Seeking insight

Alisha Karim, Student editor, BDS4, King's College London

It is certainly a privilege to be embarking on a career in the dental profession during its time in the media spotlight. Social media has skyrocketed the demand of aesthetic and cosmetic procedures, stratified the launch of innovative and sustainable products in the industry, and shone a light on the many entrepreneurs in the field. However, what is striking is the disconnect we are still facing with patients.

For every headline that emerges praising the advances of dentistry, there are those which are louder and much starker, voicing the concerns of patients unable to access care, mistrust their care providers, or even those who share terrible stories of maleficence attributed to dental tourism. The profession strives to subvert this, but with dental anxiety reported in almost half the population, getting the engagement we desire from patients is still a stagnant endeavour. This is undoubtedly complex, requiring the collaboration of interdisciplinary professionals, lay people and the government. But could this be helped by taking a different approach?

Perhaps an insight into the developing professional could aid us in understanding one path to our perceptual distortion. Like with any wicked problem, the first task is to uncover its origin.

Dental students are the interface between the profession and the public it treats. We exist at a stage of metamorphosis of our cognition, skills and self, already some distance from lay people, even in our mere decision to embark on the journey of becoming a dental professional. Foundations in theory are built over the first few years of study, as we explore knowledge across multiple disciplines, until it all comes together and we are able to manage our first, real patient. From then on, we spend copious amounts of time with our patients, charting their dental journeys meticulously and constructing towers of rapport. The same cannot be said of fleetingly short patient encounters that commence once we reach NHS practice. Perhaps an insight into the developing professional could aid us in understanding one path to our perceptual distortion. Like with any wicked problem, the first task is to uncover its origin.

©Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment/Getty

I am therefore proud to open the King's College London Takeover of BDJ Student, which is the first of its kind by the publication. The university heralds the largest cohort of dental students in the country, as well as providing clinical experience for these students across sites within the busiest hospital trust in the UK.

Our contributors span all five years of dental school and extend to voice the views of recent graduate Dr Faris Elsayad, who certainly left an impact during his time here at King's. This issue desires to capture the emotions, challenges, and culture of dental students at pivotal stages of their education, whilst respecting the diversity of the individual experience. We students are well-equipped to share a snapshot of the complexities that come with pursuing and performing professional competence in an ever-evolving world of dentistry, so I hope you enjoy the issue!