Your Dental Besties

With more dental hygiene and therapy programmes opening across the UK, Claire and Ben ask a big question: what does the future of the profession actually look like?
In this episode of Your Dental Besties, they imagine what they would include if they could design their own dental hygiene and therapy education from scratch- from oral-systemic health, women's health and behaviour change to mentoring, cultural competence and preparing clinicians for the realities of working in practice.
The conversation also turns to something many hygienists may be wondering: do you need to become a dental therapist to progress?
Claire explains why she actively chooses to be a dental hygienist and why she doesn't believe hygienists should feel they are being left behind, while Ben shares his experience of working across both hygiene and therapy and why progression doesn't have to look the same for everyone.
They discuss working to the top of your scope, finding the area of dentistry you're genuinely passionate about, the changing role of the hygienist and therapist, and what could happen if both professions were utilised properly within the dental team.
Because perhaps career progression isn't always about adding another qualification.
Sometimes it's about becoming exceptionally good at the job you already love.
Your Dental Besties- making dentistry fun!

1,300 miles. Two Dental Besties. One unforgettable road trip… and apparently absolutely no ability to keep hold of our belongings.
This week, we're taking you behind the scenes of our Canadian adventure- from Calgary to Banff, Lake Louise, Edmonton and one of the most beautiful drives we've ever experienced through the Canadian Rockies.
Claire and Ben talk spontaneous tattoos, bears, mountain “beavers”, questionable hotel choices, getting trapped in a car park, losing cameras and microphones, Canadian whitening strips that nearly took Ben's teeth out, and somehow deciding that a 12-hour drive was obviously better than a three-hour one.
But amongst the chaos, there was some dentistry too.
They reflect on attending and speaking at the GBT Summit in Edmonton, what was learned from dental professionals working internationally, and why stepping outside your usual dental bubble can completely change the way you think about your career, your patients and what's possible.
And somewhere between the mountains, glaciers, karaoke and 1,300 miles on the road, this became much more than a work trip.
It became one of those experiences they will probably talk about for the rest of their lives. ❤️
So grab a coffee (Ben certainly will), settle in and go on a Canadian road trip with Your Dental Besties.
🎧 Like, follow and share the podcast if you enjoy the episode, it genuinely helps YDB grow and keep making more.
Your Dental Besties - making dentistry FUN

Claire and Ben discuss what they have been up to. From Canada to Milan, they have been busy.
Ben discusses translational science and gives us some interesting insights into some plans he has coming up.
Have your say. Get in touch with team YDB to send us your Agony Aunt and Agony Uncle dilemmas. Send us your funnies. Give us topics you want to discuss. What guests do you want to see on the pod?
Email: yourdentalbesties@outlook.com
Insta: @yourdentalbesties @clairelouisesays @thegumsguy

Claire starts by putting a scenario to Ben and asks his thoughts on treating influencers for social media marketing. What is your thoughts on this? Do you think this is a good form of marketing and do you think it is ethical? Ben and Claire also discuss influencers being paid to talk about products generally.
Your Dental Besties then go on to talk about marketing strategies if you are a direct access clinician.
Let us know what you think about this episode by commenting below. And please do follow and subscribe if you find the podcast useful. It helps more then you know. You can contact Claire and Ben on Instagram @yourdentalbesties @clairelouisesays and @thegumsguy

Ben and Claire talk about how they perform their cancer checks. They discuss a case where a young woman had a lesion on her tongue which was not diagnosed until it was really advanced.
Do you check even if the patient has seen a dentist first? Do you check every time you see a patient? Answer in the comments. Tell us how you perform your cancer checks.