Dr Hajer Derbi

Dr Hajer Derbi joined the Special Needs Dental Team in 2017 and sees patients at our Blackburn clinic. Before moving to Australia, Hajer worked for 6 years as in public and private dentistry. She finished her Masters degree at the University of Western Australia where her research focused on oral cancer, and attained her speciality degree in Special Needs Dentistry at the University of Melbourne.

Hajer is passionate about furthering knowledge in SND through teaching and research. She is the Convenor of postgraduate training in Special Needs Dentistry at the University of Melbourne. She is a recipient of the Special Care Dentistry Association Fellowship and the Venus International Healthcare Awards Young Researcher in Special Needs Dentistry Award 2020. Her research has been presented at international conferences and published in national and international peer-reviewed journals. 

Her areas of interest are broad and include the oral health of patients with intellectual and physical disabilities, oral health service development, oral health promotion for special needs patients, epidemiology, teaching, dental oncology, osteoradionecrosis and medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws.

Hajer is a member of the Australian Dental Association, the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Special Needs Dentistry (ANZASND) and the Disability and Oral Health Collaboration (DOHC).

She enjoys spending free time with her children.