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Leadership in dentistry

Leadership in dentistry - a personal perspective

British Dental Journal volume 234, page 921 (2023)Cite this article

Key points

  • Challenges faced by oral health care teams can only be overcome by cooperation and leadership across the whole profession.

  • The profession needs to create opportunities for teams to develop leadership at all levels from within individual practices through to national arenas.

  • The profession needs to have a proper system of recognition of skills and experience in order to recruit and retain the talent that is needed to deliver oral health care.

Oral health care in the UK is a complex, fast-changing sector, embracing dynamic and skilled teams. As we approach the second half of 2023, it seems to me our profession faces a number of key challenges, some of which are not new. These include workforce recruitment and retention, inequalities in oral health, NHS contract reform, the lack of recognition for oral health care teams, and the regulatory environment. This is of course in addition to the wider problems of the cost-of-living crisis, Brexit, and global issues. Overcoming these challenges will need leadership at all levels, from individual practices through to national bodies. It will not be a surprise to readers when I say that that leadership requires creating a vision. That vision has to be informed by listening to individuals, acknowledging their views, and understanding the working environment in order to create a vision that can inspire.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. President, College of General Dentistry, United Kingdom

    Abhi Pal

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  1. Abhi Pal
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Correspondence to Abhi Pal.

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Cite this article

Pal, A. Leadership in dentistry - a personal perspective. Br Dent J 234, 921 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-023-6003-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-023-6003-6

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