The President of the College, Dr Abhi Pal, has told a committee of MPs that it will take more than contract reform to persuade more dental professionals to deliver NHS dental treatment.
Dr Pal, a general dental practitioner and Principal of an NHS-contracted dental practice in Edgbaston, was addressing the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee during an oral evidence session on NHS dentistry in England. During a discussion focussed on the attractiveness of NHS dentistry to dentists, he said:
“I’ve heard the evidence earlier on, and first of all I have to concur with colleagues about the state of the contract and dental contract reform, which is sorely required. But it’s not just a question of contract reform – whilst that’s very important – it’s also a question of making dental professionals’ careers more fulfilling and providing some degree of recognition for what they’re doing.
“Everyone goes into dentistry to provide the best care they can, and it’s worthwhile pointing out that beyond Dental Core Training, which is some two years post qualification, there is no effective career pathway or structure for dentists to follow, and there is a large void left there.
“There’s also little recognition from the NHS for dentists who have sometimes invested significant quantities of money in order to enhance their skills. If working conditions in that sense, and recognition, could be made better, the NHS would be seen as a more attractive place – particularly for younger dentists, and international dentists – to come and work.”
He later added:
“We speak to a lot of early career dentists – dentists within the first three or four years of qualifying – and invariably they say a number of things. One is that they are a little bit lost as to which direction they should go. And they see less future within the health service – we’ve talked about all the reasons that there are before, and they can’t work to the best way that their training has allowed them to work. I think there are small changes, including contract reform, in terms of supporting professional development, that the NHS could be considering.”
He said that in order to retain dental professionals within the NHS workforce, consideration should be given to supporting their training and development, and to supporting the development of more professional networks, peer review opportunities and mentoring schemes. He summarised that:
“All of these things, put together, in addition to contract reform, would go some way in making the NHS more attractive than it is now.”
The College recently opened a Certified Membership programme built around its freely available Professional Framework for Career Pathways in Dentistry, and speaking during the same evidence session, the Chair of Health Education England’s Dental Education Reform Programme informed committee members that HEE was already working with the College to look at how the NHS might recognise the career progression of dental professionals working in primary care.
Written evidence previously submitted by the Faculty of General Dental Practice – which transferred into the College in 2021 – told the committee that the current NHS dental contract in England is “ill-conceived and not fit for purpose”, “crude and ineffective”, and that many patients struggle to access NHS dental care as “the funding simply does not provide the universal offer they expect”.
Last year, Dr Pal visited No.10 Downing Street for a discussion on access to careers and progression in dentistry, and he has also discussed these issues with the Shadow Health Secretary.
The Health Committee’s evidence session on NHS dentistry can be viewed in full here
Dr Louise Belfield AssocFCGDent is the College Council‘s Dental Nursing & Orthodontic Therapy Representativeand Chair of the College’s Research Advisory Panel. The first dental nurse in the UK to achieve a PhD, here she reflects on the key moments, influences and lessons from her career to date.
My career in dentistry started at the age of 17 with an apprenticeship in Dental Technology. I worked as a trainee Dental Technician for 18 months and developed skills in crown and bridge work. During this time, I wondered with increasing frequency about the patients we were making prostheses for and decided to apply for a patient-facing role as a Dental Nurse. I trained in a small mixed NHS and private practice, and in 2003 gained my National Examining Board for Dental Nurses (NEBDN) Certificate in Dental Nursing. I was fortunate to work with a supportive team, and I was proactively included in continuing professional development (CPD) activities. The critical CPD event that changed the trajectory of my career in dentistry was a session exploring the links between periodontal diseases and systemic conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and how the oral microbiome might connect them. This sparked my curiosity and drive to find answers. What might this mean for our patients? What might we be able to advise if we knew more about it? The only path forward that I could see was to embark on scientific training at university.
The decision to leave my practice and enrol on a university degree was a difficult one because I was very happy where I was, and I enjoyed Dental Nursing. As I had gone straight into apprenticeship after leaving school, I chose a BSc in Human Biosciences university course which included a “Year Zero” to cover the prerequisite scientific knowledge in lieu of traditional A-levels. Throughout the university course I continued practising as a dental nurse, working as bank staff for a local hospital trust. This provided invaluable experience and kept me clinically active in the profession. I worked across a range of settings, including domiciliary care, school visits, emergency clinics, dental access centres, special care dentistry, and even on a mobile dental surgery van. I also worked at an emergency out-of-hours weekend service, and in a private practice which I fitted in around my lectures.
It became apparent to me through the course of my studies that it was the immune system that was the pivotal link between periodontal and systemic diseases, and in the final year of my degree course I focused my studies on the periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis, and how it interacts with immune cells. This formed the basis of my further studies leading to a PhD, investigating how these immune cells behave in response to P. gingivalis when they are involved with oral cancer or chronic inflammation. As is often the case at the end of a PhD, there were many new questions formulating and I knew I wanted to continue to investigate these relationships further to answer some of these questions.
Career in dental research and education
At the end of my doctoral studies, an academic position became available and I was appointed as a Lecturer in Biomedical Sciences in 2013. This has enabled me to explore both the scientific and educational facets required in an academic career, and I have been able to establish research in both of these areas. My scientific research focuses on host-pathogen interactions, and I have been fortunate to work on multiple projects, including development of three-dimensional oral mucosa models, association of subgingival lipid A profiles with periodontal disease status,1,2 and in 2019 I received the Colgate Robin Davies Dental Care Professional Research Award from the Oral and Dental Research Trust (ODRT), for a project investigating modulation of osteoclast differentiation and activity by endotoxin tolerance. This Dental Care Professional (DCP) specific award was instrumental in developing an independent research career and I remain grateful to the ODRT for the opportunity.
Subsequently, working together with two colleagues at the University of Plymouth, we established the Oral Microbiome Research Group, where we run clinical and translational research investigating links between human health and disease, and oral bacteria. Two current clinical studies link the oral microbiome with pre-eclampsia, and formation of cerebral abscesses.3 Our research also explores how modifying the oral microbiome can be detrimental to maintaining oral and physiological health mechanisms; a study using chlorhexidine mouthwash to disrupt the normal microbiome found that a decreased diversity of species was associated with a decreased salivary pH buffering capacity, increased lactate and glucose levels, and reduced availability of nitrate and nitrite, with an associated increase in systolic blood pressure.4
Alongside my scientific research, I have also been able to develop scholarly activity, with a focus on inter- and intra-professional education, particularly relating to assessments and standard setting in multi-cohort programmes.5,6 Having come into higher education via a non-standard route, an area I have been particularly keen to invest in is access and participation, and a significant part of my academic role has been to develop a Foundation (Year Zero) entry pathway for the BSc Dental Therapy and Hygiene programme at Peninsula, with the specific focus on Dental Nurses, who make up the majority of our cohort. This Foundation pathway has been running successfully now for three years, and we will welcome our first cohort of BDS year zero students in September 2023, specifically designed to enable fairer access to dental education for local, South West students with non-traditional entry backgrounds.
Engagement with the professional community
I remain actively engaged with the Dental Nursing community through a number of external roles; I uphold my registration with the General Dental Council (GDC), and I am a trustee for the NEBDN, where I also chair the Education Standards Committee. In 2020, I was appointed as a Dental Clinical Fellow with Health Education England, which continues to afford me an insight into NHS dentistry, service commissioning, workforce challenges, DCP skill mix, and training needs, in line with the Dental Education Reform Programme.7 I am also a representative for Dental Nursing on the Council of the College of General Dentistry (CGDent), and with a dedicated and experienced team, we are working to establish the first Faculty of Dental Nursing. I am also grateful to the College for the opportunity to chair the Research Advisory Panel, espousing the message that research is open to all dental professionals.
Key learning points and recommendations
Instrumental in my career have been support and encouragement from those I work with, and seizing opportunities despite the frequent imposter syndrome! While by no means perfect, there tends to be more clarity in the pathway to an academic career for dentists, which is lacking for other dental professionals, which means it can be extra challenging to carve your own route. Promisingly, I come across more and more outstanding DCPs in academic positions and I hope this will continue. This is one of the reasons I am excited about the CGDent Career Pathways in Dentistry: Professional Framework and the establishment of the faculties, and to promote the CGDent vision to make research opportunities accessible for all members of the dental team, to pro-actively support Dental Nurses and all team members to excel in their profession to their fullest potential.
The skills and experience I accrued as a Dental Nurse helped me to progress in other areas, including academia and research; working as a bank dental nurse had its challenges, arriving each morning to a new practice, with different staff, surgery set-ups and protocols was difficult at times, but I learned to be adaptable, and to think on my feet. Communication and team working skills were vital; and I was privileged to work with a variety of patients with their own range of perspectives and experiences and I learned a lot from them. Finally, working in a high-pressure environment, developing effective time management was crucial to being a competent Dental Nurse and these skills have also served me well in academia. I would wholeheartedly encourage anyone with an interest in research or an academic career to pursue that, to reach out to potential mentors or advisors for guidance, and to explore the CGDent Career Pathways frameworks, as well as membership of the College and its Faculties.
References
1. McIlwaine C, Strachan A, Harrington Z, et al. Comparative analysis of total salivary lipopolysaccharide chemical and biological properties with periodontal status. Arch Oral Biol. 2019;110:104633.
2. Strachan A, Harrington Z, McIlwaine C, et al. Subgingival lipid A profile and endotoxin activity in periodontal health and disease. Clin Oral Investig. 2019;23(9):3527-3534.
3. Roy H, Bescos R, McColl E, et al. Oral microbes and the formation of cerebral abscesses: A single-centre retrospective study. J Dent. 2023;128:104366.
4. Bescos R, Ashworth A, Cutler C, et al. Effects of Chlorhexidine mouthwash on the oral microbiome. Sci Rep. 2020;10(1):5254.
5. McIlwaine C, Brookes ZLS, Zahra D, et al. A novel, integrated curriculum for dental hygiene-therapists and dentists. Br Dent J. 2019;226(1):67-72.
6. Zahra D, Belfield L, Bennett J. The benefits of integrating dental and dental therapy and hygiene students in undergraduate curricula. Eur J Dent Educ. 2018;23(1):e12-e16.
This account was first published in the Primary Dental Journal (vol. 12, issue 1, March 2023)
Update (June 2023): Since this article was published, Louise has been appointed Academic Head of Assessment at Brunel University Medical School and has stood down from the College Council to focus on her new role; however she remains on the College’s Research Advisory Panel.
The latest edition of the Primary Dental Journal, The general issue (vol.12, no.1), is now live online.
The general issue brings together a wide range of topics, hand-picked by Editor-in-Chief, Professor Igor Blum, including a spectrum of contemporary approaches, clinical techniques and philosophies relating to aspects of general dental practice and the primary dental care team. A list of the papers can be found below.
The issue also features the third of five domains from the College’s Career Pathways in Dentistry: Professional Framework, which describes the knowledge, skills and other attributes expected of primary care dental professionals at different career stages – from safe practitioner through to accomplished practitioner. The ‘Reflection’ domain published in this issue will be followed by ‘Development’ and ‘Agency’ domains in future issues of the Primary Dental Journal. The first two domains, ‘Clinical & Technical’ and ‘Professionalism’, were published in the Autumn and Winter 2022 issues, and every domain for all career stages can be viewed online, using the above link.
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 £41. An annual print subscription, normally costing £125, is included with membership of the College. Membership is available from £100 for dentists and from £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.
CGDent members can view full articles by logging in via the yellow button below, then clicking ‘Access the PDJ Archive’:
At least one paper in each issue is made available online free of charge on an Open Access basis. Non-members can view all other full articles using the purchase options presented when clicking the individual article links below, or can use the links above to purchase a complete issue or an annual subscription, or become a member.
Dr Shaun Sellars AssocFCGDent, general dental practitioner and co-host of the Incisive Decisive podcast on the philosophy and ethics of dentistry, has conducted detailed research into non-clinical skills in dentistry. Here he considers the ‘soft skills’ that improve patient care.
What makes a dentist? You might say that having a BDS and physically drilling, filling and extracting is all it takes. But I’d argue that there there’s more to it than that. To be a dentist, and importantly to be a ‘good dentist’, we need to develop a whole host of distinct and less well-understood non-clinical skills to complement our clinical abilities.
Undergraduate teaching has historically focused on developing the practical skills trainee dentists need to become competent clinicians. These ‘hard skills’ consist of the necessary knowledge and techniques students attain during training. While these clinical skills are critical to dentistry, it has become increasingly recognised that non-clinical attributes are also valuable assets to the dental practitioner. While considered ‘soft’, non-clinical skills are hard to learn and often overlooked because they don’t directly add to our clinical repertoire.
When we consider these softer skills, most people instantly think of communication. While communication skills are essential, soft skills are wider-ranging, incorporating empathy, leadership, professionalism and more. And if we can’t develop our non-clinical skills alongside our more practical ones, our lives as dentists can be fraught with difficulties. Having talked to dentists extensively about this, most agree that, at least further along in our careers, we will rely on our non-clinical skills much more than our clinical ones. The act of clinical dentistry often becomes second nature over time, but the challenge of interacting with people is fresh every day. The concept of emotional intelligence (EI) is vital to mastering these interactions. EI is, by definition, the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. In practice, people with a high level of EI tend to have better social interactions, and for us, that means a better relationship with patients, work colleagues and peers.
Fortunately, EI and other non-clinical skills can be taught and developed. Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) developed the concept of the zone of proximal development (ZPD), from where people learned new skills. Vygotsky proposed that the ZPD could be expanded and knowledge gained, with the help of “more knowledgeable others”, such as peers or mentors, who could impart their wisdom. We cherry-pick the information we most closely relate to and incorporate that into our knowledge base. This doesn’t just increase our comprehension but helps us interpret what we already know in a different light adding a depth of insight to our understanding. All our skills develop in this manner, from a new clinical technique to a method of dealing with a difficult patient situation.
Our non-clinical skills also help us develop into ‘good dentists’. Or, more accurately, as there is no specific ‘good dentist’ template, they allow us to practice ‘good dentistry.’ This is more than just ensuring that our composites are aesthetically pleasing and that our crowns fit well. Good dentistry takes a less uniform approach to what makes a good professional because, in reality, good practice comes from a complex jumble of factors.
Much like our clinical skills, soft skills are best learned and developed through doing. Non-clinical skills are often difficult to pin down, so working on your own management or communication style, for example, is essential. Using the knowledge you’ve assimilated from those around you to hone your professional persona is vital and happens even if you’re unaware of it. Better to consciously take ideas and concepts from those who have already achieved success and whose professional attitude you admire.
Dental school teaches us how to do dentistry, but we must learn how to be a dentist. That involves surrounding ourselves with what we consider good practice and emulating it. All the time, building on what we know with other examples of good practice. This way, the profession builds on what’s been before it and emerges stronger. As Vygotsky suggests, the people we choose as mentors strongly influence how we develop as practitioners and, in turn, how the profession evolves. So choose your mentors wisely, not just from the realms of key opinion leaders or social media personalities we’re constantly exposed to but from the more discreet masters of their craft who quietly influence us to be better.
The College has recently launched its new Certified Membership scheme, which provides dental professionals with a structured learning programme to help us recognise and develop the skills we need in order to provide the best care to our patients – including the soft skills I’ve been discussing.
Certified Membership is underpinned by the College’s Career Pathways and Professional Framework, which describe the knowledge, skills, experience and behaviours a dental professional could be expected to demonstrate at each stage of their career. These attributes fall into five areas: clinical and technical, professionalism, reflection, development, and agency and aim to encompass the full range of abilities we need as dental professionals today.
Certified Members are guided through the learning programme by a trained Facilitator, who helps them realise their existing skills, plan further development and identify new skills to work towards acquiring as they develop their career.
Find out more about Certified Membership and how to enrol as an existing member or join the College and sign up for the scheme.
The College has admitted over 150 dental professionals to date into Associate Fellowship in recognition of their high level of practice.
The membership grade, newly instituted in 2021, acts as a stepping stone to Fellowship. It is open to all dental professionals holding a qualifying award, and applicants do not need to be an existing member of the College to apply.
Qualifying awards include:
FGDP(UK) Diploma in Restorative Dentistry
FGDP(UK) Diploma in Primary Care Oral Surgery
FGDP(UK) or RCS Edinburgh Diploma in Implant Dentistry
Any other Level 7, 120 credit Postgraduate Diploma (or 180 credit Masters-level qualification) in a subject relevant to the enhancement of oral healthcare
Membership in General Dental Surgery (MGDS) of a UK faculty
Specialty membership of a UK faculty
Associate Fellows are entitled to use the post-nominal designation ‘AssocFCGDent’, are eligible to attend the College’s biannual Fellows’ Receptions, and are listed in the College’s online Member Register.
Should Associate Fellows wish to progress, their qualifying award for Associate Fellowship will automatically meet the requirements of the clinical domain of Fellowship – one of five domains, three of which must be satisfied for admittance.
Associate Fellows also have the option to enrol in the College’s Certified Membership programme, an enhanced membership which provides structured support with a trained facilitator to map out the next steps in their career. Those meeting the programme’s requirements over a period of two years would then be recognised as Certified Associate Fellows (AssocFCGDent(Cert.))
The following members have been admitted to Associate Fellowship of the College*:
Amir Hossein Abedi
Dentist, Barrow-in-Furness
Mohanad Abu-Mughaisib
Dentist, Brunei
Graham Richard Adlard
Dentist, Yelverton
Kelvin Ian Afrashtehfar
Dentist, Surrey, British Columbia
Ahmed Shihab Al Mashhadani
Dentist, Riyadh
Nibras Alnaimi
Dentist, Nottingham
Anoushiravan Ariakish
Dentist, London
Nicholas Brian Baker
Dentist, Edinburgh
Caroline Batistoni
Dentist, Tonbridge
Louise Belfield
Dental Nurse, Plymouth
Anuschka Beneke
Dentist, Waterlooville
Sarah Jane Bottomley
Dentist, York
David William Peter Brown
Dentist, Romsey
Darren Bywater
Dentist, Derby
Miguel Lains Cardoso
Dentist, Edinburgh
Kevin Caruana
Dentist, Stockton-on-Tees
Louisa Mary Clarke
Dental Hygienist, London
Melanie Elizabeth Clarkson
Dentist, Stamford
Russell Stephen Colclough
Dentist, Tynemouth
Padraic Conroy
Dentist, Jordanstown
Mario Arvino Joe Correia
Dentist, East Barnet
Orang Dadashian
Dentist, Hayes
Jane Dalgarno
Dental Nurse, Sharnbrook
Brett Davids
Dentist, Nottingham
Natalie Ann Dunn
Dentist, Falmouth
Robert Joseph Eades
Dentist, Tadcaster
Jeremy Jameson Edmondson
Dentist, Ellesmere
Marion Rose English
Dentist, Broxbourne
Ekaterina Fabrikant
Dentist, London
Peter Farrage
Dentist, Eaglescliffe
Timothy Graham Fildes
Dentist, Guernsey
Alexa Caroline Fyfe-Green
Dentist, Bognor Regis
Amanda Zoe Gallie
Dental Therapist, Oakham
Santhira Kumar Ganasan
Dentist, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
Affar Ghafoor
Dentist, Stockport
Daniel James Ghent
Dentist, London
Chris Gollings
Dentist, Christchurch
Callum John Graham
Dentist, Larkhall
Anthony James Hands
Dentist, Cullompton
Madalina Harmer
Dentist, Willington
John-Joe Hartigan
Dentist, Belfast
Sami James Hassan
Dentist, London
Hussein Hassanali
Dentist, York
Gareth John Hattersley
Dentist, Preston
Angela Heilmann MBE
Dental Nurse, Bedford
Sarah Suzanne Hill
Dental Hygienist, Stourbridge
Elizabeth Joy Hitchings
Dentist, Wellington, New Zealand
John Alexander Ho-A-Yun
Dentist, Cupar
Frances Hodson
Dentist, Seaton
Zhi Yen Hoe
Dentist, Batu Pahat, Malaysia
James Hudson
Dentist, Huddersfield
John Francis Alexander Hume-Spry
Dentist, Derby
James Robert Robert Hyslop
Dentist, Ormskirk
Charles Olajide Ilesanmi
Dentist, Kaduna, Nigeria
Gaurav Jamnadass
Dentist, Newcastle
Sherley Princess Deborah John
Dentist, Middlesbrough
Simon-Quentin Jones
Dentist, Swansea
Jimmy Kafeero
Dentist, Sittingbourne
Jasvinder Singh Kaila
Dentist, Egham
Priyadarshini Karthikeyan
Dental academic, Chennai
Bashir Haji Kassam
Dentist, Birmingham
Gurpreet Kaur
Dentist, Wellingborough
Graham Roderick Keeling
Dentist, Rottingdean
Patrick Gerard Kilker
Dentist, Sunderland
Stamatios Kioufis
Dentist, Athens
James Kolanko
Dentist, Stafford
Paul James Kolathingal
Dentist, Thrissur, Kerala
Raj Kumar
Dentist, London
Matthew Lamb
Dentist, Alfreton
Caroline Frances Lappin
Dentist, Belfast
Gareth Lavery
Dentist, Kelso
Georgios Lazaridis
Dentist, Trowbridge
Kim B Lee
Dentist, Hong Kong
Stewart Keith Lenton
Dentist, Rugby
Max Leslie
Dentist, Cambridge
William Maguire
Dentist, Belfast
Christopher John Maher
Dentist, Bishop Burton
Amit Maisuria
Dentist, St Albans
Nadim Nadim Majid
Dentist, Blackburn
Usmaan Fazal Majid
Dentist, Dewsbury
Sarah Mapplebeck
Dentist, Ludgershall
Stuart Marshall
Dentist, Adelaide
Dinesh Martin
Dentist, St Augustine, Trinidad
Oskar Mason
Dentist, Aylesbeare
Grainne Josephine McCloskey
Dentist, Crumlin
Laura McClune
Dental Hygienist, Southwater
Andrew David McDonnell
Dentist, Reading
Aine McIver
Dentist, Belfast
Martin McKinstry
Dentist, Kilmacolm
Panagiota Melitou
Dentist, Manchester
Richard Michael
Dentist, Plymouth
Sanjay Miglani
Dental academic, Delhi
Katherine Felicity Mills
Dentist, Benllech
Sharon Alice Johnson Morrow
Dental Nurse, Largs
Gulshan Kumar Murgai
Dentist, Watford
Tan Minh Nguyen
Dental Therapist, Melbourne
Amr Noseir
Dentist, Manchester
Keerut Singh Oberai
Dentist, Egham
Adedeji Daniel Obikoya
Dentist, Athlone
Gemma Joanne O’Callaghan
Dental Hygienist, Southport
Jake O’Connell
Dentist, Sandhurst
Margaret Omoemin Okonkwo
Dentist, Weybridge
Georgina Padgett-Duncan
Dentist, South Cerney
Kapil Paiwal
Dental academic, Kota, Rajasthan
Sonal Pande
Dentist, Horsham
Bhavin Patel
Dentist, Loughton
Vilas Patel
Dentist, Bolton
Anu Anna Paul
Dentist, Kochi, Kerala
Gordon James Penman
Dentist, Kirkcaldy
Helen Peppiatt
Dentist, Norwich
Noel John Perkins
Dentist, Kirkby Lonsdale
Amith Joy Philip
Dentist, Epsom
Richard Pins
Dentist, London
Robert Pittack
Dentist, London
Manju Ponnampalam
Dentist, Canterbury, New South Wales
Colin Alexander Pratt
Dentist, Glasgow
Hong Ping Pua
Dentist, Singapore
Alison Rae
Dentist, King’s Lynn
Savithra Rathinasabapathy
Dentist, Colchester
Paul William Reaney
Dentist, Markethill
Philip John Redfearn
Dentist, Hamilton
Frances Claire Robinson
Dental Hygienist, London
Vaibhav Sahni
Dentist, New Delhi
Irfan Salim
Dentist, Peshawar
Azam Sandhu
Dentist, Bridgetown, Barbados
Hasveer Singh Sangha
Dentist, Coventry
Elizabeth Sebastian
Dentist, Kochi, Kerala
Shaun Sellars
Dentist, Bury Saint Edmunds
Amit Sharma
Dentist, Blandford Forum
Tarik Shembesh
Dentist, London
Richard Skeggs
Dentist, Nottingham
Sami Stagnell
Dentist, Winchester
William John Stanfield
Dental Hygienist, Winsford
Anita Stanforth
Dental Nurse, Gillingham
Thomas William Newell Stapleton
Dentist, York
Miranda Clare Lydia Steeples
Dental Therapist, Pevensey Bay
Carol Subadan
Dentist, Milton Keynes
Katerina Susicki
Dentist, Edinburgh
Anthony Sweeney
Dentist, Beckenham
Stephen Andrew Taylor
Dental Technician, Leyland
Calum Robert Tevendale
Dentist, Glasgow
Heather Jean Anne Topping
Dentist, Lisburn
Priyanka Venkata Vasantavada
Dentist, Middlesbrough
Jacob Verghese
Dentist, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
Andrew John Wallace
Dentist, Belfast
Michael White
Dentist, Lindfield
John Willmott
Dentist, Nottingham
Chee-Siang Yie
Dentist, Miri, Malaysia
*as on 8 February 2023
To join the College or upgrade your existing membership, visit our Membership pages
The latest edition of the Primary Dental Journal, Digital Dentistry, is now live online.
Guest edited by Clinical Professor of Prosthodontics at NYU College of Dentistry USA, Ilser Turkyilmaz, the issue explores various techniques to offer even the most experienced dental professional the latest update on the evolution of technology and materials.
Professor Turkyilmaz clarifies, “Now, well into the age of digital dentistry, clinicians are constantly challenged to find the most modern, relevant material to provide the best quality of care to their patients and ease their labour-intensive workflows. The goal of this issue is to do exactly that, enrich the repertoire of current and new clinicians to help optimise patient care.”
The issue also features the second of five domains from the College’s Career Pathways in Dentistry: Professional Framework, which describes the knowledge, skills and other attributes expected of primary care dental professionals at different career stages – from safe practitioner through to accomplished practitioner. The ‘Professionalism’ domain published in this issue will be followed by ‘Reflection’, ‘Development’, and ‘Agency’ domains in future issues of the Primary Dental Journal. The first domain, ‘Clinical & Technical’, was published in the Autumn 2022 issue, and all domains for every career stage can be viewed online, using the above link.
In addition – and following his 2022 webinar with the College (the recording of which is available on-demand) – we explore Duty of Candour and how this relates to dentistry, with expert in the field, Kevin Lewis. Kevin explains the essentials of the legal, ethical, human, and sometimes contractual duty of candour, and the importance of organisational culture and involving the entire dental team in duty of candour, then focuses on notifiable safety incidents and takes us through the steps needed in dentistry.
Details of the College’s upcoming international conference, Excellence and the dental team (24–25 March 2023), in collaboration with Quintessence Publishing can also be found in this issue and online. Please check here for the up-to-date programme.
A single page cut-out-and-keep chairside synopsis of Antimicrobial Prescribing in Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines is included, providing a handy, practical overview of treatment options for common conditions. The synopsis was developed by the Faculty of General Dental Practice (now College of General Dentistry) and the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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 £41. An annual print subscription, normally costing £125, is included with membership of the College. Membership is available from £100 for dentists and from £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’.
The College has launched Certified Membership, a new, enhanced membership scheme offering elevated professional recognition and ongoing one-to-one career support.
In June 2022, the College published Career Pathways in Dentistry: Professional Framework, which sets out the attributes which define each of five career stages – safe, capable, experienced, enhanced and accomplished – for each role in the primary dental care team, and for each of five domains within each stage – clinical and technical, professionalism, reflection, development, and agency.
Using the Professional Framework, Certified Membership offers structured support for individuals to map out their career journey, working with a trained facilitator to plan and document the staged acquisition of the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours necessary to enable them to fulfil their professional ambitions. With flexible scheduling of support, it will enable dental practitioners to make the right investment in training, build confidence in their practice, and maintain momentum in their career, all while carrying on with their jobs and busy lives.
Their Certified Membership status will aid them in their journey, offering formal recognition of their capability at each stage of their career, demonstrating their commitment to professionalism and high standards of practice, and signifying their dedication to further professional development.
Phase 1 of the programme, with a limit of 50 places, is now open to dentists. For details of how to enrol, click here
Those who have successfully registered with the GDC (or an equivalent) are recognised as having reached the Safe Practitioner stage of the Career Pathway, and are eligible for Associate Membership of the College.
Those who have successfully completed Foundation Training (or equivalent) are recognised as Capable Practitioners, and once they have enrolled on the Certified Membership scheme, held an initial session with their facilitator and produced a personal development plan, are eligible for Certified Associate Membership of the College (Assoc.MCGDent(Cert.)).
Certified Membership has four components – formal qualification, ongoing self-reflective journal, online study and the structured facilitator support – which work together to support the practitioner, and require the self-discipline and personal insight needed to succeed in dental practice. The programme continues for as long as a Certified Member wishes to retain that recognition.
Those who meet the requirements for Full Membership of the College, complete a minimum of two years within the Certified Membership programme, and meet the requirements of Experienced Practitioner status, are eligible to become a Certified Full Member of the College (MCGDent(Cert.)) and to be listed as such in the College’s public Member Register.
Those who meet the requirements for Associate Fellowship of the College, have completed at least two years within the Certified Membership programme, and meet the requirements of Enhanced Practitioner status, are eligible to become a Certified Associate Fellow of the College (AssocFCGDent(Cert.)).
Enrolment in Certified Membership is an enhancement of standard membership at an additional annual fee of £150, which includes two half-day one-to-one sessions per year with a facilitator. Standard membership fees are available to view here
The scheme will be rolled out to other dental professional groups as soon as possible.
The new edition of the Primary Dental Journal, Oral Surgery, is now online.
Guest edited by Dr Aneesha Shah of King’s College London, this issue highlights the pertinent themes relevant to common oral surgery problems, covering a wide array of topics facing the primary dental care team.
It clearly presents many of the latest oral surgery approaches, techniques, and philosophies, featuring papers on predicting dental extractions, considerations for the medically complex patient, temporomandibular disorder, and managing complications.
The issue also features the first of five domains from the College’sCareer Pathways in Dentistry: Professional Framework, which describes the knowledge, skills and other attributes expected of primary care dental professionals at different career stages – from safe practitioner through to accomplished practitioner. The ‘Clinical & Technical’ domain published in this issue will be followed by ‘Professionalism’, ‘Reflection’, ‘Development’, and ‘Agency’ domains in future issues of the Primary Dental Journal.
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’.
In this article, originally published in the British Dental Journal, members of the College’s Career Pathways programme explore the need for defined career structures in the oral healthcare team and explain how CGDent’s Career Pathways aims to fill the big void.
Those who carve out a career in primary dental care have been almost unique amongst healthcare professionals in not having defined career structures to support their professional development, notwithstanding the multitude of training opportunities open to them.
There are many causes for this: the high level of autonomy in general dental practice; the limited overall regulation of post-qualification training in primary dental care; and the limited support for both career enhancement and resulting reward from the NHS. Yet the vast majority of NHS dentistry takes place in general dental practice. Existing structured career pathways in dentistry have been successfully and comprehensively created under the auspices of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of each UK Royal College of Surgeons. However, these have been designed almost entirely for supporting dentists undergoing Specialist Training.
There has been a pressing need to create some form of structure that is fit for modern careers in general dental practice for the following reasons:
Providing recognition of professional development and training for all dental professionals working both in NHS and private practice, and salaried services;
Promoting job satisfaction and workforce retention;
Inspiring public confidence in the post-qualification professional development of dental professionals;
Complementing NHS workforce development plans;
Engaging the oral healthcare team holistically – not just individuals in isolation.
However, a delicate balance also needs to be struck between a structure for career development, minimising regulatory burden, and allowing for the flexibility and independence that have been an attraction for many in general dental practice.
The College of General Dentistry, the successor organisation of FGDP(UK) since July 2021, has been working for the last two years to create pathways for dental professionals which will allow for such a balance. Furthermore, since oral healthcare provision requires the involvement of the whole team, the pathways have been designed with all members of the team in mind.
Our starting point has been the definition of career “inflection points” for an individual’s professional journey. We have purposely not adopted terminology which might have currency today, but might well change as trends and policies evolve. In other words, we have gone back to first principles: what might we expect or wish a person to be able to do, as their skills evolve over a career?
Our next step has been to design a Professional Framework of capabilities that would be expected for each of those career stages. We convened Working Groups for each dental professional group: dental hygienists; dental therapists; dental nurses; dentists; dental technicians. Each group has drawn together these capabilities under five domains, which has resulted in a total of 22 skills. The five domains have been identified as:
Clinical and Technical
Professionalism
Reflection
Development
Agency
The result: our recently published College of General Dentistry Professional Framework. This publication lays out a blueprint, addressing a gaping void that has been present in primary care dentistry. Individuals are encouraged to use it in reflecting on their own progress, and organisations to adopt it in support of their teams, and their workforce planning and development.
Our own next step will be the introduction of our Certified Membership Scheme, soon to be rolled out. This will be the means by which an individual demonstrates they are practising with the capabilities defined for each career stage, and achieve recognition through College post-nominals. Unlike assessments of the past, this will not be based on examination. It will be a journey over two years along an individualised reflective personal development plan, where support from a Facilitator is provided. Gateway qualifications from a range of accredited providers will form part of this journey and our Scheme will enhance the value of these qualifications. The components of Certified Full Membership for dentists, demonstrating capabilities of an Experienced Practitioner, is illustrated below – allowing awarding of the post-nominal Cert MCGDent. This will typically, but not exclusively, appeal to those who have recently completed Foundation Training. Parallel pathways are being developed for each stage of the pathway and, most importantly, for all oral healthcare team members.
We think this is a fresh and unique approach to career progression, and we believe it is consistent with the needs and aspirations of the next generation of dental professionals. The time has now come for the profession to seriously consider the future of careers in primary care, and this College is mapping a bright future for the whole team.
Authors:
Abhijit Pal, President – College of General Dentistry
Janet Clarke MBE, Chair of Trustees – College of General Dentistry
Roshni Karia, Chair of Certified Membership Scheme Working Group – College of General Dentistry
Avijit Banerjee, Chair of Careers Pathway Programme Board – College of General Dentistry
Shamir Mehta, Chair of Careers Pathway Reference Group – College of General Dentistry
Simon Thornton-wood, Chief Executive of the College of General Dentistry
The College has launched its much-anticipated Professional Framework, which describes the expected level of a dental practitioner’s capabilities at each stage of their careers.
Aimed at providing recognition of professional development and promoting job satisfaction and workforce retention, Career Pathways in Dentistry: Professional Framework sets out the knowledge, skills and other attributes which define each of five career stages – safe, capable, experienced, enhanced and accomplished – for each role in the primary dental care team, and for each of five domains within each stage – clinical and technical, professionalism, reflection, development, and agency.
The framework has been 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 and reference group.
The creation of career pathways for general dental practice was a key founding purpose of the College, and the Professional Framework provides the intellectual foundation of our Career Pathways in Dentistry programme, which is supported by Colgate.
The College is also developing a Certified Membership scheme, which will provide dental professionals with the tools to guide their individual postgraduate development journey. This will present the opportunity to embark on a pathway that fits in with personal learning and training goals using a flexible, modular approach supported by a facilitated, reflective personal development plan. It will also provide a structure through which those already established in their careers can further develop their career aspirations and/or mentor less experienced colleagues. This unique proposition, which will be for all members of the dental team, will enable dental professionals to demonstrate that they have met the capabilities for each career stage as defined in the Professional Framework. Progressing along the scheme will be a journey of professional development, rather than an end-point examination, and one in which the individual will be supported.
Dr Abhi Pal, President of the College, and Professor Avijit Banerjee, Chair of the College’s Career Pathways Programme Board, said:
“Those who carve out a career in the primary dental care sector have been almost unique within healthcare professions in not having defined career structures to support their professional development, despite the presence of multiple training opportunities.
“The CGDent Professional Framework adopts an innovative approach which encourages flexibility for dental professionals to meet their practice and career aspirations, whilst recognising milestones along their often varied professional journeys, by providing a clear and coherent supporting structure.
“It is a product made for dental professionals and by dental professionals, and the College owes its thanks to the many dentists, hygienists, therapists, nurses and technicians who have contributed to it, as well as to Colgate for their generous support that has enabled it to be completed.”
The College is inviting feedback on the Professional Framework in order to refine it and make it as robust as possible, and encourages dental professionals to explore it, test it out, and consider how they might use it to support their own development as well as that of colleagues. Feedback should be submitted online here
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