From top: Drs. Joe Vaughn and Sampada Deshpande; Drs. Alex Barrera and Katie Champion Editor’s note: Thank you to our readers and contributors for allowing the New Dentist Now become a platform for new dentists to share and learn about their experiences and insights. If you would like to contribute, please contact [email protected]. We look forward to 2022! What you should learn in dental school, but don’t As I start my endo residency … luckily, I haven’t forgotten everything that I learned in dental school. There’s a few lessons I’m bringing with me this time that I’ve picked up along the way. Here’s four important lessons that I learned in dental school and in my years practicing as a general dentist. My COVID-19 vaccination experience As a health care professional, it is my duty to trust in the scientific method and to do what is right for my community by

Hello and welcome to a brand-new issue of Word of Mouth – the Oral Health Foundation’s digital magazine. This edition is dedicated to all things National Smile Month as it celebrates its 42nd birthday. It’s a been a year since we last produced an edition of our Word of Mouth magazine and we apologise for the delay however we hope you really enjoy this packed issue. National Smile Month offers such a great opportunity to spread positivity and vital oral health messages and it’s been great to see the public and dental professionals alike coming together to support it – whether it’s through our Smiley Monster Competition or our Great British Brushathon. If you haven’t yet taken steps towards a healthier mouth then please take this as in invitation to do so. Improving your oral health has so many benefits, not just for your mouth but the rest of your

In February 1970, a group of dental students met in Chicago to form an independent national dental student organization and named themselves the Student American Dental Association (SADA). The following year the ADA embraced this idea and organized a meeting of student representatives from each dental school in the country to help form a new organization called the American Student Dental Association (ASDA). Although scattered all over the world, several of the founders and leaders of those two organizations planned on having a reunion this year in celebration of their 50th anniversary, but it was scuttled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, they decided to mark this auspicious occasion by writing and publishing a series of seven articles regarding the state of dentistry, dental education, and health care in general from a retrospective perspective in the New Dentist News. The essays in the series are: A look back at ‘70s-style

15th June 2021 When you think about maintaining a healthy mouth, brushing your teeth should be the top priority.  Twice daily toothbrushing with a fluoride toothpaste is the cornerstone to a healthy smile, but there is one simply addition that can truly transform how healthy your mouth is – and that is interdental cleaning.  While toothbrushing is the most effective way to keep your teeth clean, it only reaches 60% of the tooth’s surfaces.  Using interdental brushes to clean in between the gaps in your teeth is one of the easiest and most important things you can do to change the health of your smile for the better. That is why, as part of National Smile Month, the Oral Health Foundation has joined with TePe to give you the very best advice about this simple addition to your oral health routine. Why interdental cleaning is so important Dental plaque can

15th June 2021 When we think about how we care for our mouth, it might be easy to think that there is little in common between our oral health and the environment – but that’s not quite true.  In addition to turning off the tap when brushing (which saves us a staggering 12 litres of water each time), there’s an important connection that applies to all of us – and it revolves around our toothbrush. Toothbrushes form a part of our daily routine.  Twice a day, morning and night, for two minutes, they help clean our teeth and keep our mouth fit and healthy.  Despite this, the shelf-life of a toothbrush is a relatively short one.  In theory, we should only use each one 180 times, for a total of six hours over a period of three months. It all means that in the UK, around 256 million toothbrushes are

Brushing teeth has been ranked top of things Brits could not go a day without doing – according to the findings of a new nationwide poll. Two-in-three (68%) UK adults say they could not go a day without brushing their teeth, deeming it more than three times as important than exercise (21%), as a daily task.1 Brushing teeth was also judged to be more essential than eating breakfast (43%) and washing (41%).1 The findings are part of new research by the Oral Health Foundation to coincide with National Smile Month – a charity campaign aiming to reduce dental disease by highlighting the importance of a healthy mouth. Previous research by the charity suggests that as many as 97% of the population brush their teeth at least once per day.2 Dr Nigel Carter, chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation explains the importance of tooth brushing and why is it so

In this guest blog, Jo Bates, founder of Thumbsie® Ltd discusses the potentially detrimental impact of thumb-sucking on children’s oral health. It was through her own struggles with her daughter Isabel, who tried to give up thumb-sucking eight years ago, that Jo found inspiration to launch Thumbsie®, a tool dedicated to helping children to stop thumb and finger sucking in a positive way. Thumbsie is also a proud sponsor of this year’s National Smile Month campaign which is running from 17 May to 17 June. The largest and longest-running campaign to promote good oral health is back – and Thumbsie® are delighted to lend our support. National Smile Month provides a fantastic opportunity to promote the importance of good oral health to people of all ages and backgrounds. As the Oral Health Foundation said last year, in an exclusive article for Thumbsie’s website, National Smile Month allows us to “engage

ONE-IN-FOUR (26%) British adults regularly brush their teeth only once a day, according to findings of a new nationwide poll. The data has been collected by the Oral Health Foundation and sheds concerns about the number of people willing to skip twice-daily brushing. The charity is especially worried by the number of people who regularly fail to brush their teeth last thing at night, when the health of the mouth is most likely to deteriorate.  Insights from the research show that one-in-four (25%) do not brush their teeth in the evening before they go to bed. Latest figures show two-in-three (66%) UK adults have visible plaque, almost one-in-three (31%) have signs of tooth decay, and three-in-four (74%) have had teeth extracted. The examination into Britain’s brushing habits is part of National Smile Month, a campaign by the Oral Health Foundation that aims to raise awareness about the importance of a

Dentistry is no longer just a case of filling and taking out teeth.  Today, more people than ever before are turning to cosmetic dentistry, or ‘aesthetic dentistry’, as a way of improving their appearance. Cosmetic dental treatments can be used to straighten, lighten, reshape, and repair your teeth.  It might include having veneers, crowns, bridges, tooth-coloured fillings, implants, or tooth whitening. All these treatments are extremely complex and require expert hands and a safe environment. Unfortunately, many people are making the mistake of attempting these treatments at home and following unsafe advice online.  Others are choosing to have dental treatment carried out by people who are not legally allowed to do so. Making the wrong choices when considering cosmetic dentistry can put your health at risk. By always visiting a qualified professional within dental practice for advice and treatment you can keep your smile safe and looking great. Visiting a

The demand for tooth whitening treatment has boomed in recent years, in part, driven by the rise of pearly white smiles seen on our TV screens and on social media.  Our research shows that whiter teeth come top of most people’s smile wish list and may lead to a boost in confidence and self-esteem.  Like all medical procedures, however, tooth whitening is not without danger.     Before embarking on tooth whitening treatment, it is important to do your research.  By knowing more about tooth whitening, you may improve your chance of having safer treatment with better results.   Tooth whitening and the colour of your teeth Tooth whitening can be a very effective way of lightening the natural colour of your teeth without removing any of the tooth surface. It cannot make a complete colour change, but it may lighten the existing shade. There are many reasons why you might get your