Emma has been passionate about dentistry for people with special needs and who are medically compromised for the past 18 years. She gained her fellowship in the Special Stream of Special Needs Dentistry through the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons in 2005. She is registered as a Special Needs Dentist with the Dental Board of Australia. Emma is the immediate past Vice President of the Australian Society for Special Care in Dentistry from 2005-2011. Prior to that Emma was the Secretary/Treasurer. She was one of the Australian representatives to the International Association of Disability and Oral Health from 2005-11. Emma is a member of the Australian Dental Association and the Australian and New Zealand Academy of Special Needs Dentists.

Emma provides treatment for adults with special needs in private practice. She has also had a substantial career in the public sector in major hospitals since 1995, at Westmead Centre for Oral Health where she was clinic co-ordinator of Special Care Dentistry from 2001-2012-which is a state-wide referral centre, now she is a staff specialist at the Sydney Dental Hospital.

Emma has co-ordinated the largest restorative general anaesthetic waiting list for adults with special needs in NSW from 2000-11, liasing with anaesthetists and other medical specialists. She was privileged to be part of the only Oral Motor Function Therapy (saliva control and feeding issues for children) and Rett syndrome multi-disciplinary management teams in NSW, from 2000 to 2007. Emma''s practice encompasses people with neuro-degenerative disorders, dementia and Parkinson's disease. She is an honorary clinical lecturer in the Faculty of Dentistry, Sydney University and is required to lecture students and dentists in special needs as part of her public hospital practice. She also assisted with the Masters program in Special Needs Dentistry through The University of Sydney.

Emma is the principle author of a prospective study using pre-set criteria, published in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of Disability and Oral Health. This study investigated the effect of experience in dental treatment planning for 150 special needs patients having a general anaesthetic or intravenous sedation. She won best clinical research paper (for a person under 36) about the pilot study on treatment planning for people with special needs, at the 2002 International Association of Disability and Oral Health biennial congress. Emma co-authored a chapter on Special Needs Dentistry in the Manual of Dental Assisting 2007 edition.

Emma has accreditation for theatre use in Crows Nest Day Surgery, Prince of Wales Private Hospital, St George Private Hospital, and Armidale Private Hospital. Through her role at Sydney South West Local Health District Dr. Jay plans the treatment and operates at Concord and Canterbury Hospitals.