You, me and us

As we begin 2024 I would like to remind readers of the extensive work that has gone on to date, in relation to mental health wellness in dentistry, with a big shout-out to the whole dental team and all key stakeholders and influencers to keep this as a high priority on the agenda. After all, mental health was never just a consideration for the pandemic or the festive period.

I would like to also provide a reminder of the Mental Health Wellness in Dentistry (MHWD) framework that came to fruition in 2020, but has been in development since early 2019. This work was driven by the experience of myself and others who had supported members of the dental team who were struggling with their mental health, and of course, those who had been affected by a colleague who died by suicide. It was apparent that support was there for some but not others, and at the time of this work coming to fruition, it was the wider dental team who lacked the support.