Our Dental Support Staff

Saskia Tresch is currently in grade 12 and is the school captain at St Patrick's College. Saskia has started early in her dental career by quickly completing her Certificate III in Dental Assisting with the Australian Dental Association (ADA) and MYTOOTHDOCTOR. Saskia aspires to study dentistry at the University of Sydney or the University of Adelaide, with a specialisation in orthodontics. In her own words, "So far, I am really enjoying working in the dental industry as a dental assistant, and hopefully one day I will be working as an orthodontist!" Outside of work and study, Saskia loves hanging out with family and friends, going boating and swimming, and doing any kind of physical activity.

Tessa Paine brings to MYTOOTHDOCTOR her years of front office and call centre customer service experience. Every client's dental journey start with a phone call or reception booking. Having a lived experience of having a child with a "different ability and not a disabilty", you will hear Tessa empathically talking to parents with her warm and friendly voice, reassuring that their child and even themselves will have a safe, timely, and clinical and culturally appropriate treatment, recare, and an overall great experience at MTD. When not at work, you will find Tessa at the gym inspiring the rest of the team to stay fit, and would share a meal plan with you if asked. 

Agnes Abag was a registered nurse (RN) and registered radiology technologist (RRT) in the Philippines before moving to Australia.  She completed her Certificate III in Dental Assisting at MYTOOTHDOCTOR, and is very happy to be back in the work force - having opted to be a stay-at-home mum to look after her only daughter's crucial infant and toddler development years.  Eli is now 5 years old and enjoys school and vacation care, with her dad sharing the school pick up runs.  Agnes works from both Garbutt (TAIHS) and Bushland Beach (MTD) practices. Agnes also maintains credentialling with the Townsville Mater Private Hospital as Dr Robles' dental surgical assistant.

Carley Mauger is Dr Garret Robles’ first dental assistant since he started Project Outback Dental in 2015.  She easily learnt all the aspects of the role while assisting in Normanton - the POD's farthest dental mobile dental van service to date. Carley completed her Certificate III in Dental Assisting through the Australian Dental Association (ADAQ) and has held both clinical and administrative roles, including stocktakes for all dental clinics of MYTOOTHDOCTOR.  Her work of recording and reporting treatment statistics for the Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Health Service, POD's main institutional client, will soon be delegated to other members of the team, as Carley has now moved to pursue a full time senior dental assistant role at a First Nations dental practice in Melbourne. We all wish Carley the very best.

Jacinta Jones come on board to be Dr Crystal John's main dental nurse but is currently on maternity leave but her dual assisting and admin roles will still be there for her in 6 month's time! Jacinta is a qualified Cert III dental nurse with experience in both administrative and clinical roles having worked for a local corporate dental practice and a number of private practices in Townsville since 2012.  Outside of the dental industry, Jacinta is also a qualified hairdresser - an interesting dual qualification as dentistry historically has evolved from Barber surgeons of the Middle Ages! - cutting hair and pulling teeth. 

Tahnee Massaro is our newest team member. She hopes to complete her Cert III in Dental Assisting with MYTOOTHDOCTOR at the soonest time so that she could finally be, as she puts it, "on a big girl's wage". In just a few months into her role, Tahnee, has demonstrated that she is a keen fast learner - able to to handle front office phone calls, do sterilisation, and asssit with dental procedures and work from our the dental van. During clinic downtime, you will see Tahnee happily folding bibs or bring out her Mac to complete and send away some of her completed Cert III module assessments. Otherwise she would be sitting at our reception office enjoying her sour cream and onion chips in between patients. 

Nathaniel Layug is the practice’s main mobile dental operations dental assistant and is in charge of the practice’s sterilisation audits. He is also Dr Robles' most technollogy savy theatre surgical assistant, He operates MTD's Carestream/Dexis digital scanner, chairside crown milling machine, and Exocad for same day crown restorations. When not in the treatment rooms, you will find him happily 3D printing dental models and occlusal splints. On completion of his Cert III in Dental Assisting with the ADA, Nathaniel looks forward to doing further studies in dental technology and dental prosthetics. 

Ruby Jolicoeur was born in the Seychelles and moved to Townsville in 2009 with her husband and dentist Dr Craig Jolicoeur.  Ruby has been a dental assistant for 16 years, having worked as clinical coordinator for 1300SMILES. Ruby completed an overseas Advanced Certificate in Oral Health and Social Studies and an Australian Certificate III and IV in Dental Assisting and Radiography. Ruby joined MYTOOTHDOCTOR to learn more about practice administration and hospital based dental patient care.  Ruby's main strength is surgical assisting, but is a natural leader - inspiring our younger the support staff team.  When not at work, Ruby loves spending time with her husband, Dr Craig, and their only child Eisha, and meeting up with her friends. Ruby worries about Eisha doing gymnastics! Ruby maintains that her best holiday destination will always be her home country, the Seychelles.  Hope we can all enjoy a holiday there with Ruby. 

Dr Mary Ann Palma-Robles, is a policy analyst specializing in international fisheries law and ocean policy. She holds a Ph.D. in International Fisheries Law and serves as a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong. Her research interests encompass international fisheries law and policy, ocean policy and management, maritime security, and regional marine governance.

In addition to her academic pursuits, Dr. Palma-Robles co-owns and manages MYTOOTHDOCTOR, a dental practice in Townsville, Australia. In this role, she ensures compliance with dental regulatory policies and procedures, particularly focusing on sterilization, infection control, radiation hygiene, staff employment, and career development. To better support her team, she has completed a Certificate IV in Dental Assisting and Oral Health Promotion with the Australian Dental Association Queensland (ADAQ).

Dr. Palma-Robles has also contributed to scholarly discussions on maritime safety and welfare. In collaboration with Associate Professor Lowell Bautista, she recently co-authored an article titled "Tides of change: Steering towards improved mariner safety and welfare in the Indo-Pacific," published in the Melbourne Asia Review. This work examines the challenges and opportunities within the maritime supply chains of the Indo-Pacific, emphasizing the importance of seafarers' safety and well-being.

Her multifaceted career bridges the fields of maritime policy and healthcare management, reflecting her diverse expertise and commitment to both global maritime issues and local community health services.

Sofia Margaret Robles is Mary Ann and Garret's only child in addition to their fur babies Bear (12) and Luna (5), (and Kiesha, that sadly the family misses so much). Sofia regularly re-supplies Dr Garret's dental toy chest for visiting kids. Outside of dentistry, Sofia loves her classes at Glen Buchanan's swim school and TAPA.  She has started pre-prep at Townsville Grammar this year and proud of her daily stars for making "green choices". Sofia will likely pursue a university degree, business or arts career of her choosing - but lots of play for now.