Life has changed dramatically since I wrote my last editorial. Lockdown began and continues. Some dental professionals have been furloughed, some have been redeployed, many are staying at home to look after their children. I personally am at home with my husband and children aged just five, and almost two. As my husband must be at his (home) desk during office hours, I have found myself being a full time mum/teacher/arts and crafts expert and doing my editing work in any possible window - be it at 6.30 am before the toddler wakes up, or at weekends, when it's hubby's turn to entertain the troops (only two kids, but it feels like a troop!). For the first time, we will spend all of the long Easter weekend either in the house or the garden (which I know we are lucky to have). It may be trickier than usual to restrict chocolate consumption this year!

I was curious to find out how the dental professionals on BDJ Team's reader panel are managing in the lockdown. Many of them were quick to provide me with a short account, which makes for interesting reading. Long-time reader panel member Shaun Howe, a dental therapist living in Shetland, seems to have been one of the first DCPs to be redeployed. He is currently delivering medical stores, medicines and internal mail, and collecting blood and pathology samples, clinical waste and anything else required from remote and rural health centres. Shaun comments that his new role is 'not glamorous, not clinical, but certainly essential and vital'.

Dentist Noor Al-Helou has found herself only seeing patients remotely; practice manager Jodie Carr is mainly at home with her children and answering lots of emails and worried texts from her team as best she can. Dental hygienist Justine Nicholls' practice is becoming an area hub for dental emergency care. Read more in our articles How are you coping? and Life in lockdown.

If you do find yourself with time on your hands and looking to do some extra reading or CPD, rest assured that BDJ Team will continue to publish a full issue every month as scheduled and we also have ten hours of CPD available from 2019 and four hours so far from 2020 on the CPD Hub https://cpd.bda.org/login/index.php.

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Kate Quinlan

Editor

k.quinlan@nature.com