As we approach this year's British Dental Association Conference (Manchester from Thursday, May 19 to Saturday, May 21), I reflect back on earlier conferences I attended and the fond memories I have of meeting colleagues from every discipline in the profession as well as old friends and people I haven't seen for some time but either arrange to meet at the conference or unintentionally bump into.
This key event in the dental calendar appeals to me because I get to hear inspirational lectures on treatment plans and to receive updates on clinical topics I do not usually have the opportunity to hear. This year I am looking forward to hearing from renowned UK and international speakers, such as Raymond Bertoletti and Richard Simonsen.
Besides the opportunity for a great learning experience, another compelling reason for attending is the social interaction element linked to these events, which I find equally rewarding. The conference provides a chance to meet old friends and an opportunity to create new friendships. This sense of camaraderie probably means even more to those of us who work in small practices, as we can feel somewhat isolated in our surgeries. Often there are not many colleagues to discuss issues with and sometimes those who are there with you on a daily basis are not the most appropriate people to talk to.
Many dentists use events, such as conferences, or join local study groups or attend seminars, to meet fellow professionals, especially in the past. However, with ever increasing demands on our time, it is not always easy to find an opportunity for such social occasions. As time moves on and some of the traditional ways of meeting decline, new ones take their place, such as Twitter and Facebook. Dental colleagues, who may never actually meet in person, can find themselves in conversations with each other, sometimes even leading to new friendships. Social media opens up new opportunities, by facilitating contact with people, potentially anywhere in the world, to share ideas and views.
These connections can be brought from the virtual world to the physical world with 'tweetups' taking place, a gathering of people who meet following a conversation on Twitter. Obviously, such social networks are not confined to relationships between colleagues. Increasingly, dental practices are using Facebook to connect with their patients to let them know what is happening at the practice. Keeping their patients in the loop and building on their relationships started at the surgery. They are used as marketing devices as patients 'like' their practice on the Facebook site or becomes friends with the practice profile pages. What better advertisement for a practice than to have a potential patient see a friend go to a particular practice and give it their seal of approval?
The world is constantly changing and its use of social media is helping to push out messages quicker than ever before. The dental world is following suit with professionals who have never met being in virtual communication. I wonder where this evolution will eventually take us?
The British Dental Association is currently reviewing and consulting on its constitution: papers are being sent out to its branches and representatives to disseminate throughout its membership. At the next election of its executive board, the BDA's rank and file membership will be able to choose who will lead the organisation for the first time, rather than leaving it to the representative body (who have always been elected directly by the members) to pick the executive.
Will the election process take place, as before, where the candidates are only known to the voters from local knowledge or their ballot forms, or will this election process be different from those preceding it? Will the social networks be used in new ways this time and how will they impact on elections in the future?
Despite the changes which are taking place in how fellow professionals communicate, in my view virtual communication will never fully replace the value of meeting friends and colleagues in person and I look forward to meeting many of them at the BDA conference in Manchester this month. If you see me there please come and say hello!