We regret to report the passing of Kevin James Lewis FCGDent, former Trustee, Ambassador and Founder of the College.
Born in Hounslow, Middlesex, in May 1949, he qualified BDS from The London Hospital in 1971 and LDS in 1972, worked full-time as a general dental practitioner and practice owner for 20 years, then part-time for another ten years while he developed his interests in the dento-legal field.
In 1989 he began a 27-year career at Dental Protection, initially as a member of the Board of Directors, then as a dento-legal adviser, and as Dental Director between 1998 and 2016, serving on the Council and Executive of the Medical Protection Society.
In the 1980s and 1990s he was involved in broadcasting, being the monthly dental contributor on a BBC Radio 2 programme and a regular contributor on both BBC and commercial local radio in the East Midlands and East of England. He also gave a number of TV interviews, participated in dentistry-related documentaries and was the host of The Dental Channel.
Better known to many now for his writing, he was a long-serving Associate Editor of Dental Practice, Consultant Editor of Dentistry from 2006 and a contributing author to The Technologist since 2018, providing the profession with contemporary, insightful political commentaries, editorials and dento-legal articles for over forty years. He also wrote two textbooks on dental practice management and guest chapters in several others.
He enjoyed some part-time teaching and supervision of undergraduate students, and lectured throughout the UK and internationally, presenting at seven FDI World Dental Congresses as well as regional or national conferences in almost 30 countries, including regular lectures in Australia, New Zealand, North America and South East Asia.
In the early part of his career, he was heavily involved in the British Dental Association up to Branch Council level and in Local Dental Committee matters, and for some years was a Vice President of the British Association of Dental Therapists. He was a Trustee of the Oral & Dental Research Trust and a past Trustee of the Cordent Dental Trust, a Special Consultant to BDA Indemnity and he provided consultancy and advisory services to a variety of organisations in dentistry and wider healthcare.
In 2017, following the decision of the national board of the former Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP) to build an independent college for general dental practitioners and the whole dental team, he was appointed a founder member of the Transition Board tasked with creating what became the College of General Dentistry. He subsequently served as a Trustee of the College until 2022, then as a College Ambassador. He was a College Fellow, College Founder and College Donor, presented College webinars on dento-legal topics, and wrote for the Primary Dental Journal.
He was also a Fellow of the International College of Dentists and of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, achieved the Diploma of Fellowship of the former FGDP, and was awarded Honorary Membership of the British, Irish and New Zealand Dental Associations. He was an Honorary Member, and past Council Member, of the British Society for Restorative Dentistry.
Last month he was awarded the College Medal, the College of General Dentistry’s most prestigious honour, in recognition of his consistent championing of general dental practice during a career spanning over half a century, and for his contributions to the establishment and development of the College from its formative stages.
He passed away peacefully in Peterborough Hospital, with his family around him, on Wednesday 30 July, aged 76. He is survived by his wife Rhiannon (formerly Head Dental Nurse of the Department of Periodontology at The London Hospital), son Nick (a College Fellow and former Course Director of the FGDP Diploma in Restorative Dentistry), daughter Angharad Sian (a solicitor in Hong Kong) and daughter-in-law Jane (a GDP in Hampshire).
Paying tribute to his legacy, the President of the College, Dr Roshni Karia MCGDent, said:
“Kevin was a great champion of general dental practice. As a young graduate, I was inspired in so many ways by the humility, insight and expertise which were the hallmarks of his lecturing, and I know that his loss will be felt by many others in our professional community. He will be dearly missed.”
