An unstinting commitment to identifying and supporting children at risk of abuse has led to recognition for Professor Richard Welbury in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, 2019. He has been appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE), the highest of honours, for his dedication to safeguarding as well as for his role as both educator and innovator in paediatric dentistry. Professor Welbury has changed the way that dentists view their role in the recognition and management of child abuse through publishing in refereed journals and delivering countless courses to dental and medical professionals in the UK as well as collaborative work with dental teams in Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Italy and the United Arab Emirates.

The importance of collaboration and interdisciplinary working between paediatric dentists and medical teams will be evident throughout BSPD’s 2019 conference. With the theme ‘Hearts and Minds’ the conference will jointly focus on the holistic management of patients with cardiac conditions and how mental health can affect both patients and teams.

Phone based apps with evidence-based dental advice for parents are welcomed by The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry. The Society has already endorsed the dental content of two free apps which it believes provide important guidance to parents. Both have content aligned with the Public Health England’s Delivering Better Oral Health toolkit and links to resources on BSPD’s website.