Dentistry can be a testing environment; Reena Wadia offers a selection of ideas to help you evolve into the perfect practitioner.

With the long, warm summer evenings and the smell of BBQs filling the air, it’s all too easy to open a cool beer, bottle of chilled wine or mix up the Pimms. Potential risks of alcohol on our oral and general health by Sarah Bradbury.

Stephen Henderson describes a campaign that has fundamentally changed the way in which the GDC’s Investigating Committee operates

The law on “informed” consent has changed following a recent Supreme Court judgment

The report of the Intercollegiate Advisory Committee for Sedation (IACS) in Dentistry was published in April 2015 and replaces the previous document, Conscious Sedation in the Provision of Dental Care (Department of Health 2003)

Resistance to shared decision making often revolves around a perception that dentists have many patients who wish the dentist to make the decision for them. Whatever you think best. The difficulty is that just as Dentists have preferences for their style of decision making, patients also have preferences as to their desired level of involvement.

Some important facts that we think you will find surprising

In general, there are three approaches to achieve a safe passage through any minefield. The first is to find out exactly where all the mines are located before you start, and then to carefully plan a safe route – and stick to it.

“Don’t go and blow all of your money during your first week” was perhaps the best piece of advice in my early university career.

The moment I saw the metal sign ‘Dr S.Kaddour’ being drilled onto my surgery door I felt a small lump develop in my throat.

Emily Hooper graduated from Bristol Dental School in 2013. She completed DF1 in Bath and has since completed Dental Core Trainee positions in Bristol and Newcastle. She currently works as a DCT 3 in Paediatric Dentistry.

Satnam graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2015 with honours and a clinical distinction in dentistry. She then went on to successfully complete her foundation training in the West Midlands.

An introduction and overview of pulp stones.

Having qualified, and started work, you should now have an excess of income; your net pay, over expenditure.

Kevin Lewis is to step down as Dental Protection’s Dental Director by summer 2016, having served in the role since 1998.

In addition to its many other services to the dental profession, Dental Protection has a long history of providing innovative educational material. The publication of the Annual Review 2014 continues that tradition. What’s more, the digital version of the publication is available with three hours online CPD.

Dental Protection has called on the Government to implement a package of legal reforms to help tackle the rising cost of clinical negligence, and the challenging claims environment for dentists.

A highly intensive interpersonal skills training programme which greatly enhances dentist-patient communication and creates significant behavioural and attitudinal change.

The new NHS Scotland Complaints Handling Procedure places an emphasis on empowering all staff to resolve issues “on-the-spot” where they can. Primary Care service providers also have to make sure they record all complaints, even those resolved efficiently. Sara Dawson explores all the changes below

Dental Protection has welcomed the General Dental Council’s (GDC) commitment to provide greater clarity on how and when it will use its formal Fitness to Practise enforcement powers as a solution to managing serious risk to patients.

Saleem Hasanally is in his third year post-qualification after choosing to do his vocational training over two years at Porth Dental Teaching Unit in Wales. If you're thinking DFT is the only way, read Saleem's experience of training another way.

The key to complaints handling is a flexibility of approach. The complaints handling process should adapt to the needs of a patient and not the other way round. Although there is no single way to handle a complaint, there are some key steps that should always be considered...