We are really excited to present Peninsula Dental School's takeover of BDJ Student, with articles from students of all years, BDS and DTH. Our students have each chosen topics that are of interest to them, expanding on information that has been introduced during dental school.

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University of Plymouth's Peninsula Dental School was established in 2006, the first new dental school to be created in the UK for 40 years. Since then it has become a flourishing enterprise, topping the Guardian league table for Dentistry in 2024-2025 and providing a service to over 5,000 NHS patients in the South West per year. Its core aims - outstanding clinical education, strong social engagement and world-class research, help build a cohort of competent and confident dentists and dental therapists every year, ready to embark on life in practice. A key strength is the close relationship with NHS partners, leading to early clinical contact in the first year of the degree, which has a big impact on early development of the students' clinical skills.

The dental clinics span three cities in the South West of England: Plymouth, Exeter, and Truro. It is a beautiful part of the country with Dartmoor, Cornwall and the Devon coastline on the doorstep. The students often love to explore and visit new towns on the weekends and pick up new hobbies such as wild swimming and hiking. The summer term of fourth year in Truro is a firm favourite, as surfing and going to the beach after clinic become a popular activity, something not commonly experienced at many dental schools! This all provides a relief from the course, helping students learn a healthy work-life balance early on in their careers as well as prioritising their mental health alongside a challenging degree.

An exciting new development is the opening of an urgent care clinic in the centre of Plymouth, where fifth year dental students and third year dental therapy students will work alongside specialists to provide care for patients who don't have an NHS dentist. The clinic is set to open December 2025 where there will be same day appointments for patients experiencing pain, infection and trauma. This will benefit the community of Plymouth as there are a large number of people waiting to access dental care in the city, so this clinic will go some way to addressing some of that need. Additionally, its design resembles a practice on the high street, allowing students to work in a more realistic environment and better prepare for practice.

We hope you enjoy reading the articles and hopefully learn something new. Every day is a learning day!