Letters to the editor Edwina Kidd Dental Update 2024 50:5, 707-709.
Authors
EdwinaKidd
Professor of Cariology, Guy's, King's and St. Thomas' Schools of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Sciences, Floor 25, Guy's Tower, Guy's Hospital, London Bridge, London SE1 9RT
Can it really be 50 years since Ted Renson walked into the staff room at The London Hospital carrying the first Dental Update? What a revelation to our black and white publishing world: colour-illustrated, relevant, readable, fully referenced reviews for dentists. Ted had commissioned a short piece from me about a new dental product I was finding invaluable. He stressed he wanted informal, readable material. Ted wrote very well, he taught English before studying dentistry! Remarkably, the journal has had only two editors in 50 years: Ted Renson originally, and Trevor Burke since 1996. It seems important that both were successful practitioners before becoming academics.
Over those 50 years, I have shamelessly used Dental Update to my own ends. I am so grateful and here is why:
The journal has always been my continuing professional development.
As an academic, my job was to teach and research. What a privilege to be able to write review papers for dentists for such a well-produced journal. Surveys showed it went into most practices.
The journal is perfect for students, particularly to cover topics not yet well addressed in text books. Many students subscribed all those years ago. It was read to destruction in the library, and subsequently, Update was given to all final year students.
I hate lecture hand-outs, Dental Update articles were my solution.
On a sabbatical month in New Zealand, I found dentists knew me, they read Dental Update.
Dental Update articles were responsible for two of my most exciting lecture invitations ever: the 3M International Symposium on Posterior Composites held in St Maarten in the Caribbean (1985) and the NIDR-sponsored Symposium on Criteria for Placement and Replacement of Restorations held in Disneyland, Florida (1986). My friends said the latter was just right for my Micky Mouse presentation!
Dental Update is refereed, and comments from these anonymous benefactors always improved my work. This was particularly important when the reviewer appeared not to understand what I was saying because this meant it was badly expressed and must be redrafted. Update even pays honoraria to contributors and referees.
Finally, I was invited by a colleague to write with him. He said my style was too flowery and his too turgid, but the combination would be perfect. It was not perfect, particularly when he wished to deflower me on my own dining room table. It subsequently emerged he wanted us to write a book together; saved by Dental Update!
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