Dental public health: connect, challenge and change: Learning from our response to COVID-19 could help develop dental public health.

摘要

Are you resilient when faced with constant change? Are you invigorated by challenge and shaping change? If the answer is yes, then perhaps a career in dental public health (DPH) is of interest, particularly after broad experience across the dental system (services, settings and specialties), which is essential, together with a passion to improve the health of our nation and our dental care system. No two days are the same - consultants juggle competing population-based priorities, engaging with a great variety of stakeholders, tackling challenges in the system and seeking solutions. Often, consultants (and those in training) are providing strategic leadership in a system where policy drivers, stakeholder organisations and the nature of their relationships are continually changing. The specialty of DPH is the branch of dentistry that is primarily concerned with preventing oral disease, promoting oral health and improving the quality of life for whole populations. It is concerned with the design and assurance of safe, high quality dental services for all. It does so in collaboration with public and private organisations, communities and individuals.