Susan Willatt argues that everyone can make mistakes but the important thing is to learn from them.

Dentistry is considered one of the one of the most stressful of the health professions. Here are some useful tips for avoiding the effects of stress.

Recent guidance from the GDC has focused attention on to the professional behaviour that is expected from Dental students both in and out of dental school. You may not yet be qualified however your behaviour will be measured against standards that apply to the profession

Finbar O'Mahony reflects on his first six months in dental practice and gives advice on overcoming the challenges both in performing the dentistry and dealing with your patients.

General Dental Practice is an area of work that demands a complex set of skills and knowledge. Vocational Training (VT) in Scotland or Foundation Training (FT) in England and Wales is the established means of developing these skills in newly qualified dentists.

Sami Stagnell explains his experiences working in his first practice.

John Tiernan, Director of Educational Services at Dental Protection explains the importance of the original patient record when your clinical skills face a legal challenge and emphasises the consequences if a dental professional changes a clinical record in an attempt to cover up a mistake.

Moments arise in all of our lives when reactions occur or decisions are made in an instant but which will have repercussions for months or years to come.

Asking for payment, explaining costly treatments and broaching the subject of bad debts can all be difficult and unfamiliar in the early years of practice. Whilst at dental school, many undergraduates transform the business of asking for money almost into an art form; with the bank manager's direct line stored prominently in the mobile in case urgent funding for an emergency (such as an elective in Aruba) is instantly required! However, on graduating and moving into practice, some dentists find themselves feeling strangely uncomfortable when it comes to asking for payment.

A significant number of today's dentists experience musculoskeletal pain and are at risk of developing serious Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD's).

Leaving one dental practice and starting afresh is an exciting time, especially when you have a long career in front of you that is full of opportunities. It may therefore seem odd to be thinking about how you are going to leave a practice when some of you are only just beginning to settle in, but there are some important considerations to keep in mind for the future.

Corporate dentistry has taken an increasing share of the NHS dental market since the inception of nGDS in 2006. The largest player, IDH, has slowly and quietly acquired more and more practices and contracts.

Joe Ingham explains why some practice owners and associates don’t always agree during their professional relationship.

Embarking on a new career is an exciting and challenging time, full of opportunities and demands. The learning curve is steep and we are anxious to prove ourselves, make friends and of course, maximise our social lives.

David Croser advises a cautious approach to ‘blowing the whistle’ on standards of dental treatment.

This article critiques working in a regionally based versus a metropolitan practice in the early phase of your dental career, highlighting the adventures, advantages and pitfalls of each.

You may think it unusual to be reading an article written by a chiropractor however, for the last 15 years I have been associated with the dental profession in various ways.

Raising finance for purchasing a practice is becoming more difficult, despite funds being available and European finance guarantees in place to assist.

A pain in the neck and the back is not the way you want to perform in the dental profession. Too many of its professional members suffer unnecessarily whilst trying to apply their mix of clinical, business and communication skills whilst running a dental practice.

The VT process is always changing and it is always under review. Do not make any assumptions and especially don't rely on information from last years candidates.Thoroughly research into the different Deaneries/Postgraduate Centres and their procedures

The Dental Council's guidance 'Professional Behaviour and Dental Ethics' states that a dentist has a duty to provide emergency treatment for their patients outside normal surgery hours and patients must be advised on how to contact the dentist should an emergency arise.

Patients are often prompted to visit the dentist because they have been experiencing pain or discomfort.

Every dentist has surely heard the old adage that if you have ten dentists and a patient in the same room, they will come up with ten different treatment plans for the same patient.

There is never a bad time to review the way that you keep records of dental patient treatment.