Congratulations! You’ve made it through dental school and now are about to embark on your career in dentistry. First stop – Dental Foundation Training!

This dental training year will lay the foundations for your dental career. There is so much for you to learn in this one year. This article provides you with some tips to maximise what you achieve and take away from your DFT or DVT.

From my experience of helping countless dental professionals, these are my key areas for you to focus on.

1. Clinical Skill Development

One of your biggest aims for your foundation training year is to continue developing your clinical skills. You have already spent countless hours in clinics in dental school. Now is the time for you to use those skills in the real world!

The real world, unfortunately, is also very different to dental school clinics. You must embrace and learn your dental skills in this new environment. This is particularly important when considering NHS dentistry.

Walk before you run

I cannot stress this enough. Social media (#dentistsofinstagram) these days floods our minds with idealistic and flashy dentistry.

What we often do not see are the struggles people went through to develop skills and the journeys they took. Many young dentists want to be at the level shown but they fail to appreciate the journey needed to get them there.

Before you can do that type of dentistry successfully, you need to be able to do basic dentistry effectively.

Learn the everyday essentials

In your dental training, you'll have access (within reason) to any equipment and materials that you want or need. This year, you need to understand your tools of the trade as well as learn how to manage complications.

If you’ve seen a new technique you want to try, discuss it with your educational supervisor (ES) and give it a go. This year is about learning after all!

Remember that you have control over your appointment times. Make sure to book longer appointments if you think you need them.

You should never rush or feel forced into short appointments. If you book yourself longer appointments, you have time to develop and hone your skills. You need to build confidence, and that takes time.

Professional skills

As a dental professional, you must follow certain ethical standards. You also need to show a high level of professionalism in your work.

These key skills include:

• Maintaining confidentiality
• Respecting patient autonomy
• Behaving in a manner that is consistent with the values of the dental profession

There are lots of dental societies and associations that can advise you on how to behave and what professionalism looks like.

Effective communication is crucial for dental students to develop. You'll come to realise your interactions can change your relationship and the trust patients have in you.

Some of the most challenging conversations you'll have include:

• Sharing diagnoses, sometimes breaking bad news
• Discussing treatment options and costs
• Providing oral health or medication advice
• Discussing the risks and implications of non-adherence
• Ensuring that patients understand treatment plans

Building trust and rapport with patients requires verbal and written communication skills. You need to be able to listen actively and empathetically.

Good communication skills also help dental students work more effectively as part of a team. Your colleagues are there to help you navigate the complex and often stressful environment of a dental practice.

This brings us to our next area…

2. Support Network

Like in university, a good support network is crucial during dental foundation training.

I remember in the first few months of my DFT year, I was exhausted and quite stressed. I was mentally and physically challenged every day.

Friends are the family you choose

Having people to turn to during these times is vital. Make sure to surround yourself with people who will raise you up and help you.

Pick people that you feel comfortable sharing highs and lows with - because not everything will go right. Learn and reflect when this happens to you.

There will be other foundation dentists in your scheme – develop relationships with these people. They are going through the same things you are. Help and support each other through the ups and downs during your training year.

Learn from your colleagues

Support starts at your practice. The most important person within your practice to turn to is your educational supervisor. Try to build a good relationship with them.

Use your meetings, tutorials and study sessions with them wisely. Speak to them as much as you can and try to even shadow them – you will end up learning so much!

Next, ensure you get on good terms with your nurse. Nurses that tend to work with Foundation Dentists (FDs) have worked with them for years. They are highly experienced in knowing your skill level and potential hurdles.

They will help you no end in achieving success during your DFT year. I did not have an experienced nurse for my DFT year and I could see the difference that it made compared to my peers.

3. Documentation

You should already understand the importance of documentation.

Good record-keeping impacts many things, the most critical of which is medico-legal.

At the start of your career getting to grips with good documentation will serve you for years to come.

Unfortunately, in the current environment of dental litigation, your notes will prove vital. If you do not document something, it did not happen.

Practice makes perfect notes

Spend your DFT year perfecting your notes and record keeping. You could become an amazing dentist but be undone by poor documentation. Take time to write your notes and develop templates that will make things more efficient for you.

Be cautious with pre-populated templates. You cannot copy and paste the same template for everyone without any changes. This suggests you have not been documenting correctly and at best may appear dishonest. At worst, you’re asking for trouble.

That’s why I would recommend foundation dentists take advantage of Kiroku’s DFT plan. Getting into good habits early will only make your note-taking stronger.

The great thing about Kiroku’s notes is that they help you write comprehensive notes. Plus, they're more interactive than pre-populated ones.

Dr Sohail Ahmed, a dentist who graduated during the pandemic puts it simply.

"The templates prompt you for everything. Even when time is tight, you don't get flustered or complacent. Everything entered in your notes is specific to them. It eliminates the potential for forgetting to remove irrelevant information, which could carry legal risks."

Evidence your activities

Documentation during your training year also extends to your portfolio. Your portfolio, or ePDP, is your record of performance and achievement during DFT. It is the key to you passing the year and is where you will store all the evidence of your activities.

You will have procedures to record, meetings to document and case-based discussions to log. Make sure you do these in a timely manner so that your ES and Training Programme Director have time to sign everything off.

Do not leave things to build up until the end of the year – this does not reflect well on you!

You will have interim and end-of-year assessment panels. These will look at your ePDP and determine if you have logged enough evidence.

This also sets you up for a lifetime of good educational practice. Continued professional development is something that many dentists have to undertake and evidence.

Do not fall behind! Do it as you go.

4. Equipment

You are likely to buy lots of equipment and instruments throughout your career. There are two things I would strongly recommend you invest in during your DFT year.

Loupes for life

Invest in a pair of loupes – you will not look back (pun intended!)

Loupes will revolutionise the way you work. With loops you’ll be able to see things you can’t see with the naked eye, meaning you can carry out more thorough assessments. They also allow you to maintain a better posture when working with patients.

As a foundation dentist, there will often be lots of discounts and offers available to you. This means you can have quite a good set of loupes for a relatively low price!

Kit yourself with a camera

The other thing I would recommend investing in is a good photography setup. One of the most important skills to work on during your foundational year is photography.

Photography is going to be vital at every stage of your career but it can be quite fiddly and time-consuming. Use your DFT appointments to become efficient and skilful when taking patient photos.

Getting a good photography setup is a solid long-term investment. You also don’t need to go for expensive brands! You can often find cheaper alternatives that work well.

I bought my setup through a combination of eBay, Amazon and non-branded items. It is still serving me well after more than five years.

It’s going to be a good year

You are going to love DFT. All those years spent in dental school have led to this and you are finally free to embark on the career you will love.

I want that journey to start off successfully and smoothly for you. I hope this article, with its nuggets of information, will put you in an even better position to excel in your DFT year!

Don't forget to download our 10 tips to hack your Dental Foundation Training year!

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