The BDJ appointed a Reader Panel in 2018; the 13 members are called upon by the editorial team for feedback, ideas and suggestions for the BDJ.

Gillian C. Howie

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Gillian, from Birmingham, qualified in 2015 and works for Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Trust - Special Care Dentistry as an StR in Special Care Dentistry. She says: 'I work in a large Special Care Dental Team across many community clinics, Birmingham Dental Hospital and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. The primary Special Care team is made up of consultants, specialists and many fantastic dental nurses'.

Why did you become a dentist? I always knew I wanted to be involved in something which had the potential to make a difference to people and I soon realised that my ideal job would also be practical and provide me with plenty of variety. From there dentistry seemed the perfect choice!

Why did you join the BDJ Reader Panel? I am passionate about ensuring that vulnerable patients are given the highest standard of dental care and I am privileged to be working within the newest of the dental specialities where this is our priority. In order for that high standard of care to be delivered to all patients, it is crucial that appropriate education and training is available to the whole dental team working across all clinical settings. This is more important now than ever because we are seeing increasing numbers of elderly patients as well as those with medical conditions, mental illness, and obesity.

The BDJ is accessible to a wide range of dental professionals across primary, secondary and tertiary care settings and so has the potential to reach a large and diverse audience. I therefore joined the reader panel in a bid to ensure that special care is well represented in the published literature within the BDJ, and I hope that ultimately this will improve patient care for our most vulnerable patients.

What recent BDJ paper would you recommend to our readers and why?Evaluation of cardiac risk in dental patients by Ransford N K, Stendhouse L K, Townend J, Jordan P and Singh H (BDJ 2018; 224: 620-626). I see many patients with a variety of cardiac conditions in my daily practice and this paper was incredibly useful in breaking down the risk assessment process in a format specific to dental treatment. Patient safety is always a clinician's primary focus and so this paper would be helpful for any dentist regardless of their practice setting or specialty.

Have you ever changed your practice because of an article you read in the BDJ?The dental management of a mouth cancer patient by Beacher N G and Sweeney M P (BDJ 2018; 225: 855-864). The timing of the publication of this article was perfect as I happened to be treatment planning for multiple patients at various stages of their cancer treatment. It provides an excellent summary as well as a starting point for further reading on crucial topics… Not that I'm biased in any way, but the authors also happen to have had a large part to play in my decision to pursue a career in special care dentistry!