Exploring the science of kindness
Can we reverse the trend towards putting ourselves first? Read more
Averting disaster
Will the recently announced £3m for additional dental training places have the desired effect? Read more
Brush all you like
… but if your diet is bad and you graze, you’ll have problems; that’s the message we need to get across Read more
An inexorable path
Insider: Without clear leadership, workforce improvement and incentives to invest, the political posturing will come to nothing – and NHS dentistry will fail Read more
The year ahead
Things are forever changing, hopefully for the better, but changing nonetheless Read more
Acting in haste
Decades in the making, why sprint to the finish when there is a risk of stumbling? Read more
One-off chance to research
We need to take stock, take advantage of the data generated and improve ourselves for the future There must be… Read more
Here’s a plan…
Looking forward to the coming year, I thought I’d look at what new things in dentistry interest me. Boringly enough, I… Read more
A turning point
We are near a critical mass. People I talked to have concerns about what is coming and a certainty there… Read more
A brilliant accident?
Thoughts are swirling round my head, about where dentistry was, the mire it is in, and the future landscape of… Read more
Insider
Time to come clean
COVID-19 has meant that I’ve been restricted in my thoughts and planning. Let’s explore the future with hope and expectation.… Read more
New model of care?
I want to get over COVID-19. Not that I’ve had it. I want us all to get over it. I… Read more
Admit the problem
Everyone I meet says the same thing. We’re in a rut; Groundhog Day. Lockdown 2.0 has been hard for everyone.… Read more
Prepare to recover slowly
As I sat, pondering the announcement of a second National Lockdown in Scotland, I felt void of emotion. At least… Read more
More like a Mike Leigh film than Disney
Here I sit, trying to write this piece with news of ever-increasing infections, restrictions and new dental (not) guidance. I… Read more
Multiplying risk
We need to find a way to get back to caring for our patients, quickly. I was talking to my… Read more
Feeling the pressure
Day 63 in the ‘Lockdown House’. If I could enter the diary room, what would I be saying? I’d be… Read more
How will we cope?
The issue is how we effectively treat patients and ensure we have businesses at the other end We are living… Read more
Let’s not be viewed as nay-sayers
Starting a lively debate is the only way change can work well for all stakeholders Sitting down to write this… Read more
School’s out. Well, changing for sure
Imagine an educational institution with no courses. No subjects. No classrooms. No timetable. Sounds a bit out there, doesn’t it?… Read more
A career conundrum
Without a clearly defined pathway, there is little support to encourage progression up the dentistry ladder to the very top… Read more
Spare a thought for the boss
They’re always whining on about costs. Associates not working hard enough. Nurses chatting in the stock cupboard. Patients not paying… Read more
It’s positively time to be more respectful of our profession
A new year, a new me. Isn’t that the way it goes? Well thus far, as Arthur, I’ve been erring a… Read more
BDA Scotland launches oral cancer action plan
THE figures around oral cancer in Scotland make for sobering reading. It now kills more than three times as many… Read more
Please relieve me
The final part of my stress-related trilogy; or should it be the final nail in the coffin? Patients, money, staff,… Read more
Dentistry in a Disunited Kingdom
The United Kingdom is in a state of limbo following the result of the Brexit referendum
Churchill once said: “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms…” and we are now… Read more