If you have an interest in dentistry you won’t be surprised to find that children’s oral health is one of the hottest topics in the industry at the moment.

Latest government figures show 22.4% of children aged four to five are overweight or obese and accompanying that problem is child tooth decay – with tooth extractions still the most common reason for children’s hospital appointments.

Dentists must work to solve children’s oral health crisis

According to Dentistry.co.uk, a debate by Simplyhealth Professionals said it was up to dentists to come up with solutions to the children’s oral health crisis.

Head Dental Officer Catherine Rutland said: “People are starting to feel more comfortable going into schools etc, there’s a real climate of people starting to go into schools in their own time under their own local initiatives.

“People realise nothing is going to get done at a higher level, so we have to do it.”

Aside from children’s oral health, another hot topic was oral health for the elderly. The FGDP(UK) recently published guidelines on dealing with elderly patients through its Dementia-friendly dentistry guidelines and the CQC is going to provide a report shortly on elderly care.

You can find out more about becoming Dementia-friendly or about dementia courses here.

It was also revealed that aesthetic dentistry is on the rise, thanks to increased use of social media and selfies. The debate suggested that practices should consider this popularity and increase their offering to clients.

If you are passionate about dentistry and you want to boost your career, take a look at our Level 3 Diploma in Dental Nursing. The qualification is suitable for trainee dental nurses, dental receptionists and those who wish to work in the dental sector.