Kadiyo Tanaka, Mellish Victoria
BDS4 Dental Student, Queen Mary University of London, UK.
Oral Surgery Clinical Lecturer, Queen Mary University of London, UK.
Br Dent J. 2021 Feb;230(3):134-142. doi: 10.1038/s41415-021-2613-z. Epub 2021 Feb 12.
Black Lives Matter represents positive action towards equality and inclusivity. The Black Lives Matter protests remind us that, as a society, prejudices and unconscious bias still exist throughout the world. So, how does this inequality impact UK dentistry and what lessons can we learn?Black British dentists and dental care professionals (DCPs) are greatly under-represented in the UK workforce. The cause is multifactorial, but clearly measures need to be made from an early age, as Black prospective students have a 19% acceptance rate into dentistry, compared with 54% white and 41% Asian.As a Black British dental student working with my White British dental tutor, we address barriers that affect Black students and offer recommendations. These struggles are not exclusively related to skin colour, but evidence shows that Black British individuals are more likely to experience detrimental factors.We recognise that it is not the majority that suffer from under-representation, but the minorities; it filters into all aspects of dentistry, including treatment planning and disease diagnosis. Black DCPs and dentists have a contextual understanding of the barriers their communities face and will prove pivotal in workforce diversification. However, we all have a part to play in improving healthcare quality. Together, we can do more.
“黑人的命也是命”运动代表了为实现平等和包容而采取的积极行动。“黑人的命也是命”抗议活动提醒我们，作为一个社会，偏见和无意识的偏见在世界各地仍然存在。那么，这种不平等对英国牙科行业有何影响，我们又能从中吸取什么教训呢？英国黑人牙医和牙科护理专业人员（DCPs）在英国劳动力中所占比例极低。原因是多方面的，但显然需要从早年就采取措施，因为黑人准学生进入牙科专业的录取率为19%，而白人学生为54%，亚洲学生为41%。作为一名与英国白人牙科导师一起工作的英国黑人牙科学生，我们探讨了影响黑人学生的障碍并提出了建议。这些困难并非仅仅与肤色有关，但有证据表明，英国黑人更有可能经历不利因素。我们认识到，代表性不足的不是多数人，而是少数群体；它渗透到牙科的各个方面，包括治疗计划和疾病诊断。黑人DCPs和牙医对他们所在社区面临的障碍有背景性的理解，这将被证明对劳动力多元化至关重要。然而，我们都在提高医疗质量方面发挥着作用。我们共同努力，可以做得更多。
