Sir, the authors of Developing the continuum of dental education: including dental foundation trainers in the delivery of a community-based clinical teaching programme (BDJ 2012; 213: 517–521) have emphasised the importance of preparing final year dental students for the dental foundation training programme. They have also outlined the thought-provoking benefits of including local dental foundation trainers (educational supervisors) in a community-based undergraduate programme. Whilst it is admirable to consider the participation of local dental foundation trainers (educational supervisors) at undergraduate level, one must bear in mind that it will not always be as straightforward for some postgraduate deanery dental foundation trainers to work with dental schools in a similar manner. This is because, unlike Wales, there are some postgraduate dental deaneries that do not have a dental school located within their footprint.

Perhaps a way of 'developing the continuum of dental education' could be for dental school students to use the same electronic personal development plan (e-PDP) at dental school as at dental foundation training level. That way any learning needs will be conveniently identified for dental foundation trainers as opposed to them seemingly working in the dark at the beginning of the dental foundation training year to identify these needs.

The authors suggest a source of tension existing at the divergence of undergraduate teaching and 'accepted practice' amongst established general dental practitioners. Others have referred to the transition between undergraduate teaching and general dental practice as a gap or even a gulf. Taking undergraduates from the relatively sheltered confines of their dental school and 'dipping' them into the community-based outreach environment is highly beneficial but not new, neither is their exposure to GDP supervisors. In my mind bridging the gap (pun intended), as opposed to announcing a 'mind the gap' warning message, can also be achieved through enabling undergraduates to practise 'accepted practice' skills, such as carving amalgam restorations, using pins and a ParaPost kit, at the earlier phantom head/extracted teeth stage of teaching.

The authors also raise an interesting point about whether dental schools should limit their teaching to treatments provided within NHS-funded dentistry. In order to accurately authenticate the general dental practice experience for undergraduates, it is important to consider introducing non-NHS clinical treatments to the armoury of dental school students. Indeed, this is something which the Leicester Dental Teaching Academy in partnership with the University of Buckingham may have already identified.

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