Garth Pettit

Garth Pettit's life as a private dental practictioner began in Port Lincoln in 1954, continued in various locations in England from 1958 to 1980 until he returned to Australia in 1980. The final 10 years were in Alice Springs, Northern Territory until he retired from private practice in 1992.

But the thoughts of dentistry did not retire with Dr. Pettit. He wanted to write vastly improved oral healthcare education resources than those that were available. He wanted to give, especially children, a much better opportunity, not only to prevent easily preventable oral diseases but to become self-motivated to prevent those diseases. With this in mind he searched for a Government dental service position where he would be working with children, schools, teachers and adults. Researching for those resources found him back in The Northern Territory where, in his research, he discovered that the hygiene instruction "Brush Your Teeth" was a cause of oral diseases.