By Hfsa Fahad, Student Editor, BDJ Student

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Scroll through any dental social media feed and a familiar rhythm emerges: conferences attended, courses completed, panels joined, opportunities shared with polished enthusiasm. None of this is inherently problematic – much of it is impressive, earned. But taken together, it signals something worth pausing over: professional development is no longer only something that happens quietly over time, it is something increasingly made public, curated for an audience. In contemporary UK dental practice, social media forms part of how dentists communicate and represent themselves professionally, with practitioners balancing benefits and risks of online presence.1

Dentistry has always valued progression. The profession would not be where it is today without a commitment to mentorship, continual improvement and lifelong learning.2 Yet the contemporary landscape suggests a subtle shift. Development does not simply occur; it is documented. Shared. Liked. To be developing professionally is no longer just to learn, reflect and grow, but to be seen doing so. And what follows is less a crisis than a confusion, between what professionalism looks like and what it actually requires.3,4

This is not an argument against networking. Professional relationships matter. They broaden horizons, challenge assumptions, and remind students and professionals alike that dentistry is larger than a single pathway or specialty. For many, particularly those without traditional access to professional spaces, visibility is a necessity. Networking is a tool: teaching communication, confidence, and how to navigate a profession that is as relational as it is technical.

Nor is the rise of student-led dental content something to dismiss. Many students use online platforms thoughtfully: explaining concepts, sharing revision strategies, and making dental education feel less opaque. Translating knowledge for others demands clarity; at its best, it reinforces learning and contributes to a more open profession.5,6 Used responsibly, visibility can widen access rather than narrow it.

The difficulty arises when visibility becomes mistaken for value – professional growth measured by presence rather than practice. In highly performative spaces, confidence outpaces competence, and certainty is often rewarded more readily than reflection. Clinical judgement is learned not from a LinkedIn post, or an Instagram reel, but gradually accumulated through experience. These processes do not lend themselves neatly to performance.

Professionalism, after all, is not an aesthetic (no matter what Pinterest tells you). It is not the polish of a profile, the tone of a caption, or the frequency of appearances. It reveals itself in decisions made under pressure, in the willingness to ask for help, and in the restraint to remain silent when speaking would be premature. Much of this work happens quietly, beyond view - and it is precisely this invisibility that makes it easy to overlook. Recent UK research highlights that professionalism, as understood by both educators and patients, arises from behaviour, reflection, learning experiences, and ethical judgement, not simply public displays of competence.7

There is also a personal cost to this conflation of visibility and progress. Constant exposure to others' achievements can quietly reshape how both students and professionals – especially recent grads – alike understand success, fostering comparison rather than confidence.

Reflection has long been positioned as a cornerstone of professional development, yet it is increasingly at odds with cultures that prioritise immediacy and output. Reflection slows narratives and asks uncomfortable questions: what are we avoiding, why, and for whom? When development becomes performative, reflection risks being reduced to a formality rather than a discipline, a tick-box completed, rather than something lived.

There is also a personal cost to this conflation of visibility and progress. Constant exposure to others' achievements can quietly reshape how both students and professionals – especially recent grads – alike understand success, fostering comparison rather than confidence. Growth that occurs privately, through steady improvement, can begin to feel insufficient because it is unseen. But professional development rarely follows a straight line, and its most significant moments often go unnoticed.

This distinction matters because dentistry is a profession rooted in trust. In today's age, to be online is to be seen, but patients do not require us to simply be seen; they require us to be careful. Colleagues do not need performance metrics; they need reliability. In spaces where views begin to substitute for substance, the values underpinning professionalism risk erosion. When presence is rewarded more than prudence, something essential is lost.

Perhaps the question is not whether professional development should be visible - it often will be - but whether visibility has become its proxy. Networking and content creation can complement professional growth, but they should not replace the slower, less comfortable work of becoming. The most profound learning often whispers rather than declares itself.

So, has professional development become synonymous with being seen? It does not have to be. But preserving the difference between performance and practice requires intention. It requires resisting the urge to equate engagement with excellence and remembering that professionalism is not something we display. It's like flossing - people may not notice, but it makes all the difference to you.

Professionalism: best performed in private, applauded only by your conscience.

Hfsa Fahad