The College of General Dentistry, GC and The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation would like to congratulate the successful candidates in the 2026 CGDent and GC Award for Foundation Trainees, and thank everyone who entered.
A selection of successful cases which illustrate a range of different types of cases entered in the award. Cases submitted by (L-R) Dr Esha Gupta, Dr Xiaoyu Foo and Dr Lance Lesterpearson
This year, all 14 winning entrants are dentists, who between them studied at eight different dental schools and are now completing their Foundation / Vocational Training through eight different deaneries across the regions and nations of the UK.
| Candidate name | Undergraduate qualification | Educational Supervisor(s) | Deanery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Abdurahman Abdi | BDS Cardiff University 2025 | Dr Sian Blackshaw | Wales |
| Dr Sahand Abolfathi | BDS University of Glasgow 2025 | Dr Bushra Bashir | Scotland |
| Dr Mariam Ahmed | BDS Newcastle University 2025 | Dr Rosie Johnston, Dr Heather Coventry | North East and Cumbria |
| Dr Xiaoyu Foo | BDS University of Dundee 2025 | Dr Iain Bufton | Scotland |
| Dr Esha Gupta | BDS University of Plymouth 2025 | Dr Saleem Mulla | Midlands |
| Dr Joshua Hurley | BDS King’s College London 2025 | Dr Niloy Karia | London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex |
| Dr Anushka Kapour | BDS University of Plymouth 2025 | Dr Deepa Shah, Dr Neil Shah | London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex |
| Dr Daniel Lekhi | BDS University of Birmingham 2025 | Dr Brenda Macmillan, Dr Rebecca Hamilton | Thames Valley and Wessex |
| Dr Lance Lesterpearson | BDS University of Plymouth 2024 | Dr Mohammed Faisal | London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex |
| Dr Aqil Matin | BDS University of Manchester 2025 | Dr Emily McConnell | North West |
| Dr Imane Nagi | BDS University of Birmingham 2025 | Dr Bharat Modhwadia | North West |
| Dr Priyanka Shah | BDS University of Dundee 2025 | Dr Nava Darzi, Dr Hardeep Matharu | East of England |
| Dr Safa Shareef | BDS University of Manchester 2025 | Dr Jemma Hook | North West |
| Dr Heba Turki | BDS Newcastle University 2025 | Dr Neesha Chopra | North East and Cumbria |
To enter, each participant submitted a restorative case which included at least one anterior tooth restored with composite. Cases entered involved a range of restorative treatments including those for midline diastema, dental trauma, tooth wear and peg shaped laterals. View all the successful cases here.
The award was open to dentists and dental therapists who graduated in the UK or Ireland in 2025 and/or are undergoing Dental Foundation Training, Dental Vocational Training or Joint Dental Foundation Core Training in 2025-26. Entries were received from dentists and dental therapists around the country.
The assessment panel, which comprised Trustees of The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and senior members of the College, scored each case based on a set of assessment criteria which allocated points to overall improvement in the patient’s oral health (including periodontal health), the standard of aesthetic treatment, the complexity of the case and the quality of the entrant’s reflection.
The successful candidates are each awarded a fully-funded place on a two-day composite layering course which is taking place on 23-24 July 2026 at GC’s European Education Campus in Leuven, Belgium. The prize includes international travel and hotel costs and is worth around £1,400 per place.
The CGDent-GC Award is funded by The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and organised in conjunction with the College and GC.
The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation supports educational opportunities for early career dental professionals in the UK, and was founded by Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent, a general dental practitioner with a special interest in restorative dentistry.
GC is an oral health company which manufactures dental systems and products which are sold around the world, and has won awards for its products and innovations. It provides both online and in-person training covering many areas of dental practice.
The College, GC and the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation also collaborate on the new Tom Bereznicki Award for Tooth Wear Cases, which is currently open to dentists who qualified between 2020 and 2024, and who practise in the UK or Ireland, until Monday 10 August 2026, and which will offer up to 20 successful candidates a fully-funded place on a one-day, hands-on course on composite injection moulding technique.
The next round of the CGDent-CG Award will open in September 2026. For further information, visit our award page. To receive email notification when the competition opens, register your interest via the button below:
