This issue covers an eclectic mix of evidence which highlights the enormous depth and diversity of knowledge and skill that it takes to be a practising dentist.

This issue evaluates the evidence of effectiveness of some of the major dental public health initiatives and policy decisions. It also explores whether new approaches to prevention and treatment might prove effective against the most common dental diseases.

This issue of Evidence Based Dentistry seeks to present readers and clinicians with widest possible spectrum of information about dentistry and oral health. It describes evidence from social and public health, oral medicine, and surgical and restorative research. The focus is , however, on the external influences on oral health