On 17 November 2016, the first national conference on socially inclusive dentistry was held in Nottingham. The theme of the day was to focus the dental profession on developing dental care services for the socially excluded and marginalised members of our society by exploring the current barriers that may be preventing them from accessing care.

Keynote speakers included Dr Janet Clarke MBE, the Deputy Chief Dental Officer, who opened the day with her thoughts on the need for us to be flexible in our thinking and approach when exploring ways to reorientate services. Later, Stan Burridge discussed the innovative work of Pathway, a charity involved in improving healthcare for the homeless, and also gave a fascinating personal insight into the difficulties he faced whilst living on the streets. Of particular interest was the success of Pathway's 'Care Navigators': previously homeless people who have since undergone an NVQ level 2 apprenticeship to provide individualised support for other homeless patients, facilitating their journey through the healthcare system.

Throughout the day, delegates attended workshops led by a wide variety of subject experts. Through these workshops, delegates explored various social, economic and political barriers to accessing medical and social services, as well as the role of charities and the importance of research in this area. They debated their own ideas and solutions to making dental services more accessible to those who are marginalised, whether this be substance misusers, children in care, the traveller community, patients with disabilities or special care needs, immigrants, the elderly, or those from the lowest socio-economic groups.

With an ever-changing and ageing population, the type of dentistry we provide must be adaptable to meet this need, with increased emphasis on prevention. Furthermore, dental professionals need to ensure they utilise every opportunity and interaction with this cohort to improve general health outcomes, without focussing solely on dental health. The 'Making Every Contact Count' (MECC) approach should be used to signpost people to other healthcare services as required, in order to improve integration and engagement over a sustained period of time.

Dr Janine Doughty and Mr Andrew Dickenson rounded off the conference by speaking about the importance of delegates' thoughts and opinions during the day, in having helped to generate ideas and possible solutions for the future. This was a truly inspiring and eye-opening conference that encouraged us to challenge our current system, and created awareness and enthusiasm for a more socially inclusive future for the profession.

By Sarah Baughan, DCT1 in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (pictured, left), and Louisa Rose, DCT2 in Paediatric Community Dental Public Health