In this section we focus on the different types of dentistry and speak to dentists who have chosen to follow alternative career paths. In this article we focus on periodontics and implant dentistry written by Mishal K Sachdev.

Ohsun Kwon graduated in 2013 from King's College London. After completing Dental Foundation Training last year, Ohsun is now working as a Dental Core Trainee in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department at Salisbury District Hospital.

Adele graduated from Newcastle University in 2013 and has been working in general practice ever since. I have written this article to try and give an insight into my experience of working for a dental corporate, which can often be given a bad name.

Mary Connolly studied at the University of Sheffield and graduated in 2012. She has undertaken a two year foundation training scheme in Newcastle upon Tyne and is now over half way through a year as an SHO in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Sunderland.

Radhika Kotecha studied at the University of Manchester and graduated in 2013. She is currently working in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery department in Derby. Radhika has written this article to share her experience and inspire other young dentists to embark on a journey of a lifetime.

Reshma Ratansi is a Final Year dental student at King's College London, starting foundation training in London from September. This article provides a guide to applying students regarding what to expect and when, as a timeline. It breaks down the key components of the process and how to prepare, to make the entire application process less stressful.

Basmal Ria and Emma Wates both studied dentistry at Kings College London and qualified July 2014. They wrote this article in the hope that their experiences so far in DFT could help future DFTs understand what to expect in their year to come.

Toyin studied at The University of Manchester and qualified in July 2014. She has written this article for both dental students and qualified dentists; to encourage them in difficult situations. She has used her own experience as an example of how to overcome challenges. It is a non-clinical article, but she feels it covers important issues which are often overlooked in this profession.

Joshua Brian Scaife is a fourth year dental student at Cardiff University. Joshua was elected to lead the annual volunteer trip working with the Global Brigades charity. This role involved organising and administrating a trip for twenty, fourth year students to Honduras to provide free dental care. Joshua has written this article to share his experiences and hopefully to inspire other dental students to take opportunities to use their valuable skills to help those in need across the world.

Thomas Bradshaw is currently a second year BDS Dental Student at The University of Manchester. He finds self-motivation a key player in getting through your training in Dental school. Yet he understands far too well, that it is a lot harder when you don't understand the real reason behind the certain topics that you invest time into studying.

Nikki Patel graduated from Kings College London in 2010. Having completed her foundation training year within the Oxford Deanery, she then spent two years as an associate in general dental practice. Following this she decided to gain secondary care experience working as a dental core trainee in oral and maxillofacial surgery, before securing a post as a community dental officer.

Priya Mistry is a second year dental student on the four year graduate entry programme at UCLAN School of Medicine & Dentistry

Katherine qualified from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 2010 with BDS and gained her MFDS from The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in May 2012.

Jatinder Moore and Shreya Shah graduated in 2014 from King's College London. Having undergone the DF1 application process in their final year of dental school they both gained appointments in their first choice schemes and are currently practising in the West Midlands and East of England Deaneries respectively.

Aisha Ahmed is a third year student at Leeds Dental School. She has written this article to share her experience of clinic life, from the very first patient she treated to when things didn't go according to plan.

Ajay Mehta is currently a BDS3 student at King's College London. He felt passionate about sharing his experiences of the course on reaching halfway and how he has tried to take up every opportunity worth taking at university to help character building.

Joe White is a fifth year student at The University of Sheffield. "I wanted to write this piece to share some rare experiences I had during my "non-orthodox" volunteering experience."

Ciara graduated from University College Cork in 2013, from there she completed foundation training on the Charing Cross scheme in London. Ciara is now in her DCT1 year in maxillofacial surgery in Northampton General Hospital.

Surinder Poonian graduated from Sheffield in 2011 and completed her DFY1 placement on the Whipps Cross Scheme based in London.  After this she worked as an oral surgery DFY2. She has since worked as a locum GDP and is now doing a CDP post in restorative dentistry. Surinder is one of the young dentist representatives within the Metropolitan Branch of the BDA.

Owning your own practice is seen by many as a natural career progression and it can be rewarding both financially and professionally. Whilst you must seek professional advice, here are some of the key points you should consider in what will be one of the biggest decisions you will make...

If you are thinking of applying for a new job, you need to have an impressive CV. It may not guarantee you the position, but it will get you noticed in the first place. The first step in job hunting is to be noticed and secure that first interview for the post you have applied for. If your current CV has been left on the shelf since your last role then it is more than likely out of date.

James Chesterman graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2011 and is currently working part time at the Leeds Dental Institute as a specialty dentist in the restorative department and an associate at Ivory Dental Practice in Leeds.

Natalie studied at The University of Newcastle and qualified June 2014. She has written this article as a guide for final year dentists to help them through the job application process. Natalie says "I would have found this type of guide very useful when applying for DF1 last year"

It was only a little over a year ago that I realised I had successfully completed all the requirements and had reached my goal.  I was finally a 'real dentist'.