Clinician and academic researcher with special interest in Restorative Dentistry, Endodontics, Periodontology, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, as well as Special Care Dentistry and Conscious Sedation. It is my mission to provide a comprehensive dental care for my patients and dental education for undergraduate students, based on compassionate care, enthusiastic approach and commitment.
As professionals, we have a particular duty to provide a wide range of dental care for the individuals who present themselves with various systemic medical problems, learning and physical disabilities, cognitive impairments, as well as young patients with congenital diseases, ADHD, or autistic spectrum disorders. Moreover, as a result of current demographic changes, our patients receive more complex pharmacological therapies which can potentially interfere with certain dental procedures. On a daily basis, dental practitioners face an increasing number of patients undergoing chemo- and radiotherapy, which impact on oral health and cause acute symptoms affecting patients’ quality of life. As a result, we must tackle complex treatment plans, including restorative care provided for elderly groups of patients with underlying medical problems for which they are taking multiple medications. Mental capacity assessment, valid/informed consent, specialist consultations, and ‘best interest meeting’ with other individuals involved in a patient’s care are currently becoming an essential part of routine dental practice, reflecting the real complexity of individual treatment planning. The growing demand for specialist dental care as a result of more complex oral health problems has stimulated the establishment of new academic training curricula, and this trend has appeared all over the world. Undoubtedly, dental students need to acquire more integrated and feasible approaches during education to supporting them in being well prepared when dealing with challenging clinical cases. Over the last decades, general dental practitioners have noticed a significant change in reducing exodontia in favor of more conservative approaches, due to the ageing population and demographic shift. Finally, it is worth mentioning that the tendency of replacing dental general anesthesia with conscious sedation services might also be applicable when managing patients with dental phobia or learning disabilities.