I would be lying if I said that the final term in my first year of university has been perfect. In among the fun times and excitement of passing exams, there have also been moments of feeling that the course is getting on top of me and that I am going to fall behind. It’s been a rollercoaster ride, but I think that nothing worth having comes easy. I have learnt that being one step ahead and prioritising is vital.

This month’s topic is how we can help, support, and encourage our patients to quit smoking. As I have never smoked myself, I feel that I am only able to give my patients the facts that I know about smoking and aim to be sympathetic towards them.

The GDC Standards document must be followed by all members of the dental profession when they are caring for patients. The Standards document contains nine overarching Principles, which are:

Hepatitis B (Hep B) is a viral infection of the liver and is spread through blood and body fluids (1). Whilst the risk of infection with the virus is considered to be low in the UK, vaccination against Hep B is available to certain groups who are considered to be at higher risk of exposure to the virus.

There are many qualifications that dental nurses can work towards after they have gained their initial dental nursing qualifications, and it is worth considering how we can put these to good use within the dental practice.