With 40 years experience in the field, Tamworth Dentist Dr Michael Jonas was elected President of the peak body for dentists in NSW and the ACT.

Dr Jonas, who currently works at Darling Dental in Tamworth and ran his own practice in Gunnedah for 30 years, said dentistry had been incredibly rewarding and he was passionate about promoting the importance of oral health across the state.

"What I want to do is mainly making people aware of the importance of oral health and how it impacts your general health."

Having worked in the regions for most of his career, Dr Jonas has played a key role in securing vital resources for rural areas and recently finished a successful campaign to introduce fluoridated water in Gunnedah.

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Despite these improvements however, he said there's still more work to be done.

"The services available to the country are different to those available in more metropolitan areas."

"That's one of the reasons I got involved in the politics of dentistry and oral health," he said.

Latest health data for the Hunter New England district showed around 12,500 patients are currently on the public dental waiting list, but Dr Jonas said reducing this list through education and government action was high on his agenda.

He also stressed the most important thing to do was the simplest.

"Good health starts with what you put in your mouth," he said.

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