The public has a high expectation of the moral standards that should be maintained by anyone who employs a position of trust in society.

In May 2012 I travelled to Vanuatu, a South Pacific island situated between Australia and Fiji to volunteer dental treatment abroad.

So DF1/VT is over and my DF2/SHO begins.I wanted to share the thoughts I had during my first year as a qualified dentist, and hopefully give some advice I wish I had been given.

Surinder Poonian reflects on her first year and the many opportunities now available to the newly qualified dentist.

When I graduated from Birmingham in 2003 the dental career route was simple.

Andrew Fieldhouse makes a very positive statement in changing from an unsatisfying career path to achieving his dream of becoming a dentist.

Although new techniques and new materials are creating new opportunities, and new challenges for clinicians to meet and overcome - not to mention new dentolegal risks to deal with - there are still plenty of familiar 'old chestnuts' that crop up with monotonous frequency in claims and complaints against dentists.

At first sight, respect for patients might seem to be just common sense behaviour, rather than one of the basic ethical principles by which the dental profession is bound.

Neil Morrison gives advice on making the change from salaried employment to self employment. Neil is a partner with Campbell Dallas LLP, Chartered Accountants - specialists in the Healthcare market.

Feedback may be either positive or negative but, either way, we can learn important lessons about our dentistry that are equally important.

Lauren's project won her 2nd prize in the Postgraduate category of the 2011 Dental Protection and Schülke Premier Awards.

Exploring the unseen risks of providing dental care in times of economic turmoil.

Fiona McDonnell (BDS Ncl) writes about her voluntary dentistry in the Cook Islands which she discovered was an extremely worthwhile experience.

There are many young practitioners who seem to think that working in private dentistry must be the equivalent of living in Utopia.

There can be very few practitioners who have never been faced with a shocked and tearful child, who has just suffered an injury to their front teeth.

Recently I needed a new toothbrush.

Francine Fletcher and Surrinder Poonian write about their ten day trip to Quito in Ecuador providing dental aid for the Dental Community Fellowship during March 2012.

Patients usually attend for removal of their 'wisdom teeth' fearing the worst.

Alex Holden gives advice on how a young dentist should handle themselves when embarking on a DF1 (Dental Foundation Training Year 1) scheme.

Francine Fletcher and Surinder Poonian write about their experiences working at the Dental Community Fellowship Mission as dentist volunteers abroad in Ecuador.

Are you giving your patients enough information? Whenever a new topic is discussed with a patient in the dental surgery, the bulk of the verbal discussion will be forgotten very quickly, almost 80%...

There are many reasons why it is important that the honesty of a healthcare professional can be consistently relied upon.

There are many reasons why the personal conduct of a healthcare professional should be consistently of an appropriate standard.

R U E-AWARE? It is not always appreciated that these new forms of communication are required to conform to the same professional and ethical standards as the more traditional media.