I attended the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD) Autumn Scientific Meeting on 10 November 2022 in a virtual capacity. This one-day event had been planned for an in-person conference in London but due to complexities with travel due to a London tube strike the event was moved to a virtual platform. The organisers of the event did an excellent job at organising the virtual platform at such short notice.

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Laura Crawford

The theme of the conference was 'A Place to Call Home: Rescue or Repair', a fitting title which sought to explore the provision of dental care for two vulnerable groups in our society: asylum seekers and refugees, and looked-after children. The theme focused on helping individuals and teams to be able to respond in ways that prevent further harm and support recovery of those people who are affected by trauma and adversity as well as addressing inequalities and improving life chances.

The day commenced with a welcome from Albert Yeung, BASCD President. The morning consisted of presentations that highlighted the challenges faced by asylum seekers and refugees, not only in accessing dental care but also the many barriers and challenges asylum seekers and refugees in the United Kingdom face on a daily basis.

Enver Solomon, Chief Executive of Refugee Council, gave an insightful overview of the asylum seeker and refugee system within the United Kingdom, an understanding of the health needs of asylum seekers and refugees as well as offering solutions to help overcome some of the challenges faced by this vulnerable group. Martha Paisi, Research Lead, Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise provided a dental focus for this vulnerable group including barriers and facilitators to dental care access. Eileen Johnston, Senior Dental Officer, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Public Dental Service provided an insightful overview of trauma-informed dental practice and how to ensure policies and procedures are trauma-informed. The morning closed with a presentation by Andy Evans, CEO of Dentaid. This presentation highlighted the important work that the charity Dentaid are currently involved with.

The afternoon session commenced with a presentation from Louisa Polglass, Specialty Trainee in Dental Public Health, providing an update on the BASCD Position Statement on Free Sugars. Following on from this, the afternoon session focused on looked-after children. Lucy Ridsdale, Post-CCST Specialty Registrar in Paediatric Dentistry, Leeds Dental Institute presented on 'Dental care pathways for looked-after children'; this was followed by a presentation from Jemma Facenfield, Chair of Safeguarding Committee, Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise on 'Children in Care Clinic'. Both presentations highlighted the complexities of providing care to children in this vulnerable group and offered solutions to help facilitate the provision of their care. Deborah Manger, Former Deputy Dental Dean for Early Years, Health Education England Midlands and East, presented on the topic 'Improving access for looked-after children'. The afternoon presentations were all very insightful and showed the need for a more coordinated approach to providing dental care for looked-after children.

In advance of the virtual event, BASCD published poster presentations on their events website for the consideration and attention of conference attendees. The abstracts of these posters have now been published online as a supplement to the December 2022 issue of the journal Community Dental Health.

Overall, the conference was very thought-provoking. It highlighted some of the key issues currently faced by vulnerable groups in our society and addressed ways in which we can help tackle these issues. This was a very informative event and I look forward to attending future BASCD conferences.

Details of future BASCD conferences can be found on their website: https://www.bascd.org/conferences-and-events/meetings-and-events-calendar.