Sir, David Westgarth's opinion piece1 makes the lack of shared understanding of the purpose, expectations, and delivery of dental education all too clear. Misconceptions clearly exist regarding the meaning of 'safe beginner' - something highlighted by the GDC's own research - and the purpose of dental education. It seems, for example, that there is a common belief that the objective of dental education is to train NHS primary care dentists when the remit is actually much less prescriptive.

The first Local Dental Committee (LDC) motion cited in the article (North Yorkshire LDC) calls for more funding to develop education centres outside dental schools. The Dental Schools' Council (DSC) wholly support the motion that dental education is woefully underfunded with tariffs for training not acknowledging the actual cost of training. Many schools already deliver training in community outreach clinics in areas of high need and deprivation, and additional funding to support further development in this area would be welcomed.

The second LDC motion asks that all schools be mandated to use generalists in all levels of training and assessment. DSC wishes to clarify that the vast majority of schools already recognise the skills and expertise of general dental practitioners (GDPs), and a substantial proportion of teaching is delivered by these professionals employed part-time. However, recruiting to these posts is becoming increasingly more challenging.

The third LDC motion calls for a review of the curriculum. DSC would like to reassure colleagues that this does not need to be of concern, given that it is already underway with representation from dental foundation training educational supervisors.

Whilst DSC agrees with the motions raised, it would like to highlight the harm this type of article/opinion piece can do to our young colleagues emerging from dental school by undermining their confidence.

DSC would like to make it clear that we have the utmost confidence in our graduates and the valued contributions they will make to the field of dentistry, regardless of the path their careers should take.

Ultimately, we are all members of the same profession. We all work towards the same end goal. We must therefore support all colleagues, regardless of the stage they are at in their careers.