The College has partnered with the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and Dentsply Sirona to develop a new aesthetic dentistry award for early career dentists.
The Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry recognises aesthetic dentistry skills and patient care and is open to dentists who qualified in the UK, Ireland or overseas between 2019 to 2023 and have been practising in the UK for at least the past two years.
36 successful candidates will each receive a fully funded place on a bespoke, hands-on two-day digital dentistry course at the Dentsply Sirona Academy in Weybridge, Surrey. The course is repeated on three separate dates. Travel costs, hotel accommodation and subsistence are included in the prize.
The digital dentistry course has been designed by Dr Tom Bereznicki BDS (Edin), FDS RCS (Ed), MFDTEd, FCGDent, MFDSEng and Dr Chris Leech BDS, MAGDS RCS (Ed), MFDS RCPS (Glasg), Dip Imp Dent RCS (Ed), FDS RCS (Ed), FCGDent. Created solely for the Award, the course is aimed at dentists with limited or no experience of working with a digital workflow. The exclusive course is only open to winners of the new Award and is not available commercially.
Delivered predominantly through short demonstrations and comprehensive hands-on sessions, participants on the course will be guided step-by-step through the complete process of creating a digitally produced crown, from scanning to cementation. Theory modules, such as material science, will be provided through pre-course and post-course videos.
To enter, candidates must submit pre-op photographs of an aesthetic case they are about to start treating and upload a final case report when treatment is complete. The case must involve more than one tooth, including at least one anterior tooth, and the use of composite to restore teeth. It must mainly follow an analogue workflow. Full case eligibility guidance is outlined on the Award web page.
The inaugural Award is now open and the deadline to enter the competition with pre-op photographs is Friday 17 January 2025. Entrants have until Friday 16 May 2025 to complete the treatment and submit their final case. The successful candidates will be announced in June and the digital dentistry courses will take place on Friday-Saturday 4-5 July 2025, Friday-Saturday 14-15 November 2025 and Friday-Saturday 28-29 November 2025. The number of Award entries has been capped at 150, and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Click the button below for further information about the award, links to guidance for entrants and the entry form.
The College is collaborating with the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation, and other partners, to deliver a range of educational opportunities for early career dental professionals.
Occlusion and perio symposia Featuring a line-up of expert speakers, a series of symposia for early career dentists on the topics of occlusion and perio will take place in London in 2025. Find out more.
CGDent and GC Award for Foundation Trainees Dentists and dental therapists enrolled on DFT are eligible to enter the CGDent-GC Award 2024/25, to win fully funded composite layering training in Belgium. Full details and entry form.
The College of General Dentistry is delighted to partner with the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation to host a series of symposia for early career dentists, in collaboration with FMC, on the topics of Occlusion and Perio.
Carefully curated for early career dentists, the symposia will be open to dentists who qualified in the UK or overseas between 2019 and 2023 and have been practising in the UK for at least the past two years.
A line-up of renowned speakers will deliver a series of lectures to enhance delegates’ understanding of the fundamentals of occlusion and how these principles can support the placement of successful, long-term restorations for patients presenting with tooth wear and other conditions.
The opening lecture will be delivered by Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent, a general dental practitioner with a special interest in restorative dentistry and founder of the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation. Dr Bereznicki’s presentation will be followed by sessions from Professor Paul Tipton FCGDent, Dr Ken Harris FCGDent, Dr Tif Qureshi FCGDent and Dr Shiraz Khan, and Dr Koray Feran FCGDent.
Dr Tom BereznickiProf Paul TiptonDr Ken HarrisDr Tif QureshiDr Shiraz KhanDr Koray Feran
The event will consist of two half-day sessions delivered by Dr Reena Wadia, a Specialist Periodontist and founder of Perio School, and Dr Raman Aulakh FCGDent, a Specialist Orthodontist, Invisalign Platinum Elite Doctor and co-founder of Aligner Dental Academy.
Alongside the programme of lectures, delegates at either symposia who wish to develop their knowledge of occlusion or perio further, can visit a selection of education stands to learn more about leading postgraduate courses available in these fields.
To ensure the symposia are accessible to early career dentists, the fee for each event has been set at an affordable rate of £75 per symposium and they will each take place on a Saturday to avoid time away from clinic.
Tickets for the Introduction to Occlusion Symposium for Early Career Dentists will be made available from January 2025. Bookings for the Perio-Occlusion Symposium for Early Career Dentists will open later next year, and as places are limited, dentists are advised to secure a ticket early to avoid disappointment.
Eligible dentists interested in attending either or both symposia, are urged to ‘save-the-dates’ and sign-up to receive a notification as soon as tickets go on sale.
The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation supports educational initiatives for early career dentists and is working in conjunction with the College, and other collaborators, to provide a range of developmental opportunities for this cohort. Alongside the Introduction to Occlusion and the Perio-Occlusion Symposia, the Foundation funds the CGDent and GC Award for Foundation Trainees, which offers the chance to win fully-funded composite layering training in Belgium. An advanced aesthetic dentistry competition, which will provide each successful candidate with a fully-funded place on a hands-on digital dentistry course, is launching soon and other projects are also planned.
Sign-up to receive the College newsletter to stay informed about all upcoming opportunities with the College and the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation.
SAVE THE DATE: Saturday 20 September 2025, 9am-5pm £75 per delegate
Places at this event are limited – sign-up to receive a notification as soon as registration opens.
To sign-up, subscribe to the College for free, or sign-in to your existing account, then navigate back to this page, or refresh it, to see the ‘register your interest’ button below.
Don’t miss out – put Saturday 20 September 2025 in your diary!
The Symposium will focus on the Aesthetic Aspects of Perio and Functional Occlusal Aspects Post Orthodontic Treatment, and is currently in development. Check this page again for further updates.
Who is eligible to attend?
The Symposium is aimed at early career dentists. It is open to dentists who qualified in the UK or overseas between 2019 to 2023 and have been practising in the UK for at least the past two years.
Expert speakers
Our renowned speakers are both experts in their fields and have a wealth of experience of delivering high-quality education.
Dr Reena WadiaDr Raman Aulakh
Dr Reena Wadia is a Specialist Periodontist and founder and principal of RW Perio, a four-surgery clinic surgery in London. She is the founder of Perio School, a leading teaching academy for periodontal courses.
Dr Raman Aulakh FCGDent is a Specialist Orthodontist, co-founder of Aligner Dental Academy and an Invisalign Platinum Elite Doctor. He is a clinical speaker and a post-graduate tutor at King’s College Dental Institute London.
Network with speakers in the lunch break and learn about the courses they offer to further hone and develop your knowledge around periodontics and aligner orthodontics.
Symposium fee: £75
To ensure the Symposium is accessible to early career dentists, we have kept the fee at an affordable rate. The reduced cost has largely been made possible by the generosity of the speakers, who have kindly provided their time and expertise free of charge.
Verifiable CPD: 7 hours
About the Symposium
The aim of the Symposium is to update your knowledge and understanding on important areas of practice to support your professional development. If you are interested in enhancing your knowledge further in these topic areas, you are invited to visit our education stands in the breaks to find out more about high-quality postgraduate courses available to you.
The Symposium has been organised by the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation in conjunction with the College of General Dentistry and FMC. The Foundation supports educational opportunities for early career dentists in the UK.
You will gain 7 hours verifiable CPD.
Lunch and refreshments
Lunch is not provided in the venue. You are welcome to bring your own lunch or visit the restaurants, cafes and shops on the doorstep.
Tea, coffee and biscuits are provided throughout the event.
Getting there
The venue address is: Kensington Conference and Events Centre, Kensington Town Hall, Thornton Street, London, W8
Kensington Conference and Events Centre is easy to access on public transport and a car park is also available onsite.
London Underground – the nearest London Underground station is High Street Kensington on the Circle or District Line.
Bus – busses 9, 10, 27, 28, 49, 52, 70, 328, C1 stop near the venue. Exit the bus at the Kensington High Street/Wrights Lane junction. Alternatively, busses 52 or 70 stop at nearby Kensington Church Street.
Car Parking – there is a public car park below the Kensington Conference and Events Centre. To access it, enter Campden Hill Road from Kensington High Street, turn first right into Phillimore Walk and turn immediately left down the entrance ramp to the car park.
Kensington Conference and Events Centre is fully accessible for anyone with mobility issues.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Register your interest
To sign up to receive a notification when tickets go on sale, subscribe to the College for free, or sign in to your existing account, then refresh this page to see the ‘register your interest’ button below.
The Old Banqueting Hall, Cutlers’ Hall, 7-15 Church St, Sheffield S1 1HG
The fourth annual College of General Dentistry Fellows’ Summer Reception will take place on the evening of Friday 13 June 2025 in the historic Cutlers’ Hall in Sheffield.
The event will include welcome addresses by the President and Chair of the College, the admission of new Fellows, presentation of the President’s Award and the announcement of the 2025 winner of the College Medal.
An opportunity to network with peers, as well as to meet College Trustees and members of the College Council and Faculty Boards, the reception will be open to all Fellows and Associate Fellows, with other eligible groups to be confirmed in due course.
Information on eligibility for Fellowship of the College (FCGDent) and Associate Fellowship (AssocFCGDent) is available here
Tickets for this event are not yet on sale; we will write to eligible individuals once registration is open
The latest issue of the Primary Dental Journal, ‘Implant dentistry (part one)’, is available to view online now.
The implant dentistry theme has been split across two consecutive journal issues – parts 1 and 2. Papers in this part 1 issue include the role of the general dental practitioner in the care of the implant patient; dental nursing in implant dentistry; the hygienist’s role in the management of the implant patient in primary care; and dentolegal considerations in implant dentistry. The main objective of this first issue is to provide readers with a cutting-edge update on the topics, and to raise awareness of the need to manage implant patients in primary care.
The guest editor of this part 1 issue is Amin Aminian FCGDent, a Specialist in Prosthodontics in Greater Manchester. Amin explains the impetus for the collection of papers, and urges readers to share these Implant dentistry issues with all colleagues:
“My aim…was to highlight how implant therapy can, and should, be predominantly provided in primary care. The articles highlight how implant dentistry can positively impact our patients’ quality of life, regardless of the care setting.
“I sincerely hope you enjoy the two implant dentistry issues. At the outset, they were intended for all members of the primary care team, be it those who have yet to begin their implant journey or those more experienced in all aspects of the treatment. The articles highlight the important role all members of the team need to play, with the patient central to the care plan.”
Implant Dentistry – a journey from the beginnings to what has become an established discipline
Prof Igor Blum’s editorial introducing the PDJ implant dentistry issues is available to read here.
Part 2 – which is due out in winter and guest-edited by Professor Ilser Turkyilmaz of New York University – will have a greater focus on clinical aspects of implant dentistry, including complications and adverse events, and recent technological advancements in the field.
Full online access to the majority of articles is reserved for College of General Dentistry members and Primary Dental Journal subscribers, who can also expect their printed copies to arrive in the next 2–3 weeks.
For non-members / non-subscribers, at least one paper in each issue is made available online free of charge, with all other articles available to purchase via the links below.
An annual print subscription to the PDJ is included with membership of the College, which also includes online access to over 1,400 current and past issues in the PDJ Library and a range of other benefits.
On behalf of the College, the PDJ editorial team would like to express its gratitude to all the authors and peer reviewers who have contributed to the publication of this issue.
Joining gift: Implant Dentistry parts 1 & 2
To mark the publication of the first of our new PDJ issues on implant dentistry, anyone joining the College or its Register of Mentors in Implant Dentistry before 31 December 2024 will receive a printed copy. They will also be sent part 2 once available.
The College has launched an online register of qualified mentors in implant dentistry.
Developed in conjunction with the Association of Dental Implantology (ADI) and the International Team for Implantology (ITI), the new Register of Mentors in Implant Dentistry will support high standards of training and practice in implant dentistry by providing recognition to those who have met specific standards in their clinical and mentoring practice. Freely accessible and searchable by the profession at large, it will also enable those undertaking training in implant dentistry to identify and contact appropriately experienced and qualified mentors.
Mentoring is recognised as a critical element of a practitioner’s training in implant dentistry, and is among the requirements of the College’s Training Standards in Implant Dentistry document, which sets the minimum standards for training which those practising implant dentistry in the UK must have undertaken.
The specific experience, skills and qualities required of a mentor are articulated in the College’s Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines and are the basis for the eligibility criteria for inclusion the new register, all of which must be met:
Postgraduate degree or qualification in implant dentistry, or documentary evidence of completion of a structured implant training course with at least 70 hours of verifiable contact learning and meeting, or (for those who commenced implant dentistry before 2005) demonstrably equivalent training and experience.
Placed and/or restored at least 250 implants in a variety of clinical situations, depending on which aspects of care are being mentored. (Suitability can also be demonstrated from a lower number of cases with appropriate insight and reflection).
Five years’ experience in the specific prosthetic or surgical technique that the mentee is being trained in. This should be in the form of a description of the mentor’s overall post-qualification experience and specifically their implant training, courses attended and clinical experience.
Successful completion of an accredited medical education or mentoring course, or two years in a substantive implant-related teaching post which includes clinical supervision.
Applications to join the register are reviewed by a panel comprising representatives of CGDent, the ADI and the ITI. Once admitted, mentors will be subject to a Code of Conduct to ensure that any mentoring provided is in accordance with the guidelines, and they will also need to provide an annual declaration that they are still undertaking implant dentistry and that they are maintaining their expertise in both clinical and mentoring skills.
There is currently no application fee, however those admitted to the register will pay an annual fee for inclusion. The introductory annual fee is £500, but Full Members, Associate Fellows or Fellows of the College pay only £250. Members of the ADI and ITI also benefit from a reduced rate of £400, and those who are members of both the College and either the ADI or ITI pay just £160 per annum. The effective cost of the fee can be significantly reduced through tax relief.
Igor Blum, Clinical Professor of Primary Care Dentistry and Advanced General Dental Practice at King’s College London and Editor of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ), introduces two issues of the PDJ dedicated to implant dentistry
Modern implant dentistry begins with the pioneering work of Per-Ingvar Brånemark (1929-2014), professor of anatomy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and André Schroeder (1918-2004) professor of operative dentistry and endodontics at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Professor Brånemark studied bone healing and regeneration and discovered in 1957 that bone could grow in close proximity with titanium without being rejected, developing a permanent attachment between bone and titanium. He termed this phenomenon ‘osseointegration’.
Osseointegration established a new era in dentistry and paved the way for the development of the principles of biological acceptance of implants based on the science of bone biology. The first patient receiving titanium dental implants was 34-year-old Gosta Larsson, a man with a cleft palate, jaw deformities and missing teeth in his lower jaw. In 1965 he had four titanium implants (fixtures) placed into his mandible which were restored with a fixed prosthesis. The dental implants served for more than 40 years, until the end of Mr Larsson’s life.1
Early histological evidence demonstrating dental implant osseointegration was published in 1976 by Professor André Schroeder. He then went on to develop improved dental implant designs, and in 1980 Professor Schroeder founded the International Team of Implantology (ITI) of which he was the founding president. The ITI evolved into the largest global organisation of Implant Dentistry today.
At the Toronto Conference on Osseointegration in Clinical Dentistry in 1982, Professor Brånemark gave his landmark presentation that convinced dentists that a new era had dawned for dental implants, which became rapidly adopted as a new method of root-shaped screws in the jaws.2 He is widely known as the ‘father of modern dental implantology’ because of his milestone contribution in the field of implant dentistry. In tandem with the pioneering work in dental implants, and following the recognition of long-term success of osseointegration, this work was extended to orthopaedics for small and large joint replacement.3
The introduction of the concept of osseointegration of implants resulted in a paradigm shift that affected the dental care of partially dentate and edentulous patients. Dental implants continued to evolve with research and innovation over decades resulting in the treatment planning involving the implant option becoming part of mainstream dentistry in the present day. The widespread use of dental implants requires dental professionals to be up to date with maintaining the implant patient, regardless of whether the dental practice is offering the provision of dental implants. It is therefore essential for dental professionals to have appropriate training and a sound clinical understanding in the care of and maintaining the implant patient.
Although not a substitute by any means for a quality assured clinical training programme or structured course, the editorial team felt it was timely to produce an issue of the Primary Dental Journal devoted to Implant Dentistry. This theme has been split across two consecutive issues of the journal – parts 1 and 2.
Part 1, our Autumn 2024 issue which will be published imminently, addresses the role of the general dental practitioner in the care of the implant patient, dental nursing in implant dentistry, the hygienist’s role in the management of the implant patient in primary care, developing implant mentoring programmes, a personal journey from mentee to mentor, biomechanical principles of restoring a dentition with dental implants, a technician’s perspective on communication in implant treatment planning, placement and reconstruction in the digital age, the impact of implants on quality of life, and, very importantly dentolegal considerations in implant dentistry. The main objective of part 1 issue is to provide readers with a cutting-edge update on the above topics, including raising awareness of the need to manage implant patients in primary care.
Part 2, the Winter 2024/25 issue to be published in around three months’ time, will focus more on clinical aspects of implant dentistry, including complications and adverse events, and recent technological advancements in the field.
Implant Dentistry is truly an evolving discipline as seen by the remarkable advances since the early works of Professors Brånemark, Schroeder and many others over the past decades. Those dental professionals wishing to further their knowledge and skills in implant dentistry and wishing to choose postgraduate educational programmes or courses might also benefit from familiarising themselves with the College of General Dentistry publications Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines and Training standards in implant dentistry. The former describes the nature of mentoring which should be undertaken in order to safely carry out implant dentistry following completion of an appropriate training course, while the latter helps with identifying quality postgraduate education in implant dentistry.
I am very thankful to Dr Amin Aminian and Professor Ilser Turkyilmaz, the guest editors respectively of our part 1 and part 2 issues on implant dentistry, and to all our contributing authors, for producing such a wealth of excellent and informative articles which I am certain readers will find of interest and use.
The Primary Dental Journal is the College’s quarterly peer-reviewed journal dedicated to general dental practice. Printed copies of the Autumn 2024 part 1 issue on implant dentistry should arrive with College members in the second half of October.
Joining gift: Implant Dentistry parts 1 & 2
To mark the publication of the first of our new PDJ issues on implant dentistry, anyone joining the College or its Register of Mentors in Implant Dentistry before 31 December 2024 will receive a printed copy. They will also be sent part 2 once available.
2Zarb G, editor. Toronto conference on osseointegration in clinical dentistry. In Proceedings of the 1982 Toronto Conference 1983 (pp. 1-165). Mosby: St. Louis
3Albrektsson T, Lekholm U. Osseointegration: current state of the art. Dent Clin North Am. 1989 Oct;33(4):537-54
College members can now contact each other via the new Member Messaging service.
The free service has been developed to enable members to establish or re-establish contact with other members so that they can help, guide and collaborate with each other.
All members of the College can both send and receive messages via the new system, which will also be available to those non-members who join the College’s forthcoming Register of Implant Dentistry Mentors, and will enable College members to contact non-members on that register.
To be able to receive messages, members must opt in within the ‘Preferences’ section of their online account, and must also have not opted out of appearing on the College’s online Member Register. Those admitted to the Register of Implant Dentistry Mentors will be opted in by default. Scroll down forfull instructions.
Messages are initiated by clicking the ‘Message’ link on the intended recipient’s individual page on the Member Register. If available, the message link will appear directly underneath the intended recipient’s name near the top of the page, and clicking it will open a new page where a subject line and message can be entered and sent. If the message link does not appear, this means either that the sender has not logged in or that the intended recipient has not opted in to receiving messages.
When a message is sent, the recipient is alerted to it by an email which provides a link to their Member Messaging inbox, where they can read and reply to the message. Their reply is then sent to the original sender’s Member Messaging inbox and likewise triggers email notification.
The system has been designed to keep members’ email addresses confidential, though users are free to share their contact details within correspondence should they wish.
Further information is available on your personal Member Messaging page. Please note this page will only be visible if you are a member of the College, and only when logged in.
How to enable other members to contact you
1. Sign in to your account using the email address you have registered with the College.
If you need to use the ‘Forgot Password’ option, please check your junk/spam folder in case the password reset email is directed there
Frances Robinson AssocFCGDent, Advanced Oral Health Practitioner and Chair of the Board of the Faculty of Dental Hygiene & Dental Therapy, reflects on The Dental Health Barometer report on preventative oral healthcare, published by the College and Haleon.
The Dental Health Barometer report, stemming from a collaboration between the College of General Dentistry and Haleon, surveyed patients and dental professionals and more recently held focus groups with dental professionals throughout the UK. The report highlights inconsistencies in the provision of preventative oral healthcare and how this type of care is understood by both the dental population and the wider public.
Due to my roles as an Advanced Oral Health Practitioner in London and as Chair of the Board in the College’s Faculty of Dental Hygiene & Dental Therapy, this piece of research with Haleon, was particularly interesting to me. I currently lead a mixed team of dental professionals and admin support to provide an oral health promotion service, through an NHS trust, contracted by the local authority. In my borough the decay rate was 39.1% for five-years olds in 2019 – I have much work to do!
I can sense clinicians are frustrated when working at the coal face of primary care seeing so much decay and periodontal issues, but dental outreach teams, like mine, and the dental public health workforce, work tirelessly to address some of the points raised by clinicians in the report.
I would like to use this blog piece to highlight some of the key summary points raised in the CGDent-Haleon report that are directly related to my role and also to explain some of the work that goes on in oral health outreach teams.
Tooth decay is preventable and inequalities are unfair, yet avoidable. Preventative dental care is proactively helping a patient to take action to maintain a healthy mouth, however, as the CGDent-Haleon report highlights, both the ability to provide preventative advice and the consistency of the advice given varies between professionals.
Greater provision of CPD
In clinical practice, clinicians are used to treating patients to a high standard according to the best available evidence base. This may be using the best materials and the selection of treatment options on a case-by-case basis. ‘TheDental Health Barometer‘ seems to demonstrate that current understanding of evidence-based population dental approaches varies in primary dental workforces. Dental public health is taught on undergraduate curriculums but clinicians may be unaware of recent updates to evidence bases. Subsequently, in order to use the primary dental health workforce to contribute to improving oral health outside the dental surgery, it is pertinent to ensure the evidence base is widely understood. There is a risk that some oral health approaches and interventions, although well intentioned, are either at best ineffective or at worst could widen oral health inequalities.
Indeed, the report calls for “greater provision of CPD on the delivery of preventative care”, in this instance it would be a good opportunity for this type of CPD to also cover community based oral health approaches, as well as those more applicable to clinical settings.
Evidence based public health dentistry
Currently, it seems many well-intentioned efforts to improve oral health on a population level don’t actually align to the current evidence base. Giving oral health ‘education’ in the form of assemblies, class room talks or at health fairs, is not proven to improve oral health outcomes. The ‘commissioning for oral health‘ document highlights that for school aged children, one-off dental health education is ineffective and therefore discouraged.
These traditional oral health approaches that focus solely on education can actually widen oral health inequalities in deprived areas. A one-off oral health session only gives knowledge to those with the means i.e. financial and social resources to act on advice, but for vulnerable families it doesn’t empower them to make sustainable change. They might want to go home and buy toothbrushes and toothpastes and healthy food for their family, but they may also have to consider the family budget, constraints on the family’s time and other social factors. Furthermore, sustained behaviour change is seldom achieved in one visit, it takes time and patience to build daily oral health habits as we know from our work on a one-to-one level with patients in clinics.
In my role as an Advanced Oral Health Practitioner, I have heard of families all using the same toothbrush because they cannot afford to buy ones for each family member, and I have met families living in temporary accommodation with limited access to cooking facilities and personal hygiene spaces. These families living in deprivation as highlighted are more likely to be the ones suffering from poor oral health.
The Association of Directors of Public Health stated in 2023, “worrying oral health findings are not a result of behaviour, poor choices or a lack of education.” But rather research, conducted by Public Health England, has called for action to tackle the underlying causes of health inequalities including “creating healthier public policies, supportive environments, strengthening community action, developing personal skills and reorienting health services towards prevention”.
Creating healthier public policies, supportive environments and strengthening community action, to improve oral health.”
Figure 1
Indeed, Professor Sir Michael Marmott poses the question on the first page of his book ‘The Health Gap‘, “why treat people only to send people back to the conditions that made them sick in the first place?”.
On a population level, the conditions in which each family lives has a bigger influence on their health outcomes than individual decisions. Research has shown that the social determinants of health account for 30-55% of someone’s health outcomes. Subsequently programmes that consider the social determinants of health, (the conditions in which children and adults can live, grow, work and age) have the best evidence-base behind them.
There is strong supportive evidence for supervised toothbrushing programmes and fluoride varnish programmes, which were mentioned in the CGDent-Haleon report. Also dental professionals suggested collaboration and oral health training for the wider professional workforce (health, education, social). This is further encouraged by the commissioning for better oral health document, as they build on existing capacity and can be targeted to high risk groups.
Why is there variation between which oral health prevention services are offered in different areas?
Oral health is designated to local authority level and subsequently there are huge variations in what is offered on a national scale. This can be confusing for dental professionals working in primary care and the public, which is shown by the recent report.
Within London, I am aware of every borough having a different approach to commissioned oral health programmes and this can result in a postcode lottery in terms of what is provided. The borough I work in has fluoride varnish programmes and supervised toothbrushing programmes in a certain proportion of targeted schools and all SEN schools. But we also provide comprehensive training for health, social and educational professionals for oral health – aligning to the evidence base around capacity building on existing services. This includes working with care homes, carers, outreach workers, social workers, health visitors, nursery staff and recruiting ‘Oral Health Champions’ in all settings we work with. This approach may not be replicated across the UK and dental professionals in primary care may not be aware of the current commissioning of an oral health team in their area.
Indeed, there are calls in the CGDent-Haleon report for a national oral health programme (similar to ChildSmile in Scotland or Designed to Smile in Wales) which creates a base level of preventative care, for both children and adults and integrates oral health into general health. It could use universal proportionalism to scale up priorities, identified by local need. If there was a national oral health programme there could be potential for local practices to assist with the running of this, for example training teachers on supervised tooth brushing programmes or visiting local care homes to provide quality assured oral health training to staff members.
Oral health was included in a recent NHS England initiative Core20PLUS5, a national NHS England approach to support the reduction of health inequalities at both national and system level. The approach defines a target population cohort of the most deprived 20%, plus inclusion health groups and identifies ‘5’ focus clinical areas requiring accelerated improvement. The Core20PLUS5 for children did include oral health as a priority so there is hope that some of our concerns as professionals are being heard on a wider level, and taken alongside the recent publication of the ‘The Dental Health Barometer’ report by the College and Haleon, there may be hope for the future!
Having graduated from Edinburgh in 1976, Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent immediately moved to London and worked as a House Surgeon rotating around Departments at Guy’s and The Royal Dental Hospitals before entering general dental practice in 1978. In 1982, he opened his own single-handed private practice as a ‘squat’ in Queensgate, London, before moving himself and his patients to join The Dawood & Tanner Dental Practice in Wimpole Street in January 2011. His Special Interests lie in all aspects of Restorative Dentistry but in particular, Occlusion and Emergence Profile.
In October 2013 until August 2022, Tom was appointed as a Visiting Clinical Specialist Teacher in The Department of Education within The Dental Institute at King’s College London. From April 2018 to May 2018, he became Staff President of The Kings Students Dental Society and then reappointed as for the year April 2021 to 2022. In 2018 he was appointed as a Member of The Kings Dental Alumni Association Council finishing his term of Office in June 2022.
In May 2018 Tom was awarded one of King’s College London’s prestigious Teaching Excellence Awards – Teaching Experience. In 2019 he was nominated for the 2019 Kings Education Award – Student Support.
In March 2017 to February 2021, he served on The Advisory Board in Primary Dental Care at The Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh. In July 2017 until January 2022, he also served on the Steering Group of The Faculty of Dental Trainers at The Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh. In March 2018 he became a Member of The Faculty of Dental Trainers at The Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh (MFDTEd). In July 2018 he became a Member of the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners at The Royal College of Surgeons, England. In November 2018 he became a Founder Member of the newly formed College of General Dentistry and has been a Fellow of the College since 2022.
In January 2021 he joined the Academy of Dental Excellence Faculty as a Senior Specialist Faculty Teacher. Starting in September 2021, he joined the Teaching Faculty at The University of Portsmouth as a Partner Associate Lecturer delivering the new PG Diploma in Advanced Aesthetic and Restorative Dentistry. In February 2023 he joined the Teaching Faculty of Kings College Dentistry Aesthetic Masterclass MSc course.
More recently he has set up The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation which supports educational initiatives for early career dental professionals. In 2023, The Foundation, in association with the College of General Dentistry and GC, successfully launched a clinical competition for Foundation Dentists. Other competitions and lectures are planned for the future
A range of educational resources can be found on Tom’s website tombereznicki.com
Professor Paul Tipton
BDS, MSc, D.G.D.P RCS, Dip Rest Dent, Dip Imp Pros, Dip Pros, Dip Aesth Dent, FCGDent. Specialist in Prosthodontics. Visiting Professor of Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry, City of London Dental School.
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Professor Paul Tipton FCGDent is an internationally acclaimed Prosthodontist who has worked in private practice for more than 30 years. He is the founder of Tipton Training, Europe’s leading private dental training institution and the author of over 100 scientific articles for the dental press. A passionate and charismatic speaker, Paul has been teaching for over 30 years, both in the UK and internationally.
He was voted one of the ‘most influential dentists in the UK’ by his peers in Dentistry Magazine in 2013 and in the top 3 dentists in Aesthetic Dentistry’s 25 poll, November 2012.
In 2021 Prof Tipton was voted one of the “World’s Top 100 Doctors” by the Global Summits.
In 2022 Prof Paul Tipton was amongst the few awarded for the “Dentistry’s Top 50 Dentists 2022”.
Most recently in November 2022 Professor Paul Tipton won the Kimberley Finlayson ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ in recognition for his outstanding contributions to private dentistry and dental education.
Professor Tipton qualified from Sheffield University in 1978 and in 1982 opened his own referral practice in Manchester. He continued to build his skills, studying at Eastman Dental Hospital in London, where after 2 years of study, he obtained a Masters Degree in Conservative Dentistry in 1989. In the same year he started teaching on the University of Manchester’s MSc in Restorative Dentistry. He is now a lecturer on their MSc programme in Aesthetic and Restorative Dentistry and also lectures at Kings College London (LonDEC).
In 1991 Professor Tipton founded his private dental training academy, Tipton Training. During this time, Tipton Training have successfully trained over 5,000 dentists and this number continues to rise year after year.
In 1992, Professor Tipton was awarded an honorary Diploma in General Dental Practice from the Royal College of Surgeons of England and was appointed a member of the British Dental Association’s Independent Practice Committee. In 1999, he was certified as a Specialist in Prosthodontics by the General Dental Council.
Professor Paul Tipton is on the editorial board of Private Dentistry Magazine, Restorative & Aesthetic Practice and Implant Dentistry and is a medical writer and part of the advisory board at Expert Beauty Magazine and ‘Woman’s’ magazine. He was a founding member and on the Board of Directors of the British Academy of Aesthetic Dentistry and the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.
He is currently the President of the British Academy of Restorative Dentistry and was recently elected Fellow of the International Academy of Dental Facial Esthetics (IADFE).
Dr Ken Harris FCGDent graduated with BDS from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1982. He passed MFGDP(UK) in 1996 and achieved Fellowship of Royal College of General Dental Practice FFGDP(UK) in 2017. Fellowship of the newly established College of General Dentistry (FCGDent) in 2020 was quickly followed by Fellowship in Dental Surgery from Royal College of Surgeons of England (FDS RCS) in 2021. He also holds an MSc (with distinction) from the University of Manchester in Restorative & Aesthetic Dentistry (2014). Ken maintains a multi-award winning, fully private referral practice in Sunderland specialising in complex dental reconstruction cases based upon sound treatment planning protocols. As one of only 3 Accredited Fellows of British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (BACD) 2010, he acts as tutor and examiner for the BACD Accreditation process. Ken was the first UK Graduate of the prestigious Kois Centre in Seattle USA (2008) where he now acts as a Mentor, and despite being a full-time practitioner, he still manages to fulfil a busy teaching schedule both nationally and internationally.
Tif Qureshi qualified from Kings College London in 1992. He is a private practitioner based near London.
He is the chairman of IAS Academy, an international faculty that provides mentored education for general dentists on a pathway from appropriate simple to comprehensive restoratively focused orthodontics. Tif helps to lead and educate a network of trainers and mentors internationally, ensuring quality delivery of education and ongoing mentoring. Tif has a special interest in orthodontics and truly minimally invasive restorative dentistry. He is also interested in monitoring the long- term benefits of this kind of scalable interceptive treatment.
He sits on the board of the British Association of Private Dentistry. Tif is also a Fellow of the College of General Dentistry and the International College of Dentists. He has won several prestigious awards including the Sverker Prize in Sweden and the Lifetime Contribution to Aesthetic Dentistry in the UK. He is one of the Past Presidents of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
Tif has committed his life’s work to empowering dentists to offer a wide variety of treatments to many more patients. He was the original global pioneer of the “Align, Bleach, Bond” concept and Progressive Smile Design and teaches widely using clear aligners. He is also an experienced teacher in the Dahl concept to assist in minimally invasive, patient-centred dentistry. Tif lectures extensively internationally and has had many articles published on all these subjects.
Dr Shiraz Khan graduated from the University of Birmingham Dental School in 2013. Having successfully completed foundation training and winning several prizes, he is currently placed in practice in Clapham, London.
He is a highly skilled aesthetic and restorative dental surgeon. Articulate, communicative and approachable, he has established himself as a recognised provider of high quality aesthetic dental care to patients.
He also provides solutions for full mouth wear (tooth surface loss) and rehabilitation cases as well as dental implants.
Shiraz is also a sought-after lecturer in his own right and is known amongst his peers for his successful results and teaching in composite resin restorations, ICON infiltration and clinical dental photography and presentation.
Dr Koray Feran
BDS, MSc, FDSRCS, FCGDent, FICD
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Dr Koray Feran FCGDent qualified in 1989 from Guy’s Dental Hospital, winning the Final Year Prize for overall excellence and the S.J. Kaye Prize in Oral Medicine and Pathology. He remained at Guy’s for two separate House Surgeon appointments in Prosthetic Dentistry and Oral and Maxillofacial surgery until 1991 when he went into general practice in North London.
Between 1991 and 1993 he completed the Master of Science degree in Periodontology from Guy’s Hospital and at the end of 1993 passed examinations to obtain a Restorative Dentistry Fellowship in Dental Surgery from the Royal College of Surgeons of England.
He has since been in practice dedicated to quality dental care, having a special interest in multi-disciplinary cases that require detailed planning and co-ordination of several branches of dentistry. Between 1996 and 1999 he provided surgical services in periodontics and implant dentistry to three prestigious practices in the Knightsbridge and South Kensington areas and established his own practice in the West End of London from 1998.
In 2005 he founded The London Centre for Implant and Aesthetic Dentistry (LCIAD Ltd.) in Wimpole Street at the heart of London’s dental and medical community. He expanded LCIAD in October 2010 into new larger premises to establish a strong multi-disciplinary clinical team with in-depth experience in the management and care of patients with complex dental problems.
Koray is recognised amongst his peers as a trusted and highly competent clinician for care of patients with multidisciplinary treatment needs and accepts referrals from over 70 colleagues for patients. He is known for his successful multidisciplinary approach to dealing with complex cases requiring dedicated surgical and restorative branches of dentistry especially on cases with failed previous dental work.
Koray has undergone and continues to undergo extensive postgraduate education in several countries with world leaders in many fields of dentistry and dental technology as well as being a sought-after lecturer in his own right on topics including consent, financial and business aspects of the provision of quality dental healthcare in private practice including fee setting, consultation and treatment planning, occlusion, dental photography, surgical and restorative implant dentistry including guided surgery, all aspects of restorative dentistry, bone and tissue augmentation and sinus grafting.
He has gained accolades from many dental organisations around the world, and amongst other achievements, is a Fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists (ICOI), the Pierre Fauchard Academy and the College of General Dentistry.
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