Dr Nicola Gore FCGDent, Vice President of the College, practice owner, clinical educator and author of Dentistry in a Nutshell, delivered a College lecture at the 2026 Dentistry Show London, sharing advice to early career colleagues about the skills needed for a career in restorative dentistry.
A career is more than a clinical procedure
What makes a restorative dentist successful? After years in practice, teaching and mentoring, I believe it is never just the quality of a restoration. It is also how we listen, explain, plan, work with colleagues and recognise when we need help.
I trained at Guy’s and St Thomas’, and my career has taken me through clinical practice, practice ownership, education and mentoring. Those different roles have taught me that there is no single route to a fulfilling career. My message to younger colleagues is simple: career progression is a journey, not a race.
Start with the person, not the procedure
A technically excellent crown can still leave a patient disappointed if we have not understood their expectations. Before discussing treatment, I try to understand what matters to the person in front of me: their concerns, previous experiences, priorities and fears. Explain the options in language they understand, including limitations, benefits, risks and fees. Listening is as important as talking.
For example, a patient may arrive asking for eight veneers. Our responsibility is not simply to deliver what has been requested, but to consider whether a more conservative approach could better serve that patient. Managing expectations, discussing alternatives and reaching a shared decision are all clinical responsibilities as much as communication skills.
And when something goes wrong or a complaint arises, respond calmly. Listen, acknowledge the concern, apologise where appropriate, investigate and, crucially, follow up. The way we handle difficulties often shapes trust more than the procedure itself.
The non-clinical skills that make a difference
I deliberately focus on non-clinical skills first because they underpin everything else. Leadership does not have to mean running a practice. It can mean respecting your nurse, communicating clearly with your technician, valuing the contribution of dental therapists and knowing when a specialist referral is appropriate. We achieve better care when we work as a team.
Professional judgement matters just as much. Obtain and document valid consent; record your findings, differential diagnoses, options and discussions; recognise your limits; and put patient welfare before the desire to attempt a complex case. There is strength, not weakness, in seeking advice.
Reflection is another habit worth developing early. When an outcome differs from what you expected, ask why. Keep a portfolio, choose targeted CPD to address gaps, and learn from audits and feedback. Understanding practice costs, overheads and the time needed for treatment also helps you make sustainable, realistic decisions.
Finally, protect your wellbeing. Ask colleagues or mentors for support early, set boundaries and make time for life outside dentistry. A rewarding career needs to be sustainable.
Build strong clinical foundations
Restorative dentistry starts before the bur. The sequence I emphasise is diagnosis, treatment planning, delivery and review. Sound assessment and careful decisions come before the choice of material or technique.
Master the fundamentals: local anaesthesia, isolation, treatment planning, scheduling, clear discussions about fees and patient engagement. Aim to make simple treatment safe and predictable before taking on increasing complexity. As you gain experience, move from thinking about an individual tooth to considering the whole patient and the wider restorative picture.
Invest thoughtfully in the instruments and materials that suit your work, whether that means reliable isolation equipment, loupes or dental photography. Equipment is valuable when it supports sound judgement and reproducible care; it cannot replace either.
Choose a pathway that suits you
One of the most reassuring points I’d like to make is that you do not have to follow somebody else’s career plan. The CGDent Career Pathways provide a useful framework for the whole dental team, with five stages: Safe Practitioner, Capable Practitioner, Experienced Practitioner, Enhanced Practitioner and Accomplished Practitioner. These are a framework for development, not a rigid or compulsory ladder.
For dentists interested in restorative dentistry, there are opportunities to grow within general practice through mentorship, observation, focused courses and postgraduate study such as a PGCert, PGDip, MSc or MClinDent. Others may explore dental core training and formal specialist training. These are different routes, with distinct requirements: a postgraduate degree or enhanced skills in general practice does not, by itself, confer specialist status.
Whichever route interests you, speak to people already doing the work, find a mentor and look for learning you can apply in practice. The College’s pathways and early-career resources are good places to explore your next steps.
The key take aways
If you only take away a few things after reading this blog, let them be these:
Develop clinical and non-clinical skills together.
Choose courses that teach something you can put into practice the next day.
Seek a mentor or supportive peer; you do not have to build your career alone.
Invest thoughtfully in equipment, materials and your own development.
This thought captures how I see professional growth: “Don’t measure your development by the number of crowns or veneers you have completed. Measure it by the quality of your decisions, the outcomes for your patients and your ability to recognise when you need help.”
Be ambitious, but give yourself time to develop. Invest in your skills, your people and your purpose. That is how we build careers we can be proud of.
Dr Kyriakos Pelekanos AssocFCGDent, general dental practitioner and clinical teacher, reflects on joining the first cohort of applicants on the Certified Practitioner in Endodontics scheme.
The landscape of primary care endodontics
For many years, primary dental care in the United Kingdom has contended with a hierarchical ambiguity in the provision of endodontic treatment. Primary care endodontics routinely sits at Tier 1, reflecting core competencies established during undergraduate education as well as postgraduate courses. At the opposite end of the spectrum, registered endodontist specialists on the General Dental Council specialist register deliver care at Tier 3, managing severe anatomical anomalies and microsurgical intervention. Between these levels lies a substantial proportion of complex endodontic care, which primary care clinicians deliver on a daily basis within general dental practice.
Historically, clinicians seeking to manage these moderate-advanced cases undertook extensive postgraduate study, completing certificates, diplomas, master’s degrees, or clinical masterclasses. The resulting designations, such as Dentist with a Special Interest or Dentist with Enhanced Skills, were largely self-proclaimed. Without a unified national benchmark or external governance structure, this informal system created inherent ambiguity for referring colleagues who could not independently assess the scope of an individual clinician’s training, as well as for patients who had no centralised directory to confirm verified expertise.
National benchmarks
The introduction of the Certified Practitioner in Endodontics scheme by the College of General Dentistry, addresses this dilemma directly. Having completed an MSc in Endodontics and encountered advanced clinical scenarios daily, I elected to join the inaugural cohort to benchmark my routine clinical outcomes against formal national criteria.
Academic qualifications demonstrate theoretical understanding and research proficiency, yet they do not evaluate the level of clinical complexity delivered within the constraints of routine practice. The Certified Practitioner scheme aligns with NHS commissioning guidelines for Tier 2 services and carries the endorsement of the British Endodontic Society. This alignment provides external assurance that primary care dentists can deliver complex treatment within an audited quality framework.
The assessment process
The process itself prioritises deep case-reflection over administrative compliance. Compiling a comprehensive logbook of 25 recent cases and constructing an in-depth portfolio of eight cases for defence before an expert panel ensures that assessment reflects contemporary practice delivered over the preceding three years. It is an authentic peer review of clinical decision making, isolation protocols, instrumentation, and obturation.
Practice growth and public trust
The practical implications of this accreditation for general practice and primary care networks are notable. Entry onto the College’s searchable Member Register provides direct transparency for the public, offering patients a reputable confirmation of clinical proficiency of endodontic clinicians in their local area.
For referring practitioners, it establishes measurable clinical reassurance that complex cases are managed to evaluated Tier 2 standards. This validated standing strengthens local referral pathways while supporting practices that wish to retain complex endodontic treatment within the existing clinical team.
Clinical credibility in dental education
Alongside my clinical commitments, I am currently in the second year of a Master’s degree in Dental Education at the University of Cambridge. I also teach undergraduate BDS students as a clinical teacher at King’s College London and deliver training for Direct Restorative Excellence composite courses.
Teaching across academic faculties and private postgraduate environments requires verifiable, contemporary proof of clinical excellence. Independent credentialing by the College of General Dentistry provides institutions, programme leads, and students with definitive evidence of assessed clinical competence.
The Certified Practitioner in Endodontics scheme formally validates the reality of modern primary care dentistry. By establishing an audited standard for Tier 2 endodontics, the College of General Dentistry has bridged an essential clinical gap, giving primary care clinicians the formal recognition their everyday practice merits.
The Certified Practitioner in Endodontics scheme is currently open for applications. The scheme will soon be extended to include Implant Dentistry and Oral Surgery, as well as other fields of practice, and we are working to develop Certified Practitioner schemes of enhanced skills for all roles in the oral healthcare team.
Dr Roshni Karia MCGDent, President of the College of General Dentistry, describes the four pillars of its new philosophy of care, an approach it encourages all oral healthcare professionals to adopt in the interests of patients.
When I first took office as President of the College of General Dentistry, the College Council worked hard to focus our priorities. We carefully crafted our mission and vision for dentistry, which set out our values and anchored our initiatives in professional morality, institutional integrity and the public interest. This ethical foundation speaks directly to our ongoing aspirations for a Royal Charter for our profession.
To help guide the evolution of contemporary oral health care, the College has now established a four-pillar philosophy of care – a living blueprint which serves as a professional compass for our entire oral healthcare community:
1. Holistic care
Oral health is inextricably linked to general health, and we are developing an Oral Health for Healthcare curriculum for the wider health and social care workforce. This initiative, in which we are working with the Chief Dental Officer for England and supported by Colgate, will create an ecosystem of resources which finally recognises oral health as a central tenet of systemic health and wellbeing.
By adding an oral health dimension to their practice, healthcare colleagues beyond dentistry will be equipped to raise awareness of oral-systemic connections. Actionable prompts and accessible resources will empower patients and streamline communication throughout health and social care. Importantly, it will aim to synchronise the care patients receive between general and oral healthcare systems.
We are already collaborating with stakeholders in many relevant sectors:
pharmacy and retail
general nursing and general medical practice
dietetics and diabetes care
cardiology, bone health and oncology
health visiting, early years, and care homes
undergraduate medical education
This means the resources will be directly applicable to those involved in:
early years and maternity care
care of adults and chronic disease management
elderly and dementia care
disabilities and complex care needs
To ensure widespread clinical utility, we have collated early insights and hosted a workshop designed to understand the real-life challenge that our frontline colleagues face. We have now started to work through potential solutions to navigate these hurdles, as we progress to engineer simple, realistic and pragmatic resources. This initiative will position the College as the leading authority in oral health among our health and social care colleagues.
2. Assured care
Through our formalised career pathways, credentialling schemes and portfolio of guidelines, the College promotes higher standards of care to assure clinical quality and patient safety. Our Faculty Deans have worked hard to develop progressive career pathways, underpinned by our Professional Framework, to provide a more structured and supported career trajectory for all those working in dental primary care.
To take but one example, our Certified Practitioner programme will help to validate the higher skill levels individuals have achieved, and the greater knowledge and further experience they have gained, in specific disciplines. Planned to extend to all members of the oral healthcare team, this will support colleagues in more strategic decisions about their career choices as well as help patients to make informed decisions about the care they receive.
Fellowship, the most distinguished membership of the College, focuses on how members of the whole team have developed their practice for the benefit of both patients and the wider profession. Whether it be through clinical expertise, teaching, research, leadership or in the legal/ethical field, Fellows help the College serve as a catalyst for a shared community of practice. This ensures we can support one another in realising our professional aspirations and reinforce our sense of belonging, while serving patients at our very best.
To ensure greater confidence among practitioners in navigating postgraduate and post qualification education, the College is launching a Training Provider Forum. This group will allow post-qualification education providers to help shape the College’s developing role in quality assurance, guide early-career practitioners, and support our credentialling schemes. Furthermore, our Academic Court will recognise those whose intellectual contributions are central to the delivery of the College’s mission, bringing them together to ensure the College’s continued authority in promoting high standards in education and practice.
Together, these initiatives empower the workforce, advance the profession and support the public and patients to achieve and maintain good oral health.
3. Responsive and proactive care
We aim to drive a major shift from reactive treatment to patient-centred prevention, early detection and tooth preservation, and have convened an international expert consensus group to review the evidence and create a pragmatic framework around initial caries management for the whole oral healthcare team.
Supported by vVardis, this work is led by Professor Avijit Banerjee FCGDent, Dean of the CGDent Faculty of Dentists, who has set out the details of this pivotal aspect of our philosophy of care in the latest issue of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ). It is intended that this paper will form the basis for upcoming, evidence-based recommendations on the management of early caries in general dental practice.
4. Ethical and Professional Care
The College actively promotes a moral and ethical framework for treatment choices. This includes the importance of beneficence and the decided focus on diagnosis, while carefully weighing the nuanced detail and salient facts that inform our management options.
Some of you will have heard the inaugural College Lecture, Satisficing standards in dentistry: Who decides? Who benefits?, which was delivered by Mr Martin Kelleher FCGDent in June 2025; these questions will also be discussed in the next issue of the PDJ. Building upon the same themes, Dr Catherine Rutland FCGDent will be delivering the 2026 College Lecture, The Ethical Shield: Protecting enamel, professional integrity and patient smiles, on Thursday 12 November in London; this is open to all dental professionals, and others with professional interests in contemporary dental practice, and I encourage readers to attend if you can.
Our upcoming articles and frameworks will guide the profession’s philosophy of care – proving that true sustainability in dentistry starts with preserving enamel.
Writing the future of dentistry
Through these four pillars, we aim to write the future of dental care for the UK and beyond. We are setting a bold direction built upon the firm foundations we proudly inherited from the former Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP).
As we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the College, I encourage you to be a part of this journey, where our ambitions speak confidently toward a future Royal College – as our Honorary Founding President, Professor Sir Nairn Wilson CBE, has previously said, “a College that befits excellence in the care of patients with dedicated support for the profession.”
I urge all those delivering oral healthcare to adopt this philosophy of care for the benefit of patients everywhere, and to get behind your future Royal College so that it can stand tall on behalf of all the dental professions. Working together, let these be our greatest achievements.
This article was first published in the recent ‘Dental education’ issue of the Primary Dental Journal, further information on which is available via the button below.
‘Initial dental caries management: a College of General Dentistry (CGDent) philosophy of care statement’, by Professor Avijit Banerjee, is in the same issue. This paper is currently restricted to College members and PDJ subscribers, however it is intended that it will be made available to the whole profession in due course.
Thomas Jack Bereznicki FCGDent, Chair of Trustees of the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Education Foundation and a Founder of the College of General Dentistry, has died aged 74.
Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent, 1952-2026
Born in London in 1952 to Polish parents who had arrived in the UK after the Second World War, Tom and his family moved to Glasgow when his father took on a new position, and he was educated at Hutchesons’ Boys’ Grammar School.
In 1970, Tom began studying for a BDS at the University of Edinburgh, and in 1975 he married fellow student Cathy More. After graduating in social science, Cathy became an early leader in career guidance for young people, later becoming the first Chief Executive of the Institute of Careers Guidance and later Chief Executive of The Guidance Council.
After graduating himself in 1976, Tom headed to London and worked as a house surgeon, first at Guy’s and then the Royal Dental Hospital, where he passed the Primary FDS Examination, before entering general dental practice in 1978. After four years as an associate dentist in primary care, he was eager to branch out and in 1982 he opened his own single-handed, private ‘squat’ practice in Queensgate, London.
Over the next 29 years, he developed a special interest in restorative dentistry, occlusion in particular, and built up a loyal list of patients, who appreciated his friendly demeanour as well as his clinical skill. In 2011, he sold his practice and moved, together with many of his patients, to the Dawood & Tanner Dental Practice in Wimpole Street.
Selling up also gave Tom the opportunity to explore other avenues, and in 2013 he was appointed a Visiting Clinical Specialist Teacher at King’s College London Dental Institute, working one day a week in the Department of Primary Dental Care at King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill.
Alongside their highly successful careers, Tom and Cathy enjoyed travelling the world together and exploring different cultures and cuisines. They were soulmates for over 40 years until her death in 2016, a turn of events which took Tom some time to come to terms with.
At King’s, Tom was a firm favourite with the undergraduate students. ‘Dr Tom’, as the students fondly referred to him, was appointed as Extra-curricular Education Co-ordination Officer for the dental students’ society in 2017, and the following year was given a Teaching Excellence Award and also elected Staff President of the dental students’ society – for the first of an unprecedented three times. During his time at King’s, he was also appointed Co-President of the Aesthetic Dental Students Society, where he helped organise hands-on courses; taught on the MSc in Aesthetic Dentistry; was chosen for a King’s Education Award; and served for four years as a member of the Dental Alumni Association Council.
Beyond King’s, Tom taught on postgraduate courses as a senior specialist teacher for the Academy of Dental Excellence, and in 2021 became a partner associate lecturer for the University of Portsmouth’s Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Aesthetic and Restorative Dentistry. He also lectured nationally and internationally on occlusion, emergence profile and other aspects of restorative dentistry, and published highly practical articles in the Primary Dental Journal, British Dental Journal and Dental Update.
For a number of years Tom was involved with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, of which he was a longstanding member, and from 2017-21 he served on its Advisory Board in Primary Dental Care. From 2017-22 he was a member of the steering group for its Faculty of Dental Trainers, becoming a member of the newly-established faculty himself in 2018, and in 2024 he was awarded a prestigious Fellowship in Dental Surgery ad hominem.
Having joined the former Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP) in 2018, he became a Founder Member of the College of General Dentistry, which was at the time in development to become the FGDP’s independent successor, the same year. He was enrolled as one of the first Fellows of the College in 2022, and later became a major benefactor and legator.
In 2023, he established the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Education Foundation in order to help early career professionals reach their maximum clinical potential. The Foundation soon became the primary focus of his energies, and it will be one of his lasting legacies. Working in partnership with the College of General Dentistry over the last three years, the Foundation has developed a number of educational opportunities for recent graduates across the dental team, including the Award for Foundation Trainees and Award for Tooth Wear Cases (with support from GC), the Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry Award (with Dentsply Sirona) and the Introduction to Occlusion symposia, with the Tom Bereznicki Award for Periodontal Management due to launch later in 2026. The Foundation also supports young practitioners through the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
Earlier this year, Tom was inducted as a Fellow of the International College of Dentists in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the profession over many years.
Tom passed away peacefully at home on Friday 16 October 2026. He will be remembered as a most generous, highly committed member of the dental profession who dedicated himself in his later years to putting back into dentistry as much as it gave him. He will also be remembered as an immensely affable colleague who lived life to the full, with a passion for good food and wine, sports, travel and the company of friends and like-minded peers.
The College of General Dentistry and the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Education Foundation wish to thank Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent for his help in compiling this tribute.
Our range of awards and symposia for early career practitioners are organised by the College and the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation.
The symposium first took place in London in 2025 and then in Edinburgh later that year. This year, the symposium will take place in Manchester on Saturday 24 October 2026. Led by renowned speakers, the programme aims to demystify the core principles of occlusion and reveal how they support successful, long-term restorations.
Now in it’s fourth year, the CGDent-GC Award offers fully funded training in composite layering in Belgium to dentists and dental therapists undertaking foundation training in the UK or Ireland. The prize includes the costs of hotel accommodation and travel. The 2027 award is open for entries until Monday 22 February 2027.
This clinical skills competition is open to dentists who have been qualified between two and five years. Successful candidates each receive a fully funded place on GC’s composite injection moulding technique course, including hotel, travel and subsistence. The inaugural cohort of successful candidates will be announced in November.
Open to dentists who have been qualified between two and five years, this award offers fully funded training in digital dentistry, including a two-night stay in a hotel, travel costs and subsistence. Successful candidates in the 2026 award will be announced in December.
Tom Bereznicki Award for Periodontal Management
This award will be open to dental therapists and dental hygienists who have been qualified for two to five years. Successful entrants will receive fully funded training with high-quality training providers. The inaugural award will open for entries soon.
For all our educational opportunities for early career oralhealth professionals, visit our early careers page
The College has added the College of Dental Surgeons of Hong Kong and the Academy of Medicine, Singapore, to the list of organisations whose fellows automatically qualify for Fellowship of CGDent by equivalence.
Founded in 1993, the College of Dental Surgeons of Hong Kong is one of 15 constituent colleges of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine. Its Fellowships in eight dental disciplines (Community Dentistry, Endodontics, Family Dentistry, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics, Paediatric Dentistry, Periodontology and Prosthodontics) are usually required in order to register as a specialist with the Dental Council of Hong Kong.
The Academy of Medicine, Singapore, established a College of Dental Surgeons in 2008. Its examinations in Endodontics, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics, Paediatric Dentistry, Periodontics, Prosthodontics and Public Health Dentistry are required for specialist registration with the Singapore Dental Council and enable admittance into Fellowship of the Academy.
Other organisations whose Fellowships are automatically recognised by the College are the:
Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow
Faculty of Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons
Royal College of Dentists of Canada
College of Dentistry of South Africa
American Board of General Dentistry (Board Certification)
former Faculty of General Dental Practice of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
The awards of other globally renowned institutions are due to be considered soon, with additional qualifications expected to be deemed at least equivalent to College Fellowship in due course.
Fellowship of the College, which is denoted by the post-nominal letters ‘FCGDent’, reflects accomplishment in dentistry. It is the most distinguished membership of the College; a mark of excellence and significant commitment to the science, art and practice in oral health. It indicates a dental professional’s commitment to development and reflective practice, diligence in upholding the highest standards of clinical care, and distinction across clinical and professional domains.
In addition to the equivalence route above, Fellowship of CGDent can be achieved through fulfilling the criteria of any three of the College’s five fellowship domains – Clinical & Technical; Teaching & Assessment; Leadership, Management & Clinical Governance; Research & Publications; and Law & Ethics.
Fellowships in Dental Nursing (FDN (CGDent)), Orthodontic Therapy (FOT (CGDent)), Dental Hygiene (FDH (CGDent)), Dental Therapy (FDTher (CGDent)), Dental Technology (FDTech (CGDent)) and Clinical Dental Technology (FCDT (CGDent)) are also available to members of the dental team with the required knowledge, skills and experience in any two domains.
Full details of the College’s Fellowship requirements are available via the button below:
Dr Stuart Ellis FCGDent, Director of the Postgraduate Certificate in Dental Education at the University of Cambridge and Guest Editor of the new issue of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ) dedicated to dental education, reflects on the meaning of competence in dentistry.
Competence. It is worth pausing for a moment and reflecting on what we mean by this word, which at first glance may seem obvious. Competence is the central concept that dental education has been revolving around since dentistry first became a profession. Competence has become, as Lingard pointed out, a “god term”.1 It has evolved into a word that sits superior to all other expressions of ability. As a “god term” it is often used as the final word in debates on how dental professionals should function. It is a term with such high moral power that it is inherently accepted, without question, as a self-defining trump card. The new edition of Primary Dental Journal (PDJ) explores deeper thinking about competence by addressing questions such as, what is it, how do we know we have it, how do we hold on to it and what can we do if we lose it?
At undergraduate and postgraduate levels, we pass examinations to show that we are competent. We aim to demonstrate that we can be trusted to treat patients safely. Since Biggs’ model of constructive alignment highlighted the need to ensure that assessments measure what they should measure, healthcare educationalists have been striving for better ways to assess the competence of professionals.2 It became clear that a dentist who could write a competent essay in an examination was not necessarily demonstrating the ability to be a competent dentist. The paper in the new issue of PDJ by Thomas O’Connor explores the increasing use of Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) as an assessment tool in dentistry. The utilisation of EPAs as a form of workplace assessment was first proposed by ten Cate as a means to bridge the gap between theory and “real world” clinical practice; a tool to enable a person to demonstrate what they can do, rather than just what they know.3
The conventional understanding of competence, as a predetermined stage of ability to be reached by an individual, has its limitations. After gaining a dental degree, a postgraduate certificate or a postgraduate diploma the expectation is that the dental professional has reached a general level of competency in a specified field of learning. This simplistic conceptualisation of competence fails to account for the complexities of human performance. An individual may be competent one day, and incompetent the next. Human behaviour is multifaceted and sinuous. Numerous emotional factors can exert a significant influence on the actions of professionals. Particularly prevalent in surgical fields, such as dentistry, ideas of competency are situated within a narrow and highly technical orientation. We tend to look at communication skills, diagnostic skills and operative skills without consideration of the wider context that dental professionals work in. The airline industry realised long ago the effect that human factors could have on the situational awareness, communication and decision-making abilities of air crew, leading to the introduction of training programmes in non-technical skills for pilots.4 The paper by Christopher Fowell describes the introduction of non-technical skills training for surgeons and explores how improved training in this field could help to improve patient safety in dentistry.
“Patient safety” has become another “god term” with such enormous rhetorical power that it deserves a closer look. Again, it is the airline industry who led the way when realising that passenger safety was best served through an open culture of transparency, where professionals are encouraged to report near misses and honest mistakes, so that the entire industry could learn from them. This was facilitated through the development of a “Just Culture”, where the focus of the system is on understanding why honest mistakes happen rather than punishing those who make them. Pilots are encouraged to admit errors without fear of unfair punishment, within an open system of learning that is overseen by a Just Culture Champion appointed by the Civil Aviation Authority.5 Shamir Mehta’s paper on Early Remediation explores ways in which the General Dental Council are working towards a more open culture of learning in dentistry through changes to the Fitness to Practice (FtP) procedures. Accepting that otherwise competent dental professionals can, for a variety of reasons, lose their competency, Early Remediation aims to support dental professionals in difficulty during the early stages of the FtP process. My own paper on mentoring in dentistry explores how this underutilised resource, which is awarded a high degree of importance by many other professions, can help all of us whether we are a practitioner in difficulty or just a professional seeking supported career development.
The other two papers that I have contributed to the issue delve into what we mean by competency and how we can show patients and colleagues that we have achieved a certain level of knowledge and skill. The research study that I conducted with my University of Cambridge colleague, Rachel Williams, explored the opinions of learners who took a practical skills assessment in implant dentistry, with no time limits for the assessed tasks. The responses showed that, in our fast-moving modern world, competency is often equated with speed. Faster operators are viewed as better operators, faster thinkers as smarter people. It is interesting to see how this concept has changed over time. Many of the greatest thinkers in human history, from Socrates to Descartes, were valued for the depth of their thinking rather than the speed of their thinking. These great minds were known for the extensive amount of time they spent contemplating wisdom, not the speed that they produced it. Perhaps our modern perspective has been moulded by the consumerisation of society, under contemporary ideas that time is money and money equals happiness.
I hope that my third article in the Dental Education issue will help colleagues to navigate the plethora of postgraduate qualifications and awards in dentistry. I aim to persuade the reader that postgraduate qualifications and awards should be viewed as tools rather than trophies and that the most effective training course is the one that strengthens professional judgement, improves patient care and supports a coherent career direction.
This article was first published in the recent ‘Dental education’ issue of the Primary Dental Journal, which is now available online via the button below. Printed copies should arrive with College members by the end of October.
The Primary Dental Journal is the College’s quarterly peer-reviewed journal dedicated to general dental practice. The titles and abstracts of PDJ papers are available to all dental professionals via the searchable PDJ homepage, with full paper access available to College members through the PDJ Library.
References
Lingard L. What we see and don’t see when we look at ‘competence’: notes on a god term. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2009;14(5):625-628. Available at pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19856124/
ten Cate TJO, Snell L, Carraccio C. Medical competence: the interplay between individual ability and the health care environment. Med Teach. 2010;32(8):669-675. Available at pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20662579/
The latest issue of the Primary Dental Journal, exploring dental education, is now available online.
The issue has been produced in collaboration with Dental Education at University of Cambridge Professional and Continuing Education (PACE). Established in 1873 and previously known as the University of Cambridge Institute of Continuing Education, PACE is the world’s oldest university department specialising in continuing education.
The new issue includes a range of topics that span the teaching and learning journey, such as aligning undergraduate learning with primary dental care, navigating postgraduate qualifications, considering types of assessment, and mentoring and credentialling in dentistry.
It also includes the second in a series of articles charting the history of the College, an introduction to its new Philosophy of Care, and its Philosophy of Care Statement on Initial Caries Management.
It is the first of the journal’s 54 issues to date to explore education as a theme, and is the first of what the College intends will be many collaborations between the Primary Dental Journal and expert organisations in fields relevant to general dentistry.
The Guest Editor for the issue is Stuart Ellis FCGDent, Director of the Postgraduate Certificate in Dental Education and Assistant Teaching Professor in Dental Education at the University of Cambridge. Principal of a five-surgery general dental practice in Cambridge for over thirty years, he is also Director of the Cambridge Academy of Dental Implantology and Clinical Lead for both the MSc in Advanced Dental Implantology and the MSc in General Dental Practice at Aston University. He holds a Diploma and a Master’s in Postgraduate Dental Studies from the University of Bristol, a Master’s in Medical Law & Ethics from the University of Edinburgh and both a Postgraduate Diploma and Master’s in Medical Education from the University of Cambridge.
A full list of contents can be found below.
Full online access to most articles in this and previous issues is reserved for College members and Primary Dental Journal subscribers, who can expect their printed copies to arrive shortly. New joiners wishing to receive a copy of this issue can let us know by emailing [email protected]
For non-members / non-subscribers, five peer-reviewed papers and a number of other articles in the Dental education issue have been made available online free of charge, with all other articles available by becoming a member or by purchasing them individually via the links below.
An annual print subscription to the PDJ is included with membership of the College, which also includes online access to over 1,500 current and past articles in the PDJ Library and a range of other benefits.
On behalf of the College, the PDJ editorial team would like to express its gratitude to the Guest Editor and to all the authors and peer reviewers who have contributed to this issue.
Professor Igor Blum, Editor of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ), explores the challenges facing educators in preparing dental professionals for emerging technologies and the evolving needs of patients and healthcare services
Dental education in the UK stands at a critical inflection point. Rapid advances in digital technology, changing patient expectations, evolving regulatory frameworks, and increasing pressures on the NHS workforce are reshaping the knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours expected of dental professionals. Although the fundamental goals of dental education remain unchanged – to develop safe, competent and ethical practitioners – the means by which this is achieved are undergoing considerable transformation. Across undergraduate and postgraduate education, the question is no longer whether change is necessary, but how best to prepare current and future members of the dental team for an increasingly complex, technologically enabled and dynamic healthcare environment.
This challenge is explicitly recognised in the General Dental Council’s Safe Practitioner framework.1 The framework reflects a broader conception of professional competence, extending beyond clinical knowledge and technical proficiency to encompass professionalism, communication, cultural awareness, wellbeing, sustainability, reflective practice and the ability to work safely within one’s scope of practice.1,2 In doing so, it signals an expectation that dental education should not merely equip students to meet current standards, but should also develop the adaptability, judgement and commitment to lifelong learning required to respond to the evolving needs of patients, healthcare services and society.
The articles in the upcoming themed issue of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ), guest edited by Dr Stuart Ellis FCGDent, offer a timely illustration of these developments. Collectively, they demonstrate how dental education is evolving beyond a traditional focus on technical proficiency towards a more holistic model of professional formation. Articles addressing the alignment of undergraduate dental education with primary care, remediation, mentoring, workplace-based assessment, non-technical skills, credentialing and postgraduate career development reflect a growing recognition that excellence in dentistry depends on far more than procedural competence alone. It also requires professional discernment, effective communication, professionalism, adaptability and a sustained commitment to continuous learning and development.
An article on aligning undergraduate dental education with contemporary primary dental care develops one of the central propositions of the issue: dental primary care should not be regarded merely as the destination to which graduates are delivered, but as a partner in determining what and how they are taught. It argues for stronger primary care representation in curriculum design, authentic and well-supported outreach education, closer feedback between dental schools and the regional dental deaneries responsible for foundation training, and the teaching of digital dentistry and artificial intelligence (AI) within the clinical contexts in which they will be used. This perspective is especially important because primary care is where scientific knowledge, technical capability, professional behaviour, technology and individual patient circumstances must be integrated in everyday decision-making.
Another notable contribution relates to the growing recognition of professional development as a continuous process rather than a succession of discrete educational milestones. The discussion of early remediation in the context of Fitness to Practise processes reflects a broader shift towards supporting dental professionals through timely feedback, structured reflection and developmental intervention. Such approaches align with contemporary educational thinking and acknowledge that professional growth often arises from identifying, addressing and learning from difficulties, rather than from avoiding them altogether.
Closely related to this is an article examining the role of mentoring, which has assumed increasing prominence across the healthcare professions. The growing complexity of clinical practice, together with concerns about practitioner wellbeing, workforce retention and career satisfaction, has made mentoring an increasingly important component of professional development. Effective mentoring can support transitions from undergraduate education to foundation training and through subsequent career stages, helping students and dental professionals navigate uncertainty, develop confidence, strengthen professional identity and make informed decisions about their future development.
At the same time, advances in educational theory are reshaping how competence is conceptualised and assessed. The growing interest in Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs), explored in this issue, reflects a wider international trend towards competency-based education. EPAs define key units of professional practice and provide a framework for making explicit judgements about whether a learner can be entrusted to undertake them safely with a specified level of supervision. By assessing the integration of knowledge, clinical skills, professional behaviours and judgement within authentic clinical settings, this approach moves beyond the evaluation of isolated competencies. EPAs may therefore offer a more meaningful means of determining readiness for progressively independent practice and align closely with contemporary understandings of workplace-based learning.3
Assessment itself continues to evolve. The experiences reported in this issue of candidates undertaking Objective Structured Assessments of Technical Skills (OSATS) without fixed time limits raise important questions about the purpose of assessment and the constructs it is intended to measure. Dental educators have long recognised that performance under examination conditions does not necessarily equate to capability in the workplace. Although efficiency is an important component of safe clinical practice, assessment should distinguish between appropriate clinical fluency and speed for its own sake. As curricula place increasing emphasis on patient-centred care, critical thinking, professional judgement and professionalism, assessment strategies must reward integrated and meaningful competence rather than rapid task completion alone.
The future direction of dental education is inseparable from technological innovation. Digital dentistry has progressed from a relatively specialised area to an increasingly important component of contemporary clinical practice. Intraoral scanning, computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD-CAM), three-dimensional printing and advanced imaging technologies are becoming more widely used across primary and secondary care settings.4 Undergraduate dental programmes must therefore ensure that graduates possess the digital literacy required to practise safely and confidently within technologically enhanced clinical environments. Postgraduate education must likewise provide opportunities for practitioners to develop, update and critically evaluate their digital capabilities as technologies and their clinical applications continue to evolve.
AI may prove even more transformative. AI-assisted radiographic interpretation, clinical decision support and predictive treatment-planning systems are already beginning to influence healthcare delivery.5 Although these technologies offer considerable potential to improve efficiency, consistency and diagnostic accuracy, they also present important educational, ethical and professional challenges.6-8 Undergraduate and postgraduate dental education must therefore prepare practitioners not only to use AI-enabled systems, but also to interrogate their outputs critically, recognise bias and uncertainty, understand their limitations and maintain appropriate safeguards for patient information.9,10 Crucially, professional accountability for clinical decisions cannot be delegated to an algorithm. The ability to use intelligent technologies to augment – rather than replace – clinical judgement is therefore likely to become a defining professional competency.
Advances in simulation technology are similarly reshaping dental learning environments. Virtual reality, augmented reality and haptic simulation platforms enable students to practise procedures repeatedly within safe and controlled settings. These technologies have the potential to support deliberate practice, improve standardisation, provide objective and immediate feedback, and enhance patient safety, particularly during the early stages of clinical training.11,12 Nevertheless, simulation must remain a complement to, rather than a substitute for, authentic patient care. It can prepare students for clinical encounters, but it cannot replicate the uncertainty, complexity and human interaction inherent in treating real patients. Communication, empathy, adaptability and professional judgement can be rehearsed in simulated environments, but they are ultimately developed and tested through genuine clinical experience.
An article examining non-technical skills is particularly relevant in this context. Evidence from healthcare has consistently shown that communication failures, ineffective teamwork and loss of situational awareness are important contributors to adverse events.13 Lessons from medicine, aviation and other high-reliability industries have therefore emphasised leadership, teamwork, decision-making and the management of uncertainty as essential components of safe professional practice.14 Increasingly, these non-technical skills are being recognised not as desirable additions to technical competence, but as indispensable attributes of the contemporary dental professional.15 Technical expertise alone is insufficient if it is not accompanied by the ability to communicate effectively, anticipate risk, work collaboratively and respond appropriately when circumstances change.
This broader understanding of competence also has important implications for postgraduate education and workforce development. NHS England’s Dental Education Reform Programme, informed by the Advancing Dental Care review, seeks to establish training pathways that better prepare dentists for multidisciplinary practice and evolving patient needs.16 The reforms emphasise broader clinical exposure, greater flexibility in training and closer integration with wider healthcare systems. They acknowledge that future dental professionals will increasingly be expected to work across traditional professional and organisational boundaries, contribute to integrated models of care and respond to the needs of populations rather than individual episodes of treatment alone.16
Articles concerning credentialing and postgraduate qualifications highlight a related evolution in professional development. Expertise has traditionally been viewed through a binary distinction between generalist and specialist practice. Yet the increasing complexity of patient care has created a need to recognise enhanced skills and experience that sit between these established categories. Appropriately governed credentialing could provide a means of recognising such expertise, supporting more flexible workforce models and improving access to care.
However, credentialing must be transparent, consistent and underpinned by robust educational and assessment standards. The possession of a postgraduate qualification should not automatically be equated with clinical capability, just as the completion of a course does not in itself establish readiness to undertake more complex care independently. Any system intended to recognise enhanced practice must demonstrate that the practitioner can apply knowledge, skills and judgement safely and consistently in the workplace.
The expanding range of postgraduate qualifications nevertheless reflects a profession in which lifelong learning has become an expectation rather than an aspiration. Education can no longer be understood as something completed at graduation or at the end of formal training. Rapid technological and clinical change requires practitioners continually to review their knowledge, refine their skills and reconsider established approaches throughout their careers.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated many of these developments. Digital learning platforms, virtual seminars, remote assessment and blended-learning approaches rapidly became commonplace, demonstrating that many aspects of education could be delivered effectively through technology-enhanced methods.17 Although dentistry will always retain a substantial face-to-face and clinical component, the pandemic exposed the limitations of assuming that education must invariably be delivered in a particular place, at a particular time and in a single format. It also created opportunities to develop more flexible, accessible and student-centred educational environments.17 The challenge now is to retain what proved educationally valuable rather than simply reverting to familiar practices.
As these changes continue, dental schools and postgraduate education and training providers face a delicate balancing act. Innovation must be embraced, but not merely because a technology or educational approach is new. Its value should be judged by whether it improves learning, strengthens professional capability or enhances patient care. Scientific rigour, technical competence, ethical practice, patient safety and professionalism remain the foundations upon which all educational innovation must be built.
The articles in the issue, which will be published shortly, will offer valuable perspectives on many of the challenges and opportunities currently facing dental education. Whether addressing the alignment of undergraduate education with primary dental care, remediation, mentoring, workplace-based assessment, non-technical skills, credentialing or postgraduate career development, they collectively portray a profession adapting to substantial change. They also reinforce a central message: the future dental professional must be more than technically accomplished. They must be digitally literate, critically reflective, professionally resilient, ethically grounded and capable of working effectively within increasingly complex healthcare systems.
Dental education in the UK is therefore experiencing more than incremental change; it is undergoing a fundamental reorientation. Yet transformation should not be measured by the number of technologies introduced, curricula rewritten or qualifications created. Its success will ultimately be determined by whether undergraduate and postgraduate dental education produce practitioners who can integrate technical expertise with sound judgement, humanity and professional accountability.
By embracing technological innovation, strengthening the continuum between undergraduate and postgraduate development, supporting meaningful approaches to learning and assessment, and maintaining an unwavering commitment to patient-centred care, dental educators can prepare practitioners and dental care professionals not only for the demands of contemporary practice but also for a future that will continue to evolve. The inflection point has arrived. The decisions made now will shape not only how the next generation is educated, but also the kind of profession dentistry becomes.
To receive the Dental Education issue of the PDJ, join the College by Wednesday 23 September 2026.
The Primary Dental Journal is the College’s quarterly peer-reviewed journal dedicated to general dental practice. The titles and abstracts of PDJ papers are available to all dental professionals via the searchable PDJ homepage, with full paper access available to College members through the PDJ Library.
The Dental Education issue will be available online in late September and printed copies should arrive with College members in October.
Ten Cate O. What entrustable professional activities add to a competency-based curriculum. Acad Med. 2014;89(4):691-692.
Zitzmann NU, Matthisson L, Ohla H, et al. Digital undergraduate education in dentistry: a systematic review. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(9):3269.
Schwendicke F, Samek W, Krois J. Artificial intelligence in dentistry: chances and challenges. J Dent Res. 2020;99(7):769-774.
Annamma LM, Varma SR, Abuttayem H, et al. Current challenges in dental education: a scoping review. BMC Med Educ. 2024;24(1):1523.
Khanagar SB, Al-Ehaideb A, Maganur PC, et al. Developments, application, and performance of artificial intelligence in dentistry: a systematic review. J Dent Sci. 2021;16(1):508-522.
Uribe SE, Maldupa I, Schwendicke F. Integrating generative AI in dental education: a scoping review of current practices and recommendations. Eur J Dent Educ. 2025;29(2):341-355.
Kavadella A. Guest Editorial: Artificial Intelligence in Dental Education. Eur J Dent Educ. 2024;28:923-924.
Reddy MS, Nalliah R, Ohyama H. Human-centered dental education in a time of advancing technology. J Dent Educ. 2024;88(10):1315-1317.
Al-Saud LM, Mushtaq F, Allsop MJ, et al. Feedback and motor skill acquisition using a haptic dental simulator. Eur J Dent Educ. 2017;21(4):240-247.
Towers A, Field J, Stokes C, et al. A scoping review of the use and application of virtual reality in pre-clinical dental education. Br Dent J. 2019;226(5):358-366.
Leonard M, Graham S, Bonacum D. The human factor: the critical importance of effective teamwork and communication in providing safe care. Qual Saf Health Care. 2004;13(Suppl 1):i85-i90.
Catchpole KR, Giddings AEB, Wilkinson M, et al. Improving patient safety by identifying latent failures in successful operations. Surgery. 2007;142(1):102-110.
Flin R, O’Connor P, Crichton M. Safety at the Sharp End: A Guide to Non-Technical Skills. Aldershot: Ashgate; 2008.
NHS England. Dental Education Reform Programme. Workforce, Training and Education. [Internet]. London: NHS; 2026. Available via NHS England Dentists in Training programme, hee.nhs.uk/our-work/dentists-training [Accessed Aug 2026].
Quinn B, Field J, Gorter R, et al. COVID-19: The immediate response of European academic dental institutions and future implications for dental education. Eur J Dent Educ. 2020;24(4):811-814.
The CGDent and GC Award for Foundation Trainees, which promotes clinical skills and patient care, is now open for entries to the 2027 competition.
Now in its fourth year, dentists and dental therapists who are undertaking Dental Foundation Training or Dental Vocational Training in 2026/27, or who qualified in the UK or Ireland in 2026 and are practising in the UK or Ireland, are invited to enter. Entrants must submit a restorative case they are about to start treating which will involve composite restoration on at least one anterior tooth.
There are 18 winning places available, with each successful candidate receiving a fully-funded place on a hands-on, two-day composite layering course at the GC Education Campus in Leuven, Belgium. The prize is worth around £1,400 per place and includes the costs of international travel, hotel accommodation and subsistence.
Successful candidates at the GC composite layering course in Belgium, July 2026
One of the successful candidates in last year’s competition said that in applying for the award, they “particularly enjoyed planning and completing a case from start to finish, while exchanging ideas with colleagues. It was a great opportunity to refine my skills and bring new techniques into my clinical practice”. Subsequently being among the winners was “a fantastic recognition of the passion and dedication I have for restorative dentistry”.
Another candidate, reflecting on the bespoke composite layering course which the winners undertook in July 2026, said they enjoyed “getting to meet other foundation trainees from around the UK, which allowed us to share and discuss our experiences on our journey as young practitioners.”
With the 2027 award now open, the closing date for initial entries is Monday 22 February 2027, and final cases must be submitted by Monday 26 April 2027. The winners will be announced in May, and their course will take place on Thursday–Friday 22–23 July 2027.
The CGDent-GC Award is funded by The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and organised in conjunction with the College of General Dentistry and GC. The Foundation supports educational opportunities for early career dental professionals in the UK, and was founded by Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent, a general dental practitioner with a special interest in restorative dentistry.
GC is an oral health company which manufactures dental systems and products which are sold around the world, and has won awards for its products and innovations. It provides both online and in-person training covering many areas of dental practice.
In addition to the CGDent-GC Award for Foundation Trainees, the three organisations collaborate to offer the Tom Bereznicki Award for Tooth Wear Cases, which provides early careers practitioners with the opportunity of fully-funded training in composite injection moulding technique.
CGDent and Dr Bereznicki’s foundation also work together on a range of additional awards and educational opportunities for newer practitioners. These include the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry, which offers dentists training in digital dentistry, and the Introduction to Occlusion symposia, the next instance of which takes place in Manchester on Saturday 24 October 2026 (book here).
The two charities are also developing a new Tom Bereznicki Award for Periodontal Management, a periodontal case competition for early career dental therapists and dental hygienists which will be launched soon.
For further information about the CGDent-GC Award for Foundation Trainees 2027, links to guidance for entrants and the entry form,click the button below:
Dr Mariam Ahmed, one of the successful candidates in the 2026 CGDent-GC Award, reflects on entering the competition and what she gained from the experience.
More than a competition: The award explained
The CGDent-GC award was founded by the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation in conjunction with the College of General Dentistry and GC. The award requires entrants to submit a clinical case report involving at least one anterior tooth restored with composite, with winning entrants each being awarded a fully funded place on a two day composite layering course in Belgium.
Entering the award is an easy process, with guidance documents available on the College website providing everything an entrant could need, from examples of acceptable photography to advice on compiling a written case report. As well as this, a dedicated email address is available for further enquiries with helpful staff on the receiving end to provide support. After gaining consent to enter the award from your patient, educational supervisor, and preferably your training programme director, it’s time to take and submit pre-op photos following which suitable cases will be accepted. Then once the case has been completed, submit your post-op photos and final report, and patiently wait to hear if you are one of the successful candidates. There is also a window of opportunity to change your case should you identify a more suitable case later on.
Inside my winning entry
After hearing about the award on social media during my final year of dental school, I was keen and ready to enter as soon as I identified a suitable case. As I am undertaking joint dental foundation and core training, my case was carried out in the Dental Hospital Restorative department and involved six anterior composite build ups to manage tooth surface loss aided by a diagnostic wax up. The timeline of the award is extremely manageable. I entered the award in September 2025, submitted my report in February 2026, and was proud to have been selected as a winner in May 2026.
Belgium unwrapped
Home to the GC European campus (and plenty of chocolate), winning entrants travelled to and stayed together in Leuven, a university city just east of Brussels. With a whole host of restaurants and ice cream parlours lining the cobbled streets, entrants had plenty of time to get to know each other on arrival to the city and throughout the evenings, before returning to the hotel to wind down over games of cards and pool. It was rewarding to meet likeminded foundation trainees from across the country and share our experiences so far, as well as our future ambitions. A highlight for many from this trip was our final night in Belgium during which we joined the CGDent and GC team for a celebratory dinner before finishing the night enjoying Leuven’s annual open air summer music festival.
Layering composite and learning new skills: The course
The course itself was split over two days and led by Dr Simone Moretto, GC’s training manager. The campus was well equipped with a comfortable café, spacious seminar rooms and an advanced clinical skills unit. The first day involved a lecture on colour theory, bevelling, and material selection before moving onto phantom models and working in tandem with Dr Moretto to restore a class IV cavity on a central incisor using a layered technique. The second day involved further clinical practice to restore a discoloured lateral incisor using a direct composite veneer, and multiple class II cavities using various approaches such as a cusp by cusp, injection moulding, and stamp technique. Emphasis was placed on recreating anatomical details, utilising new instruments and materials appropriately, implementing a step wise polishing protocol to achieve life like results. Over both days, Dr Moretto was on hand to critically appraise our work under the microscope and provide personalised feedback and demonstrations.
The course helped me develop an understanding of how small anatomical details can significantly improve the aesthetics of the final restoration. I gained practical experience in creating a natural emergence profile and contact point using anterior sectional matrices which I found provided me with a consistent outcome as opposed to the traditional mylar strip I previously used with difficulty. I began learning how to layer enamel and dentine shades in order to highlight anatomical features such as mamelons to create a more lifelike result. I also had the opportunity to learn about polishing protocols and how altering the direction and speed of my polishing discs could better enhance surface anatomical details such as perikymata whilst still achieving a gloss finish.
The pace of the course encouraged precision, and with the help of further tutorials and regular feedback from my educational supervisor, I have begun to consolidate my knowledge and implement these skills in practice.
Thinking of entering? My top tips
Photos are key
The advice I would give future entrants is to take photos of everything! Clinical photography is an invaluable skill to develop early in your career. Photos are essential in completing milestone cases and case based discussions which is a requirement of successful completion of foundation training, but are also invaluable for reflection and self-improvement, building a portfolio to aid future employment, to gain second opinions and make referrals, and in educating and motivating patients.
Picking up a camera can be daunting, especially early in your career when you have so much else to focus on, but confidence comes with practice. Take notes during your photography study day, request further practice in a tutorial with your educational supervisor, and practice on your colleagues during cancellations!
Advice from colleagues
The second piece of advice I would give future entrants is to discuss cases with colleagues! Make use of the experience your senior colleagues have and ask how they would approach the case, what materials and instruments they would use, what problems they think you could encounter, and how to overcome these. Before beginning my case I presented the pre-op photos to my educational supervisor in practice and a Restorative consultant in hospital and asked all of the above which made me feel much more prepared to manage my case. Discussing with colleagues also reminded me that dentistry is dynamic, there is rarely one right answer to a problem and the best way to learn is by trial and error until you find out which techniques work in your hands.
The power of reflection
The third and final piece of advice I would give future entrants is to not rush your reflection. It’s easy to become tunnel visioned when focusing on minute details for an extended period of time. Step back from the case and revisit it with a fresh set of eyes, whether that be reviewing post-op photos or the patient themselves sometime after completing the case. I have found that my best reflection often comes weeks after completing a case, particularly if I have observed or carried out a similar style treatment since then. I am lucky to work alongside a large team of trainees and specialists in Restorative Dentistry in hospital, and I asked one of my supervising consultants to provide feedback on my winning case. They kindly agreed and when the patient returned for review, they carefully inspected my composite work from aesthetics to function and enquired about my technique, giving me much to reflect on when compiling my final report.
I am a firm believer that every day is a learning opportunity if you are willing to look for it. Implementing the above three pieces of advice will help any foundation dentist or therapist begin their journey of development from trainee to trusted clinician.
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