The importance of and opportunities afforded by mentoring
Mentoring is an essential element of every dentist’s development. Whether new to the profession or moving into a new, more advanced field – like implantology – the support and guidance of a mentor is instrumental to safely and effectively delivering patient care. When implemented correctly, mentoring has a transformative power over a clinician’s career.
The benefits explored
The NHS England Guide to Mentoring [i] sets out a number of clear benefits afforded by effective mentoring. These include improved self-confidence, increased learning opportunities, an expanded professional network, improved skill development and positive on-going career progression. In Scotland, the NEST Support through learning[ii] initiative highlights a similar need for continued training and mentorship as part of the dentists’ development.
Of course, the mentee is not the only one to take something away from the experience, with several advantages available to the mentor too. These consist of improved job satisfaction, increased peer recognition, broader perspectives, an expanded network and the opportunity to develop leadership skills.
Mentoring has been proven to work in all manner of businesses, not just those in dentistry. A 2022 report suggested that 84% of Fortune 500 companies in the US implemented mentoring programmes.[iii] If it works for them, it will certainly prove useful for dental practices from a business perspective too.
Optimising mentor relationships
Mentoring should take a holistic approach to development, providing support at a level that is appropriate for the mentee. As the aforementioned guidelines point out, it is a two-way relationship that allows the exchange of information, experiences and expertise. It should focus on the future and be built upon over time.
To make the very most of the relationship, it is crucial that both parties are clear in their roles and expectations. Mentees must also be proactive in identifying what they wish to learn and taking the time to implement suggestions from their mentor wherever appropriate.
Communication is also key. Discussions should be regular, open and honest as you get started, though the frequency of interaction may reduce as skills and confidence are built up. This is why is it so important to work with the right person – finding common ground through shared interests and priorities will ensure that the mentee and mentor are able to form a successful working relationship.
Clear boundaries
As already mentioned, it is crucial that both parties understand exactly what is expected of both of them as part of a mentoring agreement. A large part of this is establishing the objectives of the relationship while agreeing a timescale and the precise costs involved. For instance, this should include the mentor’s day rate if they are teaching in-person, whether their travel and accommodation expenses would need to be covered if they visit the mentee and so on.
The agreement should also factor in what kind of activities or support may be utilised by the mentee. For example, can they observe the mentor performing a live oral surgery case from in the surgery? Can they live stream a treatment? Where will discussions about specific case planning take place? Can/should they deliver treatment to patients under direct supervision of the mentor?
All of this will need to be tailored to the type of dentistry being focused on. Clinicians early in their career will likely be working on more general dental skills, consolidating their learning from university and building on the basics. Those moving into new disciplines like dental implantology will need a primary mentoring programme that facilitates the recommended 10 mentored cases following postgraduate training in the field.
Finally, clinicians who are more advanced in their chosen field may need to focus their support to help them take on more complex cases as they develop highly advanced clinical skills. This secondary mentoring is often the most fluid as it will depend on the volume of relevant cases available to treat.
Maximising opportunities to grow
Dr Charlie Evans, a member of the Clinical Team at Clyde Munro Dental, is a keen advocate for mentoring for dentists at all stages of their careers. He says: “Mentoring is critical for clinicians to develop their skills. It is can also help dentists to learn a broad range of skills, including clinical and business capabilities. Accessing supervision and guidance from a more experienced dentist affords confidence that they are developing in the right way.
“This concept is integral to the support provided by Clyde Munro to all their dentists, which includes dedicated programmes for dentists fresh out of their VT year – the Best Foot Forward Programme – and those within 5 years of qualification – Flying Start Programme. We also have highly experienced mentors across the group who are dedicated to guiding colleagues via either primary or secondary mentorship programmes, collectively helping clinicians achieve the common goal of enhanced patient care through professional development.”
No matter what stage you have reached in your career, finding a trusted mentor is important to safely and effectively guide your future progression.
To find out more about the career development opportunities available at Clyde Munro, please visit https://careers.clydemunrodental.com/.
[i] NHS England, (2014). A Guide to Mentoring, (Online) Available at: https://cec.hscni.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/NHS_England_Mentoring_Guide_5bv5_FINAL5d.pdf [Accessed July 2025]
[ii] NHS Scotland. NEST Support for Dental Registrants. https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/44901/dental-cpd/nest [Accessed July 2025]
[iii] MentorcliQ. US Fortune 500 mentoring taking off: 2022 mentoring impact report. May 2023. https://www.mentorcliq.com/blog/2022-fortune-500-mentoring-report [Accessed July 2025]
Comments are closed here.