ORCID
- Sally Hanks: 0000-0002-4072-4594
Abstract
ObjectivesThis paper reports on research aimed at understanding leadership activities in primary care dental practice, an under-explored area within the extant literature. MethodsThe research employed a qualitative, exploratory paradigm, using Video Reflexive Ethnography (VRE) and Activity Theory (AT) to capture the lived experiences of seven participating dentists. Results The research outlines the ways in which dentists demonstrate leadership skills in their daily work, identifying three interacting activity systems that define leadership in this setting: Patient Care (PC), Running the Surgery (RS), and Running the Practice (RP). Findings emphasise that leadership is directly related to patient care and is informed by explicit and implicit ‘rules’ governing these activities, which are often learnt and developed tacitly over the course of a dentist’s career.ConclusionsLeadership is based on relationships and emotional intelligence and effects dentists’ general well-being in addition to the effective delivery of clinical care.
Publication Date
2025-12-04
Publication Title
Journal of Dentistry
ISSN
0300-5712
Acceptance Date
2025-12-02
Deposit Date
2025-12-10
Additional Links
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0300571225007262
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Hanks, S., & Cotton, D. (2025) 'Making the Implicit Explicit: Leadership in Primary Care Dental Practice', Journal of Dentistry, . Retrieved from https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/pds-research/367
