Sir, in the October edition of BDJ in Practice there is an article by Megan Atkinson – 'Oral surgery and the extraction crisis: What are we going to do about it?'1 The article appears to claim that very little opportunity is given during training for students to extract teeth and to carry out surgical procedures and hence many graduates feel that they lack confidence, and ability when faced with patients requiring these type of treatments.

Since reading this article I have asked several people 'what are the three main skills they expect from a dentist?' Most state: a) to relieve pain, b) to be able to fill teeth, and c) to be able to extract teeth.

The GDC is the regulatory authority that is charged with ensuring that dentists are fit to practise, carrying out this role by agreeing the content and standard of undergraduate dental courses, prior to including a person on the register.

Those universities responsible for undergraduate dental courses must ensure that not only adequate teaching is given, but also that enough supervised practice of the procedures is carried out by the student to enable them to acquire the required skills and confidence.

It should also be that the supervisory staff should have the necessary skills, rather than just telling the student to refer the patient to hospital. I have had cases where the student has been told to refer the patient, by their supervisor, and the same student then successfully deal with the patient in clinic. When the university authorities are confident that the undergraduate is competent in the particular skill then they should be signed off, the GDC having agreed the level of competency necessary and the procedures necessary for qualification.