BDJ Team's first themed issue of the year is finally here, and it's all about dental nurses in 2023. Our first dental nurse themed issue was published two years ago (see our themed issue page https://go.nature.com/3Q0X3OB) but as one of the most important [and biggest] of our reader groups, there was plenty more to write about and to discover about dental nurses.

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I was also pleased to gain a collaborator in the execution of this issue, in the form of Pam Swain, Chief Executive of the British Association of Dental Nurses (BADN). Just before Christmas last year Pam offered to contribute a plethora of content to a dental nurse themed issue of BDJ Team and she has done us proud, providing over half of the main features of this issue. Thank you to Pam and her many contributors, which include:

  • Four dental nurses in the Royal Navy/Royal Air Force/British Army

  • Angela Streeting, a dental nurse for the MOD in Gibraltar

  • Claire Kingsnorth, a dental nurse who volunteered with Dentaid in Morocco

  • Edmund Proffitt, CEO of the BDIA, who have a long and strong relationship with BADN

  • Anita Stanforth, BADN's Education Representative, who has written about her 'other career' as President of the National Baton Twirling Association (England)!

Alongside these highlights, Debbie Reed has written about the forthcoming results of a survey into what encourages dental nurses to remain within the dental sector. Peninsula Dental School look at leadership and management roles in dental nursing. And Fiona Ellwood of the Society of British Dental Nurses (SBDN) discusses the privilege of designing the first bilingual dental nursing course in Wales.

It is an exciting time to be a dental nurse and I feel like we have only just touched the surface with this special issue! If you are a dental nurse and would like to share your story, BDJ Team will continue celebrating the many facets of dental nursing in 2024.

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Kate Quinlan

Editor

k.quinlan@nature.com