Sir, Professor Nairn Wilson in his editorial (BDJ 2007; 202: 297) makes a passionate plea for a modern scientific dental education throughout a dental working life. This is because of the ever-changing nature of disease and the complexity of the interactions between healthcare personnel who are now, and will be even more so in the future, involved in the provision of patient care.

There are, I believe, two prerequisites for closer links with our medical colleagues.

Firstly, medical practitioners will need to be educated in the impact of oral and dental diseases on systemic health and disease and the significant effect on oral health status that common disease entities have in the mouth, for example diabetes. Currently this is not a feature of undergraduate medical education, rarely appears as part of either GP or specialist training and is unlikely to do so unless the dental profession takes the initiative to educate and keep our medical colleagues up-to-date using our expertise.

Secondly, general medical practitioners will need to be persuaded that dentists will see patients who currently go to their medical practitioner with dental problems because they are unable to obtain treatment under the NHS from a local dentist. The resentment that this causes in general medical practice is a real stumbling block to achieving the level of cooperation to which Professor Wilson aspires. I am well aware that the reasons behind this unhappy situation are complex and in many respects beyond the control of individual dentists. However, they are not really understood by medical practitioners who only see the resultant fallout. It is important that the dental profession as a whole and individually, make the effort to inform our medical colleagues of the falsities behind their misconceptions.

Another area to which Professor Wilson refers is the role of the dentist as team leader. What he does not say is that the dental team of the future will, in all probability, be working in a health care 'one-stop-shop' and in close proximity to the medical practitioners with whom he believes we should be working.

All the more reason to resolve the current difficulties without delay. There are exciting times ahead!