#238 The Professor — Avijit Banerjee

Payman chats with the world-renowned professor Avijit Banerjee, who shares his journey in academia, discussing his research focused on applying scientific findings to patient care.  As you’d expect from a polymathic mind like Prof. Banerjee's, the conversation ranges far and wide, covering challenges in dental education, the role of new technologies in diagnosis and the public's perception of fluoride. Prof. Banerjee also wisdom on clinical judgement, patient communication, the value of documenting cases, and much more. Enjoy!  In This Episode 00:03:45 - Academia, research and curiosity 00:10:00 - Research, commercialisation and sharing  00:18:15 - Recent studies  00:28:11 - Oral health messaging 00:31:25 - Shift towards whole patient care and holistic dentistry in education 00:33:30 - Training: past, present, UK and abroad 00:42:20 - Advice for young dentists 00:43:20 - NHS funding  00:48:10 - International teaching and research 00:55:40 - Minimally invasive dentistry  01:16:40 - New technologies 01:20:10 - Danger of undertreatment 01:23:20 - Experimentation and evidence 01:26:05 - Bureaucracy and red tape  01:28:05 - Misunderstanding and misinformation 01:34:00 - Fluoride and fissure sealants 01:44:10 - Black box thinking  01:50:25 - Teaching style  01:51:25 - Fantasy dinner party  01:58:40 - Last days and legacy About Professor Avijit Banerjee Professor Avijit Banerjee, a global authority in minimally invasive dentistry, leads the Cariology & Operative Dentistry research program at King's College London Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences.  He serves as Head of Conservative & MI Dentistry, Director of Education (UG), and Programme Director for the KCL distance-learning Masters in Advanced Minimum Intervention Dentistry. Banerjee's research focuses on MI operative caries management and adhesive dental biomaterials, resulting in over 120 publications and £2.5 million in research funding. He collaborates with international Industry partners as an R&D KOL and is the primary author of the widely respected text, Pickard's Guide to Minimally Invasive Operative Dentistry. Banerjee holds editorial positions in several prominent dental journals and maintains a specialist clinical practice in Restorative Dentistry, Prosthodontics & Periodontics. He currently serves as the President of the BDA Metropolitan Branch Section.