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Laurence Bohan
Content Writer
Laurence Bohan
Content Writer

Laurence is a copywriter and trained journalist. His passion is creating insightful and educational content for dental professionals of every level. Outside of work, he enjoys watching sport, quizzing and spending time with his family.

If the history of dentistry has taught us anything, it is that innovation is never too far away. There’s no telling what the future holds for the dental profession, but current trends and technological advances can give us a good idea of what lies in store.



Teledentistry – Not Just For Pandemics


Teledentistry has been around for years, but it wasn’t until Covid-19 lockdowns that it truly took off. Hundreds of dental practices continue to provide virtual visits, with some believing that almost everything outside clinical treatment can be done away from the practice. Examples of teledentistry technologies currently being used include Live Virtual Smile Visit (LVSV), 3D Digital Scanning, Virtual Treatment Planning and Virtual AI Treatment Monitoring.


Results from a 2020 survey into the effectiveness of virtual clinics and telephone consultations found that 97% of respondents were very satisfied and would use the services again moving forward. Though not without its obvious limitations, the benefits of teledentistry are abundantly clear; reduced travel and all-round convenience for patients, reduced waiting lists and less inappropriate referrals for dentists.
A Greener NHS
As the dental industry moves towards a more sustainable future, there remains much to do if the NHS is to meet its highly ambitious net zero target by 2040. NHS emissions have been cut by 30% since 2010, however analysis published in the BDJ in 2017 found that the carbon footprint of NHS dental services is still the equivalent of powering over 610,000 UK homes.


The Sustainable Dentistry: How-to Guide for Dental Practices from the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare outlines many of the eco-friendly changes expected to be adopted over the next few decades, from travel and dental equipment to energy and waste. Elimination of paper waste, the growth of energy efficient equipment and better insulation of buildings are some of the changes that will be encouraged. There is no shortage of ways practices can strive to be greener. Here are some of of our own hints and tips.

How Greener Dental Supplies Can Lower Carbon Emissions
5 Ways to Lower Your Dental Carbon Footprint | Kent Express
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Dentists Switch to Paperless Statements | Kent Express
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Disposable Dental Supplies, Do's and Don'ts | Kent Express
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Regenerative Dentistry – Bionic Teeth?


Who needs a denture or implant when your teeth can just heal themselves? The idea of regenerative dentistry will sound ludicrous to some, but so would the thought of digital printing and electric toothbrushes to a dentist 50 years ago. By stimulating stem cells to encourage the growth of dentine, researchers in Nottingham University and Harvard University have developed “self-healing” teeth, allowing patients to effectively regrow teeth that are damaged through dental disease.


Dr Ana Angelova Volponi, senior lecturer in Regenerative Dentistry Education at King's College London says, a regenerative approach to periodontology is “developing rapidly”.


“Research focused on generating a “biotooth” has made big steps forward by using human adult gingival stem cells as one of the sources in the creation of a whole biotooth, where all anatomical parts of a tooth are present,” she said.
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