The changing face of dentistry?/ethical marketing series

I qualified in 1981 and am now working in my own private practice in Sussex and I wish to congratulate you on the superb Editorial in the July/August issue of Dental Update. This was right on the money on so many levels.

You have distilled into this piece all the thoughts that I have had about the direction in which Dentistry is being taken. The Sat Nav is wrong; it has been programmed by the marketeers and the paper-pushers, and we should be looking at what it is we provide and choosing the route for ourselves instead.

We specialize in Care; a major part of that is the provision of advice that will be of benefit to our patients now and in the future. The planning for the eventual failure of the treatment is as important as the treatment plan itself, along with the provision of guidance on the cost of future maintenance. This was an absolute that was promoted by the Specialist Advisors during my early professional years while serving in the RAF Dental branch and is brought back into focus by Martin Kelleher's papers. Tooth surface preservation should always be in fashion.