College endorses menopause policy for dental employers

The College has endorsed the menopause policy and advice recently published by the British Association of Dental Nurses (BADN).

In the UK, 99% of dental nurses, 96% of orthodontic therapists, 94% of dental hygienists,  92% of dental therapists, 52% of dentists and 27% of dental technicians are female – 78% of the regulated dental profession as a whole – and the policy outlines the challenges faced by menopausal women in the workplace and suggests ways in which employers can support menopausal employees. 

The Association is asking dental practices, laboratories and clinics to adopt the policy and implement it in their workplace, and is asking dental organisations to support it by encouraging its widespread adoption.

The College of General Dentistry, membership of which is open to all dental and oral health professionals, is the first organisation representing dentists to do so. The College is the independent professional body into which the Faculty of General Dental Practice transferred last year, and is the UK’s only medical college run by and for oral health professionals.

Abhi Pal, President of the College of General Dentistry, said:

“The BADN’s Menopause Policy is important, practical and succinct advice which helps dental professionals to better understand the menopause, to appreciate relevant employment law, and to implement a menopause policy in their practice.

Making appropriate adjustments for staff affected by the menopause is both a moral duty enabling committed and experienced colleagues to remain in valuable employment, and a legal duty not to discriminate on the grounds of gender, age or disability. Supportive dental practices and understanding employers will also find they benefit in return from improved staff retention and reduced sickness absence.

On behalf of the College, I congratulate the BADN on its publication, and am pleased to endorse it.”

The policy is also supported by the British Society of Hygiene and Therapy (BSDHT), the British Association of Dental Therapists (BADT), the British Dental Industry Association (BDIA), the Dental Laboratories Association (DLA), the Dental Technologists’ Association (DTA), the Orthodontic National Group (ONG), and the British Veterinary Nurses’ Association (BVNA).

The publication is available on the BADN website here

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Anniversary PDJ issue now online

The special anniversary edition of the Primary Dental Journal, The General Issue – part 2, is now online.

Due to the number of high-quality papers submitted this year, the annual General Issue, which covers a wide range of subjects relevant to the primary dental care team, has been published in two parts, with Part 1, the Spring 2022 issue, having been published in April.

The Summer 2022 General Issue marks the anniversary of the College’s establishment so, as well as the usual diverse range of clinical topics, we have articles reflecting on the College’s achievements, looking forward to developments anticipated over its second year, and considering its importance to members, practitioners and the wider the profession.

Full access to the majority of articles is reserved for College of General Dentistry members and Primary Dental Journal subscribers. For non-members / non-subscribers, individual print issues are available to purchase from £37. An annual print subscription, normally costing £114, is included with membership of the College. Membership is available from £94 for dentists and £33 for all other registered dental professionals, and also includes online access to the PDJ Archive of over 1,300 articles, and a range of other benefits.

CGDent members and PDJ subscribers should expect their printed copies to arrive in the next 2–3 weeks.

On behalf of the College, the PDJ editorial team would like to express its gratitude to all the authors and peer reviewers who have contributed to the publication of this issue.

A full list of papers is below.

CGDent members can view full articles via the links below by first visiting the PDJ Member Access page and clicking ‘Access the PDJ Archive’.

PDJ Summer 2022 anniversary general issue contents

Anniversary articles:

General Issue Part 2 papers:

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New members elected to College Council

The College of General Dentistry (CGDent) has announced the results of recent elections to its Council, with two new members elected, and five re-elected.

(l-r, top row first) New CGDent Council Members-Elect Subir Banerji and Sagi Shavit, and re-elected Council Members Helen Kaney, Eldo Koshy, Patricia Thomson, Yann Maidment and Sami Stagnell

Subir Banerji FCGDent has been elected to the Central London seat, succeeding Reena Wadia, who served as a member of the National Board of the former Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP) from 2016-21.

Dr Banerji works as a general dental practitioner in the same private dental practice in Ealing which he joined after graduating from Newcastle Dental School in 1987. He is particularly interested in restorative, aesthetic, prosthodontic and implant dentistry, and has over 20 years’ experience of teaching undergraduate and postgraduate dentists both nationally and internationally. Also involved in dental research, he has published articles in numerous international peer-reviewed journals, and is the co-author of books including Practical Procedures in the Management of Tooth Wear and Practical Procedures in Aesthetic Dentistry.

He has both an MClinDent (Prosthodontics) and a PhD from King’s College London, where he is the Programme Director of the highly regarded MSc in Aesthetic Dentistry as well as a PhD supervisor. He is an Associate Professor in Prosthodontics at Melbourne Dental School, an advisor to the General Dental Council, on the editorial board of the Academy of Dental Excellence, director of his own postgraduate educational academy, and Head of Continuing Medical Education at i2i Telesolutions Pvt Ltd.

Sagi Shavit MCGDent has been elected to the Yorkshire and Northern seat previously held by Onkar Dhanoya FCGDent – Chair of the College’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Programme Board and its Professional Affairs Committee, and a former Senior Vice Dean of the FGDP – who has stepped down after eight years’ service as an elected representative of the two organisations.

Dr Shavit was born in Israel and was a Captain in the Israel Defense Forces before studying to be a dentist, graduating DMD in Romania in 2009. He soon developed a special interest in endodontics, and after moving to the UK undertook a number of training courses, including microsurgical endodontics, gaining an MSc in Endodontics from the University of Chester in 2015.

Working in a mixed NHS-and-private practice in Darlington, since 2016 he has limited his practice to endodontics, accepting difficult endodontic referrals. He also developed a technique to apply hydraulic cements into perforations and wide canals using his patented Shavit Pellet Former, a push-through mechanism that creates pellets of endodontic cement of predetermined diameters and lengths.

In 2017 he was awarded the MFGDP(UK), and the following year he completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Dental Implantology at the City of London Dental School, where he is now a tutor in endodontics. He is also a visiting lecturer at Tipton Training, runs day courses on endodontics in the North East, and has completed an accredited sedation course and begun providing treatment to anxious patients under intravenous sedation.

Helen Kaney FCGDent, Eldo Koshy FCGDent, Patricia Thomson AssocFCGDent, Yann Maidment MCGDent and Sami Stagnell AssocFCGDent have been re-elected to represent, respectively, the National, Overseas, West & North Scotland, East of Scotland and Wessex & Oxford seats.

Dr Kaney is Head of Dental Services in Scotland for Dental Protection, a dually qualified dentist and solicitor, and Vice-Chair of the College’s Professional Affairs Committee. As well as practising general dentistry for many years, she has worked as a clinical assistant in restorative dentistry, a Senior Dento-Legal Adviser and a solicitor acting for dentists and doctors. A Fellow of both the College of General Dentistry and of the Faculty of Forensic & Legal Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians, she holds an MBA and is a founding member of the Dental Law and Ethics Forum.

Dr Koshy is a prosthodontist and implant dentist in Kerala, India. Previously Vice-Principal and Head of the Department of Prosthodontics and Implantology at KMCT Dental College, Kozhikode, he has lectured and delivered training across India, Sri Lanka and the United Arab Emirates, and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry.

Dr Thomson has worked in general dental practice since 1983, became a principal in 1985, sold her practice in 2017, and now works as a part-time associate. She has provided mixed NHS and private care, and has an interest in orthodontics. She has tutored colleagues for entry exams for the Royal Colleges, presented teaching sessions on orthodontics to vocational trainees, and delivers postgraduate lectures at RCPS Glasgow. She served on the FGDP(UK) National Board from 2016-2021, and is currently Chair of the College of General Dentistry’s Regional Funding Panel. She has also served as President of the West of Scotland branch of the BDA, and is a Fellow of the International College of Dentists.

Dr Maidment qualified from Edinburgh in 1984, becoming a partner in his dental practice in the city in 1987, and then associate in 2019. In 2002, he was awarded a DDS for his research comparing the effectiveness of different modes of CPD. He has held research assistant posts at the University of Edinburgh, served on BDA committees for 11 years and lectured on the use of acupuncture in dentistry. He is a past President of the Royal Odonto-Chirurgical Society of Scotland, and has represented the East of Scotland on the FGDP(UK) National Board, and now the College Council, since 2016. He is the College’s Research Lead and a member of its Professional Affairs Committee.

Dr Stagnell graduated in 2009 and is now a specialist oral surgeon, running a referrals practice in Bournemouth supporting both NHS and private patients. In 2015 he was awarded a merit in his MSc in Aesthetic Dentistry at King’s College London, in 2018 he achieved an MSc in Skin Ageing and Aesthetic Medicine at the University of Manchester, and he is completing an MSc in implantology with the University of Madrid. Chair of the College of General Dentistry’s Membership Affairs Committee, he is active in the BDA and Royal Society of Medicine, and was one of Health Education England’s first Clinical Leadership and Management Fellows. He is also an ITI Implant Scholar and a member of the working group which developed the College’s recently-published Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines.

The College is the independent professional body into which the FGDP transferred last year. The UK’s only medical college run by and for oral health professionals, it is unique in welcoming all dental and oral health professionals with relevant postgraduate qualifications into full membership.

The Council is the voice of the College’s members, overseeing its role as a professional body and guiding its development to fulfil its mission. Elections are held annually on a rotational basis, with the seats representing Wales, Northern Ireland, and the South East & South West Thames and North East & North West Thames regions due for election in 2023, and South West England, Trent & East Anglia, Mersey & the North West and the West Midlands due in 2024.

Elected Council members serve three-year terms, and are then able to stand for re-election – subject to a lifetime limit of nine years’ service on the Council, including any past service on the FGDP(UK) National Board. Those elected this year will be inaugurated at the next Council meeting, which takes place in Cardiff on Friday 24 June 2022.

Abhi Pal FCGDent, President of the College, said:

“Many congratulations to Subir and Sagi on their election to the Council, and to Helen, Eldo, Patricia, Yann and Sami on their re-election. I look forward to drawing on their vast and varied experience, knowledge and expertise as the College continues to fulfil its historic mission.

I would also like to thank Onkar and Reena for their dedication and service to the College and Faculty, and for their collegiality and advice during my Presidency of the College and Deanship of the Faculty.”

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CGDent Northern Ireland conference

CGDent Northern Ireland Biennial Conference 2022: Recreating nature – perfecting smiles

Friday 14 October 2022, 8.30am-5.30pm and Saturday 15 October 2022 (optional)

Waterfront Hall, Belfast

At this year’s CGDent Northern Ireland Biennial Conference, Dr Walter Devoto, international specialist in aesthetic and restorative dentistry, presented a masterclass and hands-on workshop examining the ‘perfect smile’, covering a range of topics including teeth whitening, the aesthetics of anterior and posterior teeth and endo treated teeth.

Day One only (14 October 2022) : Masterclass – Recreating nature – perfecting smiles

Day One and Day Two (14 & 15 October 2022): Masterclass & hands-on composite workshop, with limited places.

Speaker: Dr Walter Devoto

Walter is a general dental practitioner with a special interest in aesthetic and restorative dentistry. As well as a successful multi-clinic practice in Italy, Walter has an academic career spanning over 20 years and is currently a Lecturer in Aesthetic Dentistry at the International University of Catalonia, Barcelona, and a Visiting Professor at the Université de la Mediterranée, Marseille, in Refinement of Aesthetic Reconstructive Dentistry.

Lunch was included and tea/coffee will be provided throughout the day. Dinner was also available for an additional cost of £45.

Conference fee

Early bird rate until 7 October 2022

Day One – Masterclass

6 CPD hours

  • CGDent members: early bird £180; standard £230
  • Non-members: early bird £230; standard £280
  • Dinner (optional): £45

Days One & Two – Masterclass and hands-on composite workshop

12 CPD hours

  • CGDent members: early bird £675
  • Non-members: early bird £780

Membership of the College of General Dentistry is open to all registered dental professionals. Membership for dentists is available from £94, and for other registered dental professionals from £33. The full list of CGDent membership rates is at https://cgdent.uk/membership-fees/

Photo © Albert Bridge (cc-by-sa/2.0)

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Updated and expanded research guidance published

An updated and expanded version of the College’s research guidance is now available in print and as an e-book.

The original guidance, An introduction to research for primary dental care clinicians, is a series of nine papers, first published in 2010 in Primary Dental Care, the predecessor publication to the Primary Dental Journal. These introduce readers to the basic principles of research methodology, discuss the relevance of research to primary dental care, and provide an overview of the different stages in a research project, from asking a research question to finally writing up and disseminating the results. This is available on the College website, and is free of charge to all users (non-members will need to register for a free account for the College website if they do not already have one). Members are also able to access the papers in their original format via the PDJ Archive.

The guidance has now been updated with the publication of An Introduction to Clinical Research for Health and Social Care Professionals, which is edited by Ario Santini FCGDent and Professor Kenneth A Eaton FCGDent and includes contributions from Professor Igor Blum FCGDent, Roger Farbey MBE, Mark-Steven Howe FCGDent, Nicola R Palmer, Debbie Reed Assoc.FCGDent, Derek Richards FFGDP(UK)(Hon), Jeanie Suvan and Laura Wiles.

“Absolutely essential reading for those embarking on practice-based research, relevant to all team members, and a key text for undergraduates and postgraduates revising for assessments, where it is now standard to have questions around evidence-based practice and research methodology”

Primary Dental Journal

Expanded to over 300 pages, the new publication is made up of 18 chapters and three appendices:

  • The need for practice-based research
  • Evidence-based practice and critical appraisal of literature
  • Asking a research question and literature searching
  • Designing studies part 1: introduction and quantitative study design
  • Designing studies part 2: randomised controlled trials
  • Designing studies part 3: qualitative study design
  • Designing studies part 4: systematic reviews
  • Designing studies part 5: sampling
  • Designing studies part 6: questionnaires
  • Designing studies part 7: screening and diagnostic testing
  • Designing studies part 8: prognosis, diagnosis, risk and prognostic study methods
  • Writing a protocol
  • Research ethics and obtaining ethics approval
  • Obtaining funding
  • Piloting the methods and project management
  • Collecting and collating data
  • Analysing data
  • Writing up and disseminating the results
  • Guidelines and checklists
  • Glossary of terms with explanatory notes
  • Apprenticeship scheme further details

It is available to purchase in print or as an e-book (ISBN: 978-1-6655-9751-7), and an abridged online version will be made available by the College in due course.

This article was updated in April 2023 following the publication of a review of An Introduction to Clinical Research for Health and Social Care Professionals in the Primary Dental Journal, vol. 12, no. 1. This is available for College members and PDJ subscribers to view in the PDJ Archive.

Looking after your data

Recorded webinar, Tuesday 11 October 2022

This webinar was previously scheduled for 15 September 2022

In this webinar, we aim to demystify issues around handling patient data: how to store data, how to use it and how to share it within current guidelines and best practice. We provide an overview of Caldicott Principles, information sharing for patient care and GDPR. We also look at the role of digital technology in information sharing, and how to share information safely and securely in your practice.

Speaker:

  • Pat Langley, CEO Apolline

GDC learning outcomes: A, D

CPD approx 1.5 hours

CGDent members and ProDental subscribers have free access to the recorded webinar and can claim CPD hours for free.  A £20 fee will apply for non-members/non-subscribers who wish to claim CPD.

This webinar is powered by our CPD delivery partner, ProDental CPD

Membership of the College of General Dentistry is open to all registered dental professionals. Membership for dentists is available from £94, and for other registered dental professionals from £33. The full list of CGDent membership rates is at https://cgdent.uk/membership-fees/

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Dentistry Show London

Dentistry Show London

7-8 October 2022ExCel London, Halls N5-N8

The College was the headline education partner for the Clinical Excellence Theatre at Dentistry Show London 2022, hosting nine seminars in three CPD theatres over the two-day conference.

The College welcomed members and non-members alike to its sessions, with experts in their fields sharing their knowledge and giving advice on an array of subjects encompassing clinical dentistry, professionalism and career support:

Introduction to facial aesthetics and the current educational pathways

Friday 7 October, 10.10am – 10.55am

Clinical Excellence Theatre

Dr Jalpesh Patel BDS (Hons), MJDF RCS Eng., MSc (Aes. Dent.), PG Cert (Aes. Med.), MCGDent; Programme Director, CGDent Postgraduate Certificate in Non-Surgical Facial Aesthetics; Founder & Tutor, RASA Academy

Duty of Candour: the legal and regulatory risk

Friday 7 October, 10.45am – 11.45am

Compliance Hub

Kevin Lewis BDS, Dip. FFGDP(UK), FDS RCS (Eng.), FCGDent; Trustee of the College of General Dentistry; Special Consultant to the BDA & BDA Indemnity

Professionalism – a medico-legal perspective

Friday 7 October, 12.00pm – 1.00pm

Compliance Hub

Kevin Lewis BDS, Dip. FFGDP(UK), FDS RCS (Eng.), FCGDent; Trustee of the College of General Dentistry; Special Consultant to the BDA & BDA Indemnity

Creating a positive patient safety culture in dentistry

Friday 7 October, 2.15pm – 3.00pm

Enhanced CPD Theatre

Dr Jason Wong MBE, BDS, DPDS, FCGDent; Deputy Chief Dental Officer for England; General Dental Practitioner, Grantham

Antimicrobial prescribing in dentistry

Saturday 8 October, 10.45am – 11.45am

Compliance Hub

Dr Wendy Thompson BSc, BDS, Dip. MFGDP(UK), PhD, FCGDent, FHEA, FICD; College of General Dentistry lead on antimicrobial stewardship; Chair of the FDI-World Dental Federation working group on antibiotics

Mental health wellness in dentistry

Saturday 8 October, 12.15pm – 1.00pm

Enhanced CPD Theatre

Prof Tim Newton CPsychol, AFBPS; Professor of Psychology as Applied to Dentistry, King’s College London; Honorary Consultant Health Psychologist, Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Menopause policy – supporting staff through menopause (co-hosted with the British Association of Dental Nurses)

Saturday 8 October, 2.15pm – 3.00pm

Enhanced CPD Theatre

Jacqui Elsden RDN, MSc, FBADN; President of the British Association of Dental Nurses; former DCP Lead for Dental Nurses, HEE London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex

Mentoring in implant dentistry: good practice guidelines

Saturday 8 October, 2.45pm – 3.30pm

Clinical Excellence Theatre

Dr Pynadath George BDS, MFDS RCPS, MSc Rest. Dent., MSc Imp. Dent.; Co-Editor, Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines (CGDent); Treasurer of the Association of Dental Implantology

Record-keeping in the real world of general dental practice

Saturday 8 October, 3.15pm – 4.15pm

Compliance Hub

Dr Abhi Pal BDS, MGDSRCS, Dip. FFGDP(UK), FDSRCPS(Glasg.), FCGDent; President of the College of General Dentistry; General Dental Practitioner, Edgbaston; independent dental expert witness

College representatives were also available throughout the conference at Stand F58 to talk to delegates about its vision for the profession, the benefits of membership, and to answer questions.

Conference registration was free, and delegates had access to over 100 seminars in all across 6 lecture theatres, as well as over 180 exhibiting suppliers, and the opportunity to network with thousands of dentists, practice managers, hygienists and therapists, dental nurses, technicians and laboratory owners.

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Professional Framework for general dental professionals to be launched

The College has announced that it will be launching its much-anticipated Professional Framework next month.

Guests celebrating the launch of the College at Barber-Surgeons’ Hall, where the Professional Framework will be launched next month at the Fellows’ Summer Reception

The Professional Framework will describe the knowledge, skills and other attributes that primary care dentists and other dental professionals may aspire to at different stages of their career, and underpins the College’s Career Pathways programme. An initial framework published last year identifies five domains:

  • Clinical and technical: the capability to diagnose, to advise and to treat
  • Professionalism: the conduct and behaviour to engage patient trust and confidence
  • Reflection: awareness of personal impact, abilities and limitations
  • Development: commitment and capability to improve the service to patients
  • Agency: the ability to resolve solutions independently and through others

The creation of career pathways for general dental practice was a key founding purpose of the College, which has been developing sets of progressive steps for each dental team role in order to provide purpose and direction for dental careers, to enhance professional standing, and to help retain and nurture a motivated workforce.

These are being mapped out by four working groups – representing dentists, dental hygienists & therapists, dental nurses & orthodontic therapists, and dental & clinical dental technicians – working together through a programme board chaired by Professor Avijit Banerjee and a reference group chaired by Dr Shamir Mehta.

The Professional Framework will be launched at the inaugural Fellows’ Summer Reception, which takes place on Wednesday 15 June at Barber-Surgeons’ Hall in London. It will be preceded by the conferral of Fellowships, President’s Commendations and the prestigious College Medal, and will take place in front of around a hundred guests.

Fellows and Associate Fellows of the College, as well as FGDP Fellows who were unable to enjoy formal conferral of their fellowship during 2020-21 due to coronavirus restrictions, are eligible to attend. Tickets are £20, to include wine and canapés, and a small number of spaces remain.

The College’s Career Pathways programme is generously supported by Colgate.

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College publishes new national guidelines on implant dentistry mentoring

The College of General Dentistry has published new guidelines on mentoring in implant dentistry.

Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines describes the nature of mentoring which should be undertaken in order to safely carry out implant dentistry following completion of an appropriate training course, including:

  • the experience, skills and qualities expected of a mentor
  • the experience, skills and qualities expected of a mentee
  • the mentoring process
  • the mentoring agreement

Providing practical help to mentors and mentees, it also sets out the component parts of three recommended means of work-based assessment during the mentoring process: Case-Based Discussion, Direct Observation of Procedural Skills and Clinical Evaluation Exercise.

Designed to support educators and students, and to promote patient safety, the new document complements Training Standards in Implant Dentistry. Developed by the former Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP) and now published by the College, this has defined the accepted standards of training in implant dentistry in the UK since 2005, and includes a requirement to have an experienced clinician acting as a mentor. However, this requirement has not previously been expounded upon, and the publication of Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines seeks to address this.

The College of General Dentistry – intended Royal College – is the independent professional body into which the FGDP transferred upon its separation from the Royal College of Surgeons of England last year. Building on the legacy of the Faculty, it is the UK’s only medical college run by and for oral health professionals, and is unique in welcoming all dental and oral health professionals with relevant postgraduate qualifications into full membership.

The new guidelines are the result of a collaboration between the College and the Association of Dental Implantology, and were developed by a joint working group. Their publication follows consultation with over 30 organisations and individuals with interests and expertise in the field, and they have been endorsed by the Association of British Academic Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, the British Association of Oral Surgeons, the Foundation for Oral Rehabilitation, and the UK and Ireland sections of the International Team for Implantology and the Platform for Exchange of Experience, Research and Science.

The document is the College’s first new standards publication since its formal launch last year, and is available to view online free of charge, alongside its COVID-19 guidance and all of the guidance and standards documents of the former FGDP.

College members can also download the publication for personal use, and have access to search, text-select and print functionality. Membership is available from £94 per year for dentists, and from £33 for all other dental professionals.

Dr Abhi Pal, President of the College of General Dentistry and Co-Editor of the new guidelines, said:

“The publication of Mentoring in Implant Dentistry befits our mission to empower dental professionals to deliver high standards of care, and I am delighted that the College is building on the legacy of the FGDP in supporting practitioners to develop their clinical skills in this significant and evolving field of practice. The guidelines will act as an important adjunct to Training Standards in Implant Dentistry, and I would like to express my thanks to all those involved in their development.”

Click here to view Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines

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Two dentists, one award and 6,000 subscribers

Award-winning early-career dentist, Pouya Zohrabpour, features in the College’s new film and tells us about the innovative educational work he has been doing to support dental students and young dentists.

I remember the day I was studying with my friends for our final exams of dental school and we received an email saying that all our in-person exams have been cancelled because of the Covid-19 lockdown. This was right at the start of Covid. Being one of the Covid year graduates was a very odd experience and I never thought the start of my career would pan out the way it has. I am now a first-year associate dentist and have been lucky enough to start and work on many additional projects related to my dental work.

With my friend Dr Ali Gowie, I run a dental YouTube channel and Instagram account called Two Dentists. This was something we started during the lockdown as we both got bored of watching long one-hour webinars and wanted to create highly educational videos which were professional, concise and easy to understand. So much of dentistry can be complicated but we felt that if we did enough research, we could script videos and break down difficult concepts into bite-sized videos for young dentists and dental students.

Our first few videos, which have been some of the most popular on our channel, focused on the new patient examination. We have made videos on seeing your first patient as a dental student, best way to take a dental history, dental examination, essential diagnoses, radiology and treatment planning.

We have since expanded and released a variety of other videos such as our series on dental photography and Loupes, which have been very popular. After launching and committing to releasing one video every week, which we maintained for a full year, we have been overwhelmed by the positive feedback received from everyone. My proudest moment of our YouTube journey was when a friend of mine sent a photo of a lecturer at the University of Bristol (where I graduated) showing my radiology video to a group of final year students.

The Youtube channel has allowed us to collaborate with many dentists and be in a continual state of learning. We have been lucky to be able to collaborate with Dr Shivam Divani who is the creator of the My Dental Care App. The app aims to educate the general public on the importance of good oral hygiene and to show you how to protect your teeth and prevent dental issues. With Dr Divani we created a six-part video series which accompanies the text and images in the app. These videos have also been released publicly on our YouTube Channel.

My progress on the YouTube channel was one of the factors that led to me winning the FGDP Foundation Dentist of the Year last year – which I am extremely grateful for. I am now extremely proud to also be an Ambassador for the College and to fulfil my role in spreading awareness of the new Career Pathways to support young dentists like myself.

In my foundation training year, I had to decide if I wanted to do Dental Core Training or not. This decision was based on speaking to my friends and colleagues but I found it difficult to make a decision as everyone had different opinions and I was unsure of the pathway I wanted to go down. I am sure many others have been in this position and this is where I believe the new Careers Pathways programme can come in. As a young dentist, having a career pathway which has been mapped by a professional body and shows clear steps in progression gives me security in knowing that I am on the right path for me to expand my knowledge and become a better dentist. Whilst doing so, it’s great to know that my progression will be recognised by the College and I can work my way up to becoming an ‘accomplished practitioner’. I believe the Career Pathway will be a must-use programme for every young dentist who is currently in general practice looking for a structured pathway for continual professional development, enabling you to move forward and enhance your career with confidence.

We plan to launch the College’s Career Pathways in dentistry, underpinned by the Professional Framework, in June 2022. Look out for details in the June issue of our monthly newsletter – sign up to receive it.

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