Student Section by Kishan Sheth

Fellow colleagues, friends, ladies and gentlemen: I was deeply and truly honoured when I was appointed as the student honorary associate editor for DentalTownUK.

The original incarnation of Dentaltown has empowered dentists around the world and has been a beneficial learning tool for students such as myself, so I was excited to hear that the movement was being brought to the U.K. The site offers the chance to discuss important matters and trends in dentistry and to share ideas, which lead to the spreading of knowledge and generation of discussion and debate.

The primary goal of the student section of DentaltownUK is to empower undergraduate dental students to write about topics they are passionate about, and to share their experiences with fellow dental students in the U.K. Is there an area within dentistry that you have been reading about? Would you like to put together a brief article summarizing your findings? Have you read a book recently that you think has changed the way you view something? Would you like to write up a book review? Whatever empowers the profession and begins discussion should be shared for all to benefit from, and we all encourage the discussion of ideas which will help us to raise our standards and become more effective providers of patient-centred, evidence-based, minimally invasive and holistic dentistry.

It has been exciting to witness the great explosion in discussion which DentaltownUK has sparked, and it has been empowering to see that students all around the U.K. have so much positive feedback, and that so many wish to get involved.

In this edition we take a look at a day in the life of Nikkita Madhu, a dental intern at Ajman University,. We also examine the perception of U.K. dentistry in the mainstream media and the rise of technology enhanced learning; and delve inside the mind of the dentally anxious patient.

I must congratulate the authors of these articles—all of whom are students—for doing such fantastic jobs.

I am confident that DentaltownUK will continue to deliver an unrivalled service to the profession, and will continuously play a pivotal role in the way in which students and professionals come together. Enjoy this edition of DentaltownUK!