Blatant sexism

I was disgusted with the letter written by the anonymous contributor (Female dictatorships winter 06). This is blatant sexism as certainly not all female dentists are nasty and male dentists heavenly. I am sorry that this person has been treated badly by ‘A female dentist’. She did only mention the one female dentist and has not worked with any others to find out the difference. I would like to see a retraction of her warning about working with female dentists, and change it to ‘don't work with that particular female dentist’.

Having worked as a dental nurse while training and now having my own practice for over 20 years, with many employees and associates over that time, people are very diverse, and you cannot stereotype for gender, race, age or anything else. You can no more say that ‘all female dentists are bad’ than you could say that ‘all Welsh dentists are bad’ for example. Both are examples of bigotry and are indefensible in this day and age.

Dr Teresa Day (Female dentist with a team of happy, loyal, well treated, well paid professional dental nurses and support staff), by email

Dividing the profession

I was disturbed to read the contents of the letter from a dental nurse regarding female dentists in the winter issue of Vital. Whilst the distressing time a colleague in the dental profession has experienced concerns me, I feel that to encourage the blanket vilification of all female dentists by publishing the letter to be irresponsible and unfair.

Modern dentistry is an extremely challenging service to provide and the author is right in that dental school does not teach the people skills for this role; these are mainly learnt through experience. Developing new practical skills that are often quite challenging in an environment where patients are anxious, frequently questioning your authority, under the threat of litigation and in a rapidly changing professional environment, the introduction of a new dentist to their profession can be quite traumatising, particularly if the dentist is emotionally sensitive. In these circumstances it is not surprising that young dentists (male or female) struggle to maintain their professionalism, often with little support from senior colleagues who were never officially taught these skills themselves either.

Whilst this does not excuse unprofessional behaviour, I feel the publication of this letter shows little compassion for the dentist involved and a lack of insight into the potential dynamics inherently involved. It also neglects the role the nurse herself may have had in escalating the situation. In the absence of this insight the letter encourages a perspective of female dentists that is only apt to compound the problem, as other young nurses are expected to be prejudiced against female dentists without the maturity and wisdom to exercise some empathy for what they may be going through, and encouraged to take any difficulties they have with their dentist personally. I think this is a pity as this only serves to divide the profession further, rather than make it stronger.

Victoria Jones, Dental Surgeon, Ruddington

Snide comments

I am writing in response to the letter Female dictatorships (winter 06). I was saddened that Vital, which is supposed to represent ‘the whole dental team’, has chosen to single out ‘young, female dentists’ as difficult members of the team.

The nurse, whose letter was in response to your Friendly or flirty? article (autumn 06), had understandably been very much affected by the dentist with whom she worked. Working in close contact with a difficult member of the team affects anyone, whoever the troublemaker is, be it nurse, receptionist, dentist, male or female. However, a sweeping statement such as ‘I would advise all dental nurses … never to work with female dentists, especially young ones’ surely deserved a comment from the editor stating this was not Vital's policy but a personal one.

A female dentist and female nurse are never going to have the same working dynamics of male dentist/female combination, which tends to drift into ‘married couple’ roles after a few years. However, as more and more dental graduates are female, female nurses will find themselves working more often in an all female environment. It is up to the individuals to find a middle ground with respect given both to dentist and nurse. I would suggest that if this is not achievable that it is due, in most cases, to a clash of personalities rather than solely due to the fact the dentist is young and female.

Being a ‘young, female dentist’ myself, I have a good working relationship with all the female nurses and receptionists at my practice, and quite often take upon the role of spokesperson for any tensions within the group if they feel uncomfortable talking to the male practice owners. I am fairly sure none of the practice team see me as a ‘Hitler’ and if anything, the nurses who have passed their qualifications or training for them, have been pleased that a newer graduate with more up to date training has been able to help them with practising cross infection issues or material queries.

I have always enjoyed reading Vital and encourage the nurses and reception team to read it as well. But whilst I think it is great nurses and other members of the team have a more team orientated publication to enjoy than the BDJ, I hope it is not going to become a place that good dentists find themselves subject to little more than snide comments behind our backs (see letter Convince the dentists winter 06).

Judith Traill, Dental Surgeon, Aberdeen

Inciting discrimination

I am writing to express my concern and disappointment at your decision to publish the letter entitled Female dictatorships in the winter 2006 edition of Vital.

I find it quite extraordinary that a reputable publication aimed at the whole dental team would take the view that it is acceptable to publish such a letter. At best it is the sad product of someone who clearly has some personal problems with an individual female dentist. At worst it is insulting and prejudicial and incites others to discriminate against a staff group which forms an increasingly large proportion of the dental workforce.

The letter may have been more credible and of interest to a wider audience if the author had reported extensive ‘bad’ experience of working with numerous female dentists, or if she had conducted a review of relevant literature (of which there are several papers published). Alternatively, she could have discussed specific communication-style differences between the ‘bad’ female dentist and the ‘good’ male ones.

I am pleased to say that as a female VDP, albeit a slightly more mature one, relationships between team members in our practice are excellent and I have had nothing but support and kindness from everyone from the outset and I like to think that I reciprocate.

I would urge you as the Editor to think carefully before you publish such an inflammatory letter in the future. Vital is aimed at the whole dental team including dentists and we know that there are good and bad amongst all staff groups. It is widely acknowledged that dental schools do little to promote team working at undergraduate level and as such new dental graduates have minimal experience of working with nurses, never mind in small team or single surgery environments. I had thought that Vital was intended to promote cohesion within dental teams and highlight the contribution made by all staff groups. There has to be a degree of symbiosis between dentists and nurses because one staff group simply cannot function without the other. It is my view that the publication of this letter implies a ‘us and them’ mentality from which we are all supposed to be moving away. Surely this discrimination against female dentists can be no more acceptable than if you were to substitute the word female for black, Asian or gay. Would you also consider providing a forum for such discrimination? I very much doubt it.

Karen Blake BDS (Lon), Kent

Sweeping generalisations

I am writing in response to the letter Female dictatorships printed in the winter issue of Vital.

I do not wish to sound harsh to the writer, but I find it hard to believe that this letter made print. Making such sweeping generalisations about female dentists based on one experience is no different to racism.

I have heard tales of male dentists treating their nurses badly, and I have found some female nurses rather doting on the males they have working relationships with in quite an inappropriate manner. Perhaps there is a certain amount of envy towards female dentists rather than, as the writer states, that we feel they are failed dentists.

Of course you cannot apply these traits across the board and I have found my working relationships with my nurses to have been great, and I would be upset if they disagreed with me.

There is no mention of what action this person took to deal with this situation in a positive and constructive manner over the two years. Was there not a Principal to turn to and take charge of the situation?

I hope her negative comments towards female dentists do not cause undue concern to your nurse readers as I feel you have done quite a bit of damage by printing this biased letter.

Of course as a female I will now be tarred with the same brush I suppose by the writer, but I think I am just being realistic.

I have no objections to my name being printed.

Victoria Holden, by email

Fairness and respect

In response to the anonymous letter from a dental nurse (Female dictatorships winter 06) who had been subjected to bullying by a female dentist, I feel that it is important to stress that we cannot make sweeping generalisations with regard to all female dentists.

As a female dentist I have always worked well with all my colleagues and patients and have always applied the philosophy of ‘do as you would be done by’. If you want to be treated with respect you need to listen to your colleagues and patients and treat them fairly.

Within the dental profession I feel that we would benefit from a service who will work on the behalf of all dental colleagues to try to improve relationships within the practice. This can only help to improve our relationships with our patients and improve our working lives.

Kathryn Dunning BDS, by email

Striking a balance

I was rather dismayed when I read the letter Female dictatorships (winter 06). I am a female dentist and I own a single handed dental practice with three full time female members of staff. I have been qualified for seven years and I have worked with a number of female dental nurses during this time.

I appreciate that the lady who submitted the letter has obviously had a difficult working relationship with a single dentist, but now without any further evidence advises all dental nurses not to work with female dentists, especially young ones.

I have had good relationships with the women I have worked with, although I think it is extremely difficult as a young dentist to strike out the right balance between a friendship and a work relationship. This can lead to problems, but the majority of these can be overcome by better communication.

I feel that the letter was extremely biased and I was surprised that you felt that it was an appropriate letter to publish. Just for the record I have never disrespected my nurses because they are all failed dentists; they all chose specifically to be a dental nurse and get a lot of satisfaction out of doing their job well.

Carol Leadbetter BDS, Chorley

A ridiculous statement

I am writing to express my concern about the letters you choose to print. You stated that you do not normally print anonymous letters but considering the content of this particular letter you found it necessary to do so. The letter I am referring to is the one written by a nurse who has clearly stated that no nurses should work with any young female dentists as they are ALL unsympathetic and dreadful to work for. How absolutely appalling that a nurse in such a profession as ours has the audacity to make such a statement. First of all it is a terrible generalisation to make a statement that includes all young female dentists – this nurse based her experience on one dentist only – how she has the knowledge to know every single young female dentist is beyond me. And to make a statement informing other nurses to refuse to work with such dentists is a most ridiculous statement and I cannot believe you would find this a worthy letter to print. Lastly, since most graduate dentists are now young and female, I would suggest that ‘anonymous’ may soon find that there are no dentists to her taste to work with any more and she may be forced to leave the profession entirely.

Miss Seema Mahida (A young, female and very caring dentist!), by email

Editor's note: We printed the above-mentioned letter in Vital because it was an opinion expressed in direct response to one of our articles (Friendly or flirty autumn 06). The footnote explained that opinions in letters are not necessarily endorsed by the publishers or editorial team. We were keen to include views on the letter from dental nurse readers, but unfortunately those I approached did not wish to comment.

Thank you to everyone who has been in touch and for the positive thoughts and ideas generated; it was not our intention to cause offence and we apologise for any that has been taken.