Afra Rahim, BDSA Communications Officer

This year's annual British Dental Conference & Dentistry Show (BDCDS) took place on Friday 12 and Saturday 13 May 2023 at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham. It was a fantastic weekend, a dentist's dream! From taster sessions and sample workshops to demonstrations of new technologies and materials, the event presented a myriad of new opportunities, deals, giveaway prizes and goodies exclusively for dental professionals from all disciplines and students across the United Kingdom.

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©Afra Rahim

Afra Rahim (L) and Vinay Samrai (R)

Upon arrival, you were welcomed with a lovely personalised lanyard for the event with a barcode. This was to be scanned by companies for registration purposes and ease of sending across further details. Tote bags featuring a detailed programme for the day were also provided, along with a list of all the exhibitors and speakers present for ease of locating stands and conference theatres you were wanting to visit.

If you're a British Dental Association member, you're entitled to exclusive access to the BDA lounge. Here, you can find a comfortable area to catch up with colleagues, unite with friends and chat with fellow BDA members, all whilst helping yourself to coffee and enticing refreshments - not a bad perk at all I must admit.

So naturally, I kicked the day off by heading to the BDA lounge to meet with some of the board members. It was wonderful to chat with Peter Crooks and Paul Blaylock, members of the Principal Executive Committee. Of course, we discussed matters of dental student interest, notably the fast-approaching and ever highly anticipated BDSA Sports Day. Whilst final preparations are underway, the University of Leeds is set to welcome over 600 dental students to the city in June. As the election for the new BDSA Executive Committee draws near, it was also a great opportunity to reflect on all the successes of this year's student committee and council.

I then set about going to explore the stands on offer and find exhibitors to ask the questions I've always wondered about. Whatever your interests are, wherever your aspirations lie, here is the place where you will find out more. It's the perfect one-stop shop to have all your queries answered about future career ambitions, dental materials, developing your clinical skills and building a business, to name a few. As I approach the final year of my undergraduate studies, it was a valuable opportunity for me to investigate different career pathways; particularly useful visits were to the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (BACD), Armed Forces Dentistry and Practice Plan.

Not to mention, my favourite part about the event is that it offers a wonderful way to become acquainted with like-minded professionals and connect with experts in the field. In attendance, widely known figures in dentistry such as Jason Wong, Deputy Chief Dental Officer England, Simon Chard, president of the BACD and Martin Woodrow, Chief Executive of the British Dental Association, delivered inspiring talks surrounding thought-provoking topics. The lecture sessions covered topics ranging from the future of dentistry, best practice in record keeping and treatment planning for dental hygienists and therapists to decision making in endodontics, practice management and periodontal disease associated with diabetes, plus, many more.

Later in the day, activities included using digital dentistry scanning to make your own trays for tooth whitening, trying out different loupes, entering giveaways and collecting lots of free samples - as it would be rude not to.

Upon gathering my peers' thoughts on the day, Vinay Samrai (University of Leeds, BDS3) said: 'It was a fun, social and engaging way to discover new things I never knew before about the profession.' Hafsah Vally (University of Sheffield, BDS4) reflected: 'It's my first time attending BDCDS and I'm so glad I came - it's made me really think about the kind of dentist I want to become.' After a successful day of learning, socialising and exploring new avenues, it was sadly time to head home.

The next British Dental Conference & Dentistry Show will be taking place on 17 and 18 May 2024 at the NEC in Birmingham once again. You can now register your interest for the event, so mark your calendars, it's not one to be missed!