Researcher biography
Dr Jessica Zachar is a Lecturer and Senior Dental Officer at the UQ Oral Health Centre. She currently teaches in the disciplines of oral surgery, general medicine and medical emergencies to both BDSc (Hons) and DMD students.
Jessica is a General Dental Practitioner who graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor of Dental Science. She has undertaken further postgraduate studies, including a Bachelor of Science (Honours), a Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Dentistry (Surgical Dentistry), and a Master of Clinical Dentistry (Oral Surgery).
Jessica is currently a PhD Candidate, with her research focusing on the therapeutic efficacy of dental analgesia using a polychromatic light-emitting diode for dental procedures.
Book
Shetty, Sowmya, Chen, Wei, Huang, Raewyn, Zhang, Wei Qi and Zachar, Jessica (2024). Communication Essentials in Dentistry. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/34632ee
Journal Articles
Zachar, Jessica Joanna, Reher, Peter, Zafar, Sobia and Walsh, Laurence J. (2025). Challenges in evaluating the analgesic effects of photobiomodulation in dentistry: a narrative review. Journal of Dentistry, 162 106077, 106077. doi: 10.1016/j.jdent.2025.106077
Seneviratne, Chaminda Jayampath, Khan, Sadaf Aiman, Zachar, Jessica, Yang, Zhihe, Kiran, Ramya and Walsh, Laurence J. (2025). Efficacy of ultrasonic cleaning products with various disinfection chemistries on dental instruments contaminated with bioburden. International Dental Journal, 75 (3), 1632-1639. doi: 10.1016/j.identj.2025.02.009
Shirky, D., Majid, H., Chin, M., Zachar, J. and Johnson, N.R. (2025). Management and recurrence of desmoplastic fibroma: a systematic review. The Australasian Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 2 (1), 44-51. doi: 10.63717/2025.ms0032
Huynh, Richard, Du, Deborah, Im, Jun Ho, Zachar, Jessica and Zafar, Sobia (2022). Identifying trends of percutaneous injuries at an Australian dental school. International Dental Journal, 72 (3), 308-314. doi: 10.1016/j.identj.2021.05.001
Tian, Juliana, Lim, Jonathan Jun Jie, Moh, Francis Kim Cai, Siddiqi, Allauddin, Zachar, Jessica and Zafar, Sobia (2022). Parental and training coaches' knowledge and attitude towards dental trauma management of children. Australian Dental Journal, 67 (S1), S31-S40. doi: 10.1111/adj.12913
Zachar, Jessica Joanna and Reher, Peter (2022). Frequency and characteristics of medical emergencies in an Australian dental school: A retrospective study. Journal of Dental Education, 86 (5), 574-580. doi: 10.1002/jdd.12859
Zachar, Jessica Joanna and Reher, Peter (2022). Percutaneous exposure injuries among dental staff and students at a university dental clinic in Australia: A 6‐year retrospective study. European Journal of Dental Education, 26 (2), 1-8. doi: 10.1111/eje.12701
Jeon, Soyeon, Chong, Mark Jeffrey, Jin, Gwanghyun, Walsh, Laurence J., Zachar, Jessica and Zafar, Sobia (2021). A retrospective analysis of non-sharps-related injuries in a dental school. International Dental Journal, 72 (4), 1-6. doi: 10.1016/j.identj.2021.08.055
Zafar, Sobia, Siddiqi, Allauddin, Yasir, Muhammad and Zachar, Jessica (2021). Pedagogical development in local anaesthetic training in paediatric dentistry using virtual reality simulator. European Archives of Paediatric Dentistry, 22 (4), 667-674. doi: 10.1007/s40368-021-00604-7
Pradhan, Archana, Zachar, Jessica Joanna and Zafar, Sobia (2021). Oral health conditions and treatment needs of children with intellectual disabilities attending Special Olympics Australia. Journal of Dentistry for Children, 88 (1), 23-28.
Zafar, Sobia, Renner, Michael Paul and Zachar, Jessica Joanna (2020). Dental trauma simulation training using a novel 3D printed tooth model. Dental Traumatology, 36 (6) edt.12585, 641-647. doi: 10.1111/edt.12585
Huang, Boyen and Zachar, Jessica Joanna (2020). Social and behavioural determinants of areca nut consumption in adolescents. Oral Diseases, 26 (8) odi.13467, 1820-1826. doi: 10.1111/odi.13467
Yang, Li-chen, Yang, Alan, Chen, Lin Na, Firth, Norman, Prabhu, Soorebettu Ramananda and Zachar, Jessica (2020). Knowledge of oral cancer amongst dental patients attending public clinics in South East Queensland, Australia. Journal of Cancer Education, 37 (4), 924-931. doi: 10.1007/s13187-020-01901-3
Zachar, Jessica Joanna and Kanagaratnam, Rajkumar (2020). The impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic in managing dental pain: a case report on a foreign body reaction after third molar surgery. Oral Surgery, 15 (1) ors.12562, 59-63. doi: 10.1111/ors.12562
Zafar, Sobia and Zachar, Jessica (2020). Evaluation of augmented reality application for learning dental anatomy as a novel educational tool. European Journal of Dental Education, 24 (2) eje.12492, 259-265. doi: 10.1111/eje.12492
Zachar, Jessica Joanna, Huang, Boyen and Yates, Erica (2020). Awareness and knowledge of oral cancer amongst adult dental patients attending regional university clinics in New South Wales, Australia: a questionnaire‐based study. International Dental Journal, 70 (2) idj.12533, 93-99. doi: 10.1111/idj.12533
Zachar, J. J., Sadr, A., Hassan, N. M. and Akhter, R. (2015). Root canal treatment success factors in regional Australia from 2009 to 2014: a retrospective study. Australian Dental Journal, 60 (4), S25-S25. doi: 10.1111/adj.12386
Zachar, Jessica J. (2015). Should retention of a tooth be an important goal of dentistry? How do you decide whether to retain and restore a tooth requiring endodontic treatment or to extract and if possible replace the tooth?. Australian Endodontic Journal, 41 (1), 2-6. doi: 10.1111/aej.12102
Conference Papers
Zachar, Jessica, Huang, Boyen and Yates, Erica (2019). Awareness and knowledge of oral cancer amongst adult dental patients. In: Junior Category-IADR Unilever Hatton Competition. 2019 IADR/AADR/CADR General Session, Vancouver, BC, Canada, (). 19-22 June 2019.
Zachar, Jessica, Huang, Boyen and Yates, Erica (2018). Awareness and knowledge of oral cancer amongst adult dental patients. In: Junior Category - Colgate Poster Competition. IADR ANZ Division 58th Annual Scientific Meeting, Perth, WA Australia, (). 22-25th September 2018.