The British Dental Journal (Impact Factor at the time of publication: 2.73) has been the professional journal of the British Dental Association since the association's inception in 1879. Many readers around the world will be aware that the journal celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2022, from its origins as the Monthly Review of Dental Surgery in 1872. Incidentally, it is also the 120th anniversary of the current title of the journal! It is interesting to note that, 'from the outset, the [journal's] stated objective was to satisfy an urgently felt need for "an organ to adequately represent British Dental Surgery, to protect the interests of the Dental Profession and to form a medium for the interchange of ideas between its individual members". It suggested that discussion of topics relating to dental surgery and mechanics would occupy much space, but there would be room for new theories, inventions, modes of practice and reports from correspondents in Europe and America'.1,2

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Thanks to Stanley Gelbier's insightful articles on the history of the BDJ,1,2 it is clear that this dental journal, with the longest continuous print run in the UK, has been at the forefront of dental publishing with a consistently high readership in the UK and globally, ably led and edited by a series of key 'influencers' in our profession (to use the modern vernacular!), not least the current Editor-in-Chief of 19 years, Stephen Hancocks.

Stephen and his predecessors I'm sure would be the first to acknowledge the tremendous amount of hard work that goes on behind the scenes to produce such an important publication, with consistent quality and content over so many years. They are and have been ably aided by their editorial board members and the publishing/production team (currently Springer Nature), who work tirelessly to produce 24 high-quality print and online issues per year. Of course, without article submissions from budding authors from around the world, on wide-ranging topics from clinical tips to current politics, scientific research, systematic reviews to opinion pieces, as well as important contributions from dental industry partners, there would be no journal to produce in the first place.

The other key reason for the BDJ's success is the continuous evolution of the journal itself. While still adhering to its key principles from 150 years ago, successive editors have allowed and steered the journal's evolution, keeping pace with current trends and having the awareness to change with the times.

It is my role to select topics/themes affecting both the UK and global oral healthcare profession that are current and engage all stakeholders.

In the BDJ's 150th anniversary year, the senior editorial team, led by Stephen with feedback from you, the readership, felt there was an unmet need to have a section of the journal, only accessible to journal subscription holders, for learned opinion, commentary and assimilation of information concerning current topics affecting all stakeholders in the dental/oral healthcare profession. I was honoured to be appointed the Associate Editor for this section of the journal, aptly titled 'BDJ Perspectives'.

It is my role to select topics/themes affecting both the UK and global oral healthcare profession that are current and engage all stakeholders. I have been tasked with commissioning key opinion leaders/experts in those areas to write short commentaries, outlining their personal and/or collective 'perspectives' on such topics, in the hope to stimulate the readership to think about and develop their own thoughts, view and opinions, all based on fact. Since July 2022, the monthly BDJ Perspectives section has included a varied selection of topics/themes:

  • COVID & PPE - legacy to the profession

  • Postgraduate career pathways in primary care

  • Online dental education - friend or foe?

  • The use/abuse of social media in dentistry

  • Dental amalgam - debate or debacle?

  • Clinical UK conference reports

  • EDI in dentistry

  • Sustainability in dentistry

  • Practice-based research - duty or chore?

  • Views from the dental indemnity world (in this issue!)

Other BDJ Perspectives content brings together abstracts of papers from other journals, research insights where recently published BDJ papers are summarised alongside author Q&A and an expert view. These are designed for the busy readership in mind, providing a palatable overview of content. Case reports / interviews are also included on an ad hoc basis.

I do hope you find BDJ Perspectives useful, interesting and insightful and your feedback is always welcome and appreciated.