This year the British Society for Disability and Oral Health (BSDH) Spring Conference 2016 was held in Sheffield. The theme concentrated on 'transitional intervention for special care patients'. This topic was explored by a number of well-regarded speakers from a variety of health care backgrounds including psychiatrists, occupational therapists, Age UK, social care leaders as well as special care, community and paediatric dentists.

On the first day of the conference Debbie Lewis and Anne Williams, specialists in special care and paediatric dentistry, highlighted the importance of a purposeful and planned transition for children from paediatric to special care dentistry. Practical tips were discussed including having a named person responsible for coordinating the written transitional plan and making sure that discussions of this process begin with the parents when their child turns 13 years old.

A particularly powerful and touching addition to the conference included two parents of severely disabled children. They shared with delegates their personal experiences of isolation during the difficult transitional process their children had in entering into adult care. This reminded delegates of the importance of a patient-centred approach during this challenging period. The mental health team also described their new initiative involving the use of social media to connect with young adults during this transition into adult care. This aims to prevent disengagement and discontinuity of care for these young people at a vulnerable point in their life.

The second day of the conference focused on gerodontology and the ROCS team in Sheffield who provide domiciliary dental care for the 'silent minority'. Gills Heyes, a specialist in community and special care dentistry, acknowledged the challenges facing future younger dentists when treating the elderly. She emphasised how dental treatment may become more problematic due to an increase in the number of dentate patients with complex dentistry such as crowns, bridges and implants.

Additionally, representatives from Sheffield's Hospice for adolescents and adults suffering with life threatening illnesses inspired the audience to help improve the quality of life these patients have, who are sadly at the end of their lives.

Overall this year's conference was truly inspiring and emotive. I feel that this is a very useful event for all young trainees to attend, regardless of whether they wish to pursue a career in special care dentistry or not. The society is at the forefront of improving oral health for adults with disabilities. Any further information on the society can be found on the BSDH website: https://doi.org/www.bsdh.org/.