the New Zealand Society of Forensic Odontology, Wixon is pursuing postgraduate studies on prehistoric Māori periodontal health, with an affiliation to the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Otago. She co-led the Faculty of Dentistry's pioneering community oral cancer screening project in 2023, targeting underserved rural areas in Rakiura/Stewart Island and Invercargill. Under her leadership of one of three clinical teams—which included dentistry trainees from the University of Malaya and tauira from Ngā Mokai o Ngā Whetū—the initiative screened over 100 patients across four days, delivering acute dental care to communities with significant oral health disparities. Trained by Emeritus Professor Rosnah Zain from the University of Malaya, the team acquired skills to propagate cancer screening training throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Wixon also collaborates as an investigator on the 2024 New Zealand Dental Research Foundation-funded pilot oral cancer screening program for selected Māori and Pacific Island communities, awarded $5,108. Her roles extend to participating in Dental Council of New Zealand accreditation visits, leading facility tours, and contributing to discussions on clinical governance, patient safety, and quality assurance.