Onkar Dhanoya

Onkar Dhanoya FCGDent is a general dental practitioner in Newcastle with clinical interests including implant dentistry, conscious sedation, facial aesthetics and restorative dentistry. He graduated from Newcastle University in 1985 and has been Principal Dentist and owner of Honour Health, a group of NHS and private dental practices across the North East, for forty years.

He served as an Honorary Clinical Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry at Newcastle Dental School from 1996 to 2024, and has been extensively involved in postgraduate education throughout his career. He was a Vocational and Foundation Dental Trainer with the Northern Deanery from 1991 to 2005 and from 2009 to 2015, an examiner for the Membership of the Joint Dental Faculties (MJDF) examination of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, a trainer in conscious sedation and a postgraduate lecturer in dental acupuncture. He currently chairs the Advisory Board for Foundation Training in Dentistry.

He holds a Diploma in Conscious Sedation from Newcastle University, a Diploma in Dental Acupuncture, the Diploma in Implant Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, a Certificate in Postgraduate Clinical Education from Newcastle University, a Postgraduate Certificate in Dental Practice Management from the University of Chester, and certificates in Facial Aesthetics and Dental Practice Appraisal.

He joined the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) in 1993, achieved Fellowship in 2013 and served as an elected member of the FGDP(UK) National Board from 2014 until its transfer into the College of General Dentistry. During this period he served as Chair of the Professional Affairs Committee, Chair of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Board, and completed two terms as Vice Dean. He also chaired the joint FGDP–CGDent working group which produced the influential guidance, Implications of COVID-19 for the safe management of general dental practice. Following the establishment of the College of General Dentistry, he continued to represent the Yorkshire and Northern region on the College Council and was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2022. 

A Fellow of the International College of Dentists and the Higher Education Academy, he is a member of the Association of Dental Implantology, the Sedation Teachers Group and the North East Private Dentists Group. A longstanding member of the British Dental Association, he is a former President of its Northern Counties Branch, a past member of both the BDA English Council and General Dental Practice Committee, and has served as a BDA Good Practice Scheme Assessor for many years.

He has represented the profession locally and nationally through extensive leadership roles, including Chair of North of Tyne Local Dental Committee since 2014 and Chair of the Northern Regional Council of Local Dental Committees from 2017 to 2020. He served as a Board Member of Dental Protection from 2019 to 2025, acts as an Expert Witness and Clinical Advisor to the General Dental Council, and has contributed to NHS dental contract reform and performance assessment processes. His professional interests include healthcare governance, leadership, professional standards, strategic development and the future application of technology and artificial intelligence within dentistry.

He was appointed Chair of the College’s Board of Trustees in 2026.

Updated 2026