Dentistry: a reflective and prospective perspective. Have we gone full circle?

In honour of Dental Update's golden anniversary, this article reflects on current innovations, and takes a look at where the profession is heading in terms of development and technology that promises to add to patient care and quality of outcome.

In the UK, there is a fragile balance between the state-funded system and the private sector in the provision of dental services. The complications of limited funding, population density changes, and increases in dental health awareness and prevention have led to a relative shortage of services within the NHS. This, along with events such as the pandemic, has given rise to the relative increase in private sector uptake. People have a better awareness of their dental health and place a greater value on it. It is clear to see that changes in awareness and prevention have changed hugely over the past two or three decades.

The prevalence of conditions such as oral cancer has risen due to a host of factors. Data show that the number of cases of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer doubled between 2000 and 2016,¹ while the incidence of adult head and neck cancer in the UK increased by 34% between 1993–1995 and 2016–2018.² These increases have led to major advances in the promotion of healthy lifestyles and awareness, and so this alone represents one of the major changes over the past 50 years in terms of cultural awareness in relation to dental health.