​I believe it's vital that young dentists' voices are heard when the decisions about the future of our profession are being made, and to do so we need to have engaged and committed young dentists standing up and speaking out, on the issues that matter to the future of our profession. 

The YDC represents and advocates on behalf of dentists who are within 10 years of qualification. We're the voice of young dentists within the BDA – advocating for changes to how the BDA works – and in the wider profession - campaigning for changes in our working lives.

We are now seeking a new representative to fill a vacant seat on the Young Dentists Committee (YDC) and I hope you will consider stepping up and joining us.

At the moment, we've been working on the two big issues we see facing young dentists: fear of litigation and career progression.

As a Committee, the 21 elected members meet at the BDA's London office three times a year and we're joined by senior figures from the BDA to discuss our plans and ideas.

We also frequently invite those with power and influence in dentistry to speak to the Committee, so we can question, challenge and hold them to account.

In the last year, we've had the CDO for England, Sara Hurley, the GDC's Director of Policy and Strategy, Matthew Hill, and the Chair of the Advancing Dental Care programme, Malcolm Smith, attend our meetings and we've raised our issues with them.

The YDC needs to be diverse and representative of the profession so wherever you work in the UK, whether you're in DFT, a GDP, working in the CDS, or a hospital setting, whether you've just graduated, or if you're nearly a decade out of dental school, we need all of your voices around the table.

You can nominate yourself online, you just need to say in 400 words why you are standing and what you believe you can bring to the Committee - the closing date is 5pm Friday 21 June.

More information on the YDC, who we are and what we do is on our website and you can get in touch with the BDA's elections team if you have any questions.

If you are interested in getting more involved, but you aren't ready to commit to standing for the YDC election right now, then there are plenty of other opportunities to get involved, such as by joining your local Young Dentist Group, or Branch or Section or by getting involved with your Local Dental Committee.

There'll also be elections for all 21 places on the Committee at the end of 2020.

Nikki Patel, Chair

BDA Young Dentists Committee

Improving working lives for younger dentists

We support dentists at all stages of their careers and our Young Dentists Committee and GDPC Associates Group aim to be the voice of those starting out in dentistry and those mid-career.

They work on a range of issues, including pay and conditions, education and training, career pathways, the impact of dental regulation and stress in the profession, and dental health and science issues.

Read the latest news via our blogs. If you'd like to contribute to our blogs new submissions are always welcome, please get in touch.

With each new member, our voice and our influence grows. Add your voice, join today.