Dr Buuloc Lam OAM
Dr Buuloc (Loc) Lam OAM arrived in Australia in 1978 as a refugee from Vietnam.
She was just 16 and could not speak English, and says she “put [her] head down and worked hard” to do the very best with the opportunities she had.
In September, Dr Lam was invested with her Medal of the Order of Australia for service to dentistry, and to humanitarian dental care at Government House in Canberra, in a moment that made her reflect on the home she has made in Australia.
“Coming to Government House, I feel like I’m home. It reinforces that this is home, being recognised in this way by my people,” she says.
Dr Lam was a committee member at Children’s Health Aid Team, providing medical and dental services to disadvantaged children and their carers at orphanages, temples and schools in remote Vietnam. She led several volunteer dental teams to Vietnam.
She is active as a pro-bono dentist in Ghandruk, Nepal working with the Sanjiwani Australia charity. In addition, from her Braddon practice, Dr Lam provides discounted or free dental care for clients of the Karinya House for Mothers and Babies charity.
She has previously provided dental care for clients of the Salvation Army, and is currently the owner and principal dentist at Braddon Dental Surgery in Canberra.
Dr Lam says she is motivated when she discovers someone who needs the help she can provide.
“There are so many kids that nobody looks after them. And we see mothers, or orphanages and people who are orphans because of things like war,” she says.
“I don’t do anything too technical, it’s just the usual things that I do. I go in and do it and I make someone happy, and I take someone out of pain and out of misery.
“That’s what makes me go on and on, I think I’m addicted to it.”
She says there are a collection of people she would like to thank.
“When I first arrived in Australia, I failed English miserably. But without my teachers, who would come to work every morning at 7:30 to teach me … I wouldn’t be here,” she says.
“Thank you to my family who respect and support what I am doing … my children, instead of going on exotic holidays, will come and work with mum, and my husband tirelessly organises things for me.
“I thank my patients for being patient with me ... I am away from my practice often, and they are part of my family. Without my people, this wouldn’t have happened.”