College of General Dentistry News

President discusses dental careers at No.10

On 29 March 2022, College President Dr Abhi Pal visited No.10 Downing Street to attend a roundtable breakfast meeting on access to careers and progression in dentistry hosted by the Prime Minister’s Special Adviser on healthcare policy.

Dr Pal commented:

“It is great to see recognition at the top of government that widening access to dental training, followed by career progression based on merit and not hindered by inequalities, are vital in order to recruit and retain a workforce reflective of the population it serves and able to meet the UK’s oral health needs.

“For its part, the College of General Dentistry is committed to breaking down unnecessarily prescriptive and exclusionary professional barriers, and is developing a Professional Framework with accompanying Career Pathways that will offer all general dental professionals staged recognition of their knowledge and skills, and a range of routes to planning a fulfilling career in dentistry.”

The College will shortly be hosting a related live webinar:

Social inequalities when applying to study dentistry
Monday 4 July 2022, 7pm
This will discuss social inequalities and how they may affect students when applying to study dentistry. It will be free to view for all dental professionals on the day, and the recording will be available thereafter to CGDent members. Approx. 1.5 CPD hours. CPD e-certificates are free for CGDent members. REGISTER HERE

Related webinar recordings already available to College members in the CPD library include:

Why colour is the elephant in the room
A first-hand exploration of racial inequality and prejudice, with real life experiences from colleagues working in all areas of dentistry, and highlighting ways in which we can tackle inequalities and systemic racism. “This webinar was so, so important and impactful”
Approx. 2 hours’ CPD.

How to get the best from your career in dentistry
This webinar looks at career and development planning no matter your career stage, and for the whole dental team, exploring next steps and what courses and opportunities are available. It also provides information on CGDent’s development of Career Pathways to give your dental career a boost. 2 hours 15 minutes’ CPD.



College of General Dentistry News

President’s Commendations & Fellowship awards 2022

The College of General Dentistry has announced the recipients of its inaugural award of President’s Commendations, and has awarded fellowships to four dental professionals in recognition of their exceptional professional achievements. 

Top row, l-r: Mark Richardson FCGDent, Paul Friel MCGDent, Jonathan Hiscocks MCGDent, Mutahir Rahman MCGDent, Charles Ormond Dip.FFGDP(UK). Bottom row, l-r: John Craig Dip.FFGDP(UK), Maggie Jackson FCGDent(Hon.), Kathryn Marshall FCGDent(Hon.), William Parry FCGDent(Hon.), Allan Pirie FCGDent

Six individuals have received the President’s Commendation, which recognises significant service to the dental profession through the College or former Faculty of General Dental Practice, at local or national level, by Associate Members, Full Members, Associate Fellows or Fellows of the College, and is conferred by the President on the recommendation of the elected College Council.

Three individuals have been made Honorary Fellows of the College, and one has been awarded Fellowship by Election.

College Fellowship marks out a dental professional’s ongoing commitment to professional development and reflective practice, diligence in upholding the highest standards of clinical care, and distinction across clinical and professional domains. While the main routes to fellowship are Fellowship by Experience and Fellowship by Equivalence, the Council makes annual awards of Fellowship by Election and Honorary Fellowship to a small number of individuals deemed to meet the required standard.

President’s Commendations

Mark Richardson FCGDent is commended in particular for his significant contribution to the Faculty’s education provision. He became an examiner for the MFGDP in 2007 and a Core Group MJDF examiner in 2013, later serving as a Facilitator for the FGDP(UK) Fellowship and as a key member of the Faculty’s Academic Board. He also represented the Wessex and Oxford region on the National Faculty Board from 2016 to 2021, chairing its Education & Qualifications and Finance committees, and serving on the Dean’s Executive Committee and as a Vice Dean from 2018-19.

Since 1989, Group Captain Richardson has served as an RAF dental officer in the UK, Europe, the Far East and Afghanistan. Now Assistant Head of Clinical Operations (Dental) and Chief Dental Officer (RAF and Defence), he was previously the Armed Forces’ Principal Dental Officer for the Wessex Region, and Armed Forces’ Clinical Adviser on Paedodontic Dentistry. In 2018 he was appointed Her Majesty The Queen’s Honorary Dental Surgeon.

Paul Friel MCGDent, a general dental practitioner in East Kilbride,is recognised for his service as Lead Tutor of the FGDP West of Scotland division’s MJDF Study Group, in particular his adaptation in response to coronavirus restrictions of the division’s highly interactive face-to-face study evenings into content-rich, virtual group meetings which have provided excellent support to candidates.

Jonathan Hiscocks MCGDent has been commended for his service to the Faculty in Scotland. A former director of its East of Scotland division, for many years he acted as a mock examiner in the preparation of MJDF examination candidates across the country, and was the Faculty’s representative on NHS Education for Scotland’s Dental Committee. Originally from County Down, he is a partner and dentist in a mixed NHS-and-private dental practice in Edinburgh.

Mutahir Rahman MCGDent has been awarded the President’s Commendation for his service to the Faculty and College in the West Midlands. A member of the FGDP since 2010, he has been active in its West Midlands division since 2012, soon being elected Treasurer. He was Divisional Director from 2016 until the Faculty’s transfer into the College of General Dentistry last year, energetically leading the delivery of many successful educational events and helping to support local colleagues, and is now a Director of CGDent Midlands. He works in the Community Dental Service in Worcestershire, and as Specialty Dentist in the Periodontology Department at Birmingham Dental Hospital, and is also a DCT1 Educational Supervisor in the West Midlands.

Charles Ormond Dip.FFGDP(UK) is honoured for his remarkable commitment to the Faculty, which he joined at its inception in 1992. He served its West of Scotland division for a quarter of a century in a variety of capacities, including Treasurer, Director, committee member, Candidates’ Counsellor for the DGDP and MFGDP, and throughout as a mock examiner for its Study Club. He also represented the region on the National Faculty Board for nine years, chairing its Education, Research and External Affairs committees, serving as Vice Dean from 2009- 2011, and representing it on the Scottish Dental Training Committee and the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme’s Oral Health Assessment Group. In addition, he was a member of the working group which developed the Faculty’s definitive Clinical Examination and Record-Keeping guidance, now published by the College.

Recently retired from dental practice, during his career he also served as President of both the Stirling and Clackmannan and the West of Scotland branches of the BDA, Chair of the Vocational Training Selection Committee and of NHS Education for Scotland’s Dental Education Committee, President of the Royal Odonto-Chirurgical Society of Scotland, and as a Board Member of Dental Protection.

The late John Craig Dip.FFGDP(UK) has been conferred the award posthumously in special recognition of his wide-ranging contributions to advancing the profession, and in particular his instrumental role in laying down the foundations of the FGDP in Scotland. Further information on this award is available at cgdent.uk/news.

Fellowship by Election

Allan Pirie FCGDent has been a dental implant surgeon for 25 years of a 40-year career, and receives referrals for complex implant treatment from all over Scotland to his practice in Glasgow. He was awarded the Diploma in General Dental Practice from the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 1995, and an MSc in Implant Dentistry from the University of Warwick in 2006, has served as an examiner for the Diploma of Implant Dentistry at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh since 2007, and has tutored at the University of Warwick and the University of Glasgow Dental School. Generous with his time and greatly admired for the assistance that he gives freely, he teaches the restorative side of implant dentistry via local study groups, and mentors local practitioners to introduce implant dentistry into their own practices.

Honorary Fellowship

Maggie Jackson FCGDent(Hon.) has been a trailblazer at the forefront of the Dental Hygiene profession throughout her 60-year career. With unsurpassed skills as a communicator and dental hygienist, her patience, humour and clarity helped highly perio-compromised patients change their habits and gain a chance of keeping their teeth for longer, gaining her a reputation as an inspirational colleague and mentor. For 30 years she worked with specialists who believed in curing periodontal breakdown by empowering patients, without surgery where possible, before opening her own ‘Direct Access’ hygiene practice in Manchester, receiving referrals for the more difficult, non-surgical periodontal treatments from other dental practices. She lectures throughout the UK, and overseas, has had numerous articles published in international journals and books, and is the first and only hygienist to have been awarded an MPhil in Periodontology.

Kathryn Marshall FCGDent(Hon.) is a dental nurse of over 40 years’ experience, and is currently a Dental Educator in quality improvement and Professional Support Tutor at Health Education Improvement Wales (HEIW). She co-founded a general and specialist dental practice in Surrey, where she took the opportunity to support student dental nurses though their GDC-registrable qualifications, and was the DCP Tutor for the Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS) Deanery from 2000 until 2007, and the Training Programme Director for the KSS Dip CDT from 2013 until 2019.

A past examiner for the National Examining Board for Dental Nurses, she was a member of the GDC Fitness to Practice Panel for five years, and the only DCP appointed to the GDC’s e-CPD Advisory Board. She holds a Diploma in Dental Health Education, a Diploma in Leadership and Management, an MSc in Advanced and Specialist Healthcare, and was the External Examiner for the University of Central Lancashire’s Advanced Certificate in Facilitated Learning in Healthcare Practice, and Advanced Certificate in Mentoring and Coaching.

William John Parry FCGDent(Hon.) has been a Consultant Orthodontist at Gwynedd General Hospital in Bangor since 1984, and has particular expertise in managing complex and cleft lip and palate cases. Throughout his tenure, he has devoted considerable time to mentoring and training general dental practitioners to support the delivery of orthodontic care in general dental practice, helping ensure that the highest standards of care are available in remote and rural communities. This support is exemplified by the significant number of GDPs who since 1988 have worked with him as clinical assistants, many achieving accreditation to provide orthodontic care.

He has been Chair of the BDA hospitals group for Wales, President of the BDA hospitals and speciality services UK group, and regional adviser for postgraduate training for the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, of which he is a Fellow. He is currently President of Y Gymdeithas Ddeintyddol (The Dental Society of Wales), which he co-founded in 1991. The society offers postgraduate training and development in Welsh, has delivered 30 unbroken years of annual study days as well as evening lectures for its members, and supports student education through its dental dictionary.

College of General Dentistry News

Posthumous honour for John Craig

The College of General Dentistry has recognised the late John Craig Dip.FFGDP(UK) with the posthumous award of a President’s Commendation.

John Craig Dip.FFGDP(UK), 1943-2021

Born in Rutherglen in 1943, John graduated BDS from Glasgow University in 1966 and remained a general dental practitioner until he retired from practice in 2002. He spent over 30 years of his practising life as a partner in his own practice in Falkirk, where he earned a reputation for the highest standards of clinical excellence, strong mentorship of colleagues, and empathy for staff and patients.

Not content with confining his activities and boundless abilities and energies to his surgery, he was extremely active in almost every aspect of general dental practice through his involvement in many dental organisations.

John possessed excellent skills of diplomacy and organisation, and was active in the British Dental Association from the outset of his career, joining as a student in 1965. He later served as Secretary of the Stirling and Clackmannanshire Section and then the West of Scotland Branch, eventually becoming President of the West of Scotland Branch in the 1990s. He chaired the Scottish Annual Conference of Local Dental Committees, and was often a delegate at the LDC National Conference. He was elected to the BDA’s Representative Board in 1991 and was a member of the Executive Board for nine years, including three as Deputy Chairman. He was elected BDA National President in 2005, and to mark this distinguished accolade, the West of Scotland Branch commissioned a bagpipe tune called ‘John Craig of Rutherglen’, composed by Angus Lawrie, former Pipe Major of the Oban Pipe Band.

A Vocational Trainer from 1986, he was chair of the Scottish Dental Vocational Training Committee for seven years, and was a member of numerous postgraduate committees including the General Dental Council’s General Professional Training (GPT) Committee from 1997-98.

He was also involved in a number of dental practice research-based groups, and was a member of the development group for the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guidelines on management of unerupted and impacted third molars in 1999, and of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Oral Health Seminars Group from 1996-99, engaging in postgraduate lectures on practice management. In 2014, he joined forces with Martin Kelleher to write a paper on the damaging effect of the overpreparation and unjustified loss of tooth tissue in the attempt to gain aesthetic improvement of the anterior teeth, and he railed against dentistry being relegated to just another arm of the beauty and cosmetic industry.

Instrumental in laying down the foundations of what is now the College of General Dentistry, in 1992 he chaired the steering group which set up the Faculty of General Dental Practice in Scotland. Achieving the Diploma in General Dental Practice in 1992, he was a member of the FGDP’s national Finance Committee in 1993-1994 and the first Director of the Faculty’s West of Scotland Division from 1993-1996. In 2004, the Faculty awarded him Fellowship by Election, and he was also awarded Fellowship of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for his work in postgraduate education.

His other areas of activity saw him as a Regional Dental Advisor to BUPA Dental Cover, a founder member of Forth Valley Independent Dentists Group, Chair of Glasgow Dental Educational Trust, Trustee of the BDA Benevolent Fund, occasional expert advisor to various legal firms and insurance companies, and a member of the Denplan Advisory Board, MDDUS Dental Advisory Panel, and Edinburgh Postgraduate Dental Institute’s management committee.

His talents were not limited to the dental profession; he was also a sportsman, whose first love was climbing, undertaking expeditions throughout Scotland and in the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Himalayas. He was a skier, golfer, and also an accomplished musician, being a folk singer, guitarist and jazz band banjo player.

He also had a deep interest and knowledge of literature, opera, art, politics, languages, history and astronomy, and was a past President of the Astronomical Society of Glasgow, and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. In 2003, he was made captain of the BDA team which represented the nation’s dentists on BBC2’s University Challenge: The Professionals. Answering most of the questions himself, the team knocked out the General Practitioners in the first round before going out in the quarter finals to the Inland Revenue.

Unfortunately, John suffered a devastating stroke two and a half years ago, and was nursed at home by his wife Irene until he died in September 2021. His funeral drew hundreds, including many colleagues of all ages from all over Scotland, demonstrating the high regard in which John was held by so many generations in the profession.

Dr Abhi Pal, President of the College of General Dentistry, said:

“John was a visionary, a pioneer in the establishment of the Faculty of General Dental Practice in the West of Scotland, and a tireless moderniser who endeavoured to keep our profession at the forefront of healthcare. He was also an inspirational colleague, whose principles, high standards and excellence earned the deep respect of all who encountered him, and I am delighted to have had the opportunity to honour his illustrious career.”

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College of General Dentistry News

College invites dental professionals into Fellowship by experience

The College of General Dentistry has launched a landmark new route to fellowship based on experience, and has issued an open invitation to suitably experienced dental professionals to apply.

The community of Fellows lies at the heart of the College, providing leadership and collectively supporting the development of dentistry, as well as reflecting the values of the organisation and its focus on professionalism.

In line with the College’s ambitions and inclusive approach, applicants do not need to be an existing member of the College, and fellowship is open to all members of the dental team should they meet the criteria. However, a minimum of ten years’ practice as a registered dental professional is required for the application to be considered.

The College has set out transparent criteria for its new by experience route to Fellowship, so that prospective fellows can be confident in their application. A straightforward application process has also been designed to suit the busy modern dental professional, with applicants needing to submit only their CV, registration certificate and evidence of meeting the requirements of three of five fellowship domains.

For each of the five domains – Clinical; Teaching, Learning & Assessment; Leadership & Management; Publications & Research; and Law & Ethics – two sets of criteria have been published.

Evidence for capability in a domain using the standard criteria will need to be accompanied by a reflective account of professional development covering that domain, which will be assessed by the College’s Membership Admissions Panel.

However, meeting the ‘gateway’ criteria will automatically qualify the applicant under that domain.

For example, automatic satisfaction of the Clinical domain of fellowship is available to anyone who holds the FGDP(UK) Diploma in Implant Dentistry, Restorative Dentistry or Minor Oral Surgery, a Masters in Clinical Dentistry (MClinDent), RCS Edinburgh’s Diploma in Implant Dentistry or Membership in Advanced General Dental Surgery (MAGDS), a Membership in General Dental Surgery from any UK Royal College or RCS Ireland (MGDS), membership of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgery, a Specialty Membership of a UK Royal College, Accredited Full Membership of the British Association for Cosmetic Dentistry, or any UK-regulated Postgraduate Diploma or Masters in a clinical subject qualifying as at least 120 Credits in the UK CAT scheme.

Anyone who already holds a fellowship with one of the UK or Ireland Royal Colleges or their faculties of dental surgery or dentistry, with the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgery, or with the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, will not need to apply for Fellowship based on experience, but can instead apply for Fellowship by equivalence, which succeeds the Faculty’s Fellowship ad eundum route.

Successful applicants will be entitled to use the postnominal designation ‘FCGDent’, and as members of the College will receive access to live CPD events and an online library of over 900 hours of content, an online Personal Development Planning tool, quarterly print copies of the Primary Dental Journal and online access to an archive of 90 past issues, heavily discounted access to study days and local and national networking opportunities.

Those applying in the coming weeks will have the opportunity to have their Fellowship conferred by the College President at the CGDent Fellows’ Summer Reception in London on Wednesday 15 June 2022.

The College has also recently launched its innovative new Associate Fellowship membership grade, which acts as a stepping stone to Fellowship. This confers the postnominal designation ‘AssocFCGDent’, and is open to those who hold the MGDS, a Specialty Membership of a UK dental faculty, or a Postgraduate Diploma level or Masters level qualification in a subject relevant to the enhancement of oral healthcare.

Full details are available at https://cgdent.uk/fellowship/

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College of General Dentistry Blog

An Historic Event, the first Annual Members’ Meeting – were you there?

Following our first Annual Members’ Meeting on 11 March 2022, Chair of Trustees, Janet Clarke MBE FCGDent, shares the meeting highlights, including upcoming developments in membership and further exciting plans for the future.  

A new organisation will have many firsts – the first chief executive or the first mention in print for example, and the College of General Dentistry chalked up another first on Friday 11 March 2022 – the first Annual Members’ Meeting.

As we are in “just post-unprecedented” times, the meeting was held virtually, with members dialling in from around the UK. Online meetings have many faults, you miss the atmosphere and buzz, and the opportunity for a drink and a gossip afterwards. But a huge advantage of virtual meetings is that many people can attend without taking too much time away from their working day or their evening relaxation. This was the case with the Members’ meeting, which lasted almost exactly an hour and included plenty of time for questions. Attendees avoided the hazards, time and cost of travel and the College bank account avoided the expense of hiring a venue and associated costs. So, win-win perhaps? We would welcome your views on this, as on any other issue touched on in this blog.

So, what did we cover during that hour?

Simon Thornton-Wood, CGDent Chief Executive, chaired the meeting and welcomed members, encouraging them to ask questions either using the online chat function or by the old-fashioned method of raising their virtual hands. He introduced me, as Chair of the Board of Trustees and Abhi Pal as President of the College.

I took control of the slides (always a dangerous moment, I do like to be in control!) and started my presentation by looking back at the transfer of FGDP(UK) from the Royal College of Surgeons to our new College in the summer of 2021, and its establishment as an active College. Members might not have realised that the College has only three permanent, full-time employees and so operates very much as a start-up, where agility and flexibility are key strengths. The College is not just the old FGDP with a new title, it is a fundamentally different organisation, which is building on the many strengths of FGDP to support the whole range of dental registrants across the whole of the UK and Northern Ireland.

I discussed the role of the Board of Trustees, who are a mixture of registrants and lay members, in supporting the CEO to run the organisation, setting priorities (very important with such a small team) and ensuring financial viability. Much of our work has been around setting up the new body, focussing on the initiatives that will help build membership by providing the services and support that dental registrants need and deserve.

I shared photos of our soft launch in July 2021, noting the small number of key CGDent officials present at the event in order to support social distancing and then the formal launch in October 2021, which was a much more social occasion.

Abhi then took over and shared information about the new Council which he chairs as College President. He noted that it now includes a wider range of members, representing most registrant groups, and stressed the breadth of discussion that this facilitates. More socially-distanced photos were shown, but Abhi was delighted to note that the Council is now meeting face-to-face and is also meeting outside London, to emphasise his commitment to the pan-UK nature of the College. Meetings have been held in Birmingham and will be held in Cardiff and Glasgow during 2022.

He shared his enthusiasm for the new initiatives that he, together with Council, is taking forward this year. These included the work on the Career Pathways for all registrants, which has been led by working groups from each registrant group and is being prepared to launch in the summer. Questioned about the timing and the fact that the career pathway is hotly anticipated, he explained that a lot of work was going on behind the scenes to get it right and make it work smoothly, so that once launched it would be fit for purpose.

He went on to the describe the proposed Certified Membership scheme and the benefits that being a Certified Member would bring. Certified membership signifies a member’s commitment to continual development and includes working with a College facilitator, who will provide support and aid reflection. There was a lot of interest in the scheme from attendees and several questions about the role of facilitator and who could apply to become one. Questioning and comments drew out the fact that the important aspect is the skills of the facilitator rather than their registrant group, and Abhi asked those who might be interested in supporting the College and their professional colleagues to get in touch with him. Several keen members volunteered on the night!

We’ll publish more details about the new Certified Membership scheme, and how it can support your career, very soon.

Abhi also covered the work he has led to produce clear criteria and a roadmap to College Fellowship. This will open up Fellowship to more registrants who fulfil the criteria and this initiative is going live now.

Finally, Abhi reviewed the existing benefits for CGDent members including our highly-rated Journal, Primary Dental Journal, and the suite of exclusive and linked webinars produced with our partner ProDental CPD. He explained that the seminal set of Standards & Guidance that had been a hallmark of FGDP would continue to be available to all online, and the College is developing exclusive content on implementation and use of the standards in practice, which will be available for members only.

He finished by highlighting another first – the first International Conference for the whole dental team in partnership with Quintessence Publishing, which will take place 24–25 March 2023 in London – a date for your diary.

All in all, this was an exciting run through of the work the College has been doing and comments by email afterwards from members showed how welcome this was.

I concluded the meeting by thanking members for their time and their enthusiasm. I asked them, as I ask you now, to talk about the College to colleagues and encourage them to join up. It is a cliché I know, but together we really are stronger.

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College of General Dentistry News

CGDent endorses updated guidance on anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs

The College of General Dentistry has endorsed newly updated guidance on anticoagulants and antiplatelet drugs from the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme.

The second edition of Management of Dental Patients Taking Anticoagulants or Antiplatelet Drugs provides clear and practical recommendations and advice to enable the dental team to assess bleeding risk, and to plan and deliver treatment to dental patients taking various types of anticoagulant and antiplatelet medication.  

The guidance has been updated following a thorough review of the evidence, and following consultation with dental organisations including the College of General Dentistry. While most of the recommendations remain unchanged from the original 2015 edition, changes include the addition of advice on the direct oral anticoagulant Edoxaban, and on patients taking low molecular weight heparin.

The full guidance document, together with a quick reference guide and a series of pre-and-post-treatment information leaflets for patients, can be downloaded at https://www.sdcep.org.uk/published-guidance/anticoagulants-and-antiplatelets

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College of General Dentistry News

NIHR Career Progression Fellowships now available to GDPs

The NIHR School for Primary Care Research (SPCR) is currently inviting applications for their annual Primary Care Clinician Career Progression Fellowships, which this year are available to primary care clinicians practising in the UK, including general dental practitioners.

Aimed at primary care clinicians who want to start or continue a career in primary care research, the part-time, one-year Fellowships are an opportunity to further develop an academic portfolio in preparation to apply for and conduct a PhD.

The Fellowships can be undertaken at any one of the School’s nine member universities and applicants do not have to be employed by a member university when applying for the Fellowship. Details of each of the universities and their available research programmes can be found here.

In addition to the research opportunities available at each SPCR university, successful applicants will have access to a range of benefits offered by SPCR, including specialised training opportunities, networking, additional funding, mentoring and NIHR Academy membership.

Before applying for a Fellowship, applicants are advised to check that their proposed research project is compatible with the NIHR remit and are encouraged to contact their preferred university to discuss hosting their planned research.

Anyone wishing to apply can download the application form and find more information about the application process here.

Applications close on Monday 25 April 2022 (midnight), online interviews will be held on Thursday 9 June 2022 and the awards start from August 2022.


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College of General Dentistry News

College Council elections – call for candidates

Elections are due to be held for a number of seats on the Council of the College of General Dentistry, and all eligible members are invited to consider standing.

These are exciting times in the development of the College, and this is a fantastic opportunity to get involved and contribute at a national level. 

The Council is the voice of our members.  It oversees our role as a professional body and guides the Trustee Board on the development of the College to fulfil its mission.

As a Council member, you would provide leadership, strategic input and direction in all the professional affairs of the College.  You would be helping to shape key moments in the College’s growth and could get also involved in specific initiatives on areas such as careers, policy and standards.

Elections are taking place this year for the following seats: 

  • Yorkshire & Northern
  • Central London
  • Wessex & Oxford
  • East of Scotland
  • West & North of Scotland
  • Overseas representative
  • National representative 

Time commitment

If successfully elected, you would serve a three-year term, from June 2022 – June 2025, during which you would attend three face-to-face Council meetings each year (typically on a Friday morning) as well as other regular online meetings and committees (normally outside of business hours).

Your first Council meeting would be on Friday 24 June in Cardiff. 

You would also be able to vote, and eligible to stand, in the annual election of two Vice Presidents, and the triennial election of a College President.

You would be able to stand for re-election in 2025, and individuals may serve up to three elected terms (i.e. nine years) on the Council.

Eligibility

All Full Members, Associate Fellows and Fellows of the College, regardless of their team role, are eligible to nominate themselves for election providing they meet the criteria for the relevant seat(s):

  • Candidates for regional seats must live or work within that region, and be registered with that region with CGDent
  • Candidates for the national seat must live or work in the UK, and have a registered UK address with CGDent
  • Candidates for the overseas seat must practice dentistry wholly outside the UK, and have a registered overseas address with CGDent 

If you are a UK member, you may apply for both the national seat and a regional seat. If you were the only candidate for one of the seats, you would be deemed to be elected or re-elected to that seat, and your name withdrawn from the election to the other seat. If there was a ballot for both seats, and you received the most votes in each, you would be deemed to be elected to the regional seat first, and your name withdrawn from the national seat.  (Exceptions to this may apply, for example if one or more candidates for the national seat withdrew from the process).  

If you are an Associate Member considering upgrading your membership in order to stand for election or to vote, or a non-member considering joining, you will need to allow at least two weeks ahead of the relevant date(s) below for this process to complete.

Interested? 

All eligible members as of 14 March 2022 have been emailed a link to the nominations website by the College’s election services provider, Mi-Voice.

If you are interested in standing for election, please complete the nomination process via that link, where you will be asked for further information, and to submit an election statement.

You will also be required to provide the names of two supporters of your application who themselves must be Full Members, Associate Fellows or Fellows of the College. If you are unsure of the membership status of potential supporters, please consult our Member Register. 

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION IS 23:59 ON TUESDAY 19 APRIL 2022 

Key Dates 

Tuesday 19 April 2022 23:59       Nominations close

Thursday 21 April 2022 12:00     Deadline for receipt of referee support

w/c 25 April 2022                        Voting opens

Friday 27 May 2022 23:59           Voting closes

Wednesday 1 June 2022             Results announced

Useful Documents 

Council Member Role Description 

Further Information 

If you think you might like to put yourself forward as a candidate and wanted further information, we would be pleased to have a confidential discussion and answer any questions about the role and the process. Please get in touch via [email protected]

A map showing the regions covered by the regional seats of the College can be downloaded here. If you are unsure which CGDent region you are in, contact us via [email protected] 

The role is voluntary, but we do cover essential expenses. 

Technical problems 

If you experience technical difficulties submitting your nomination, please contact Mi-Voice by emailing [email protected] or calling 02380 763987. 

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College of General Dentistry Recent event

LGBTQ+ diversity and inclusion in dentistry

Live webinar, Tuesday 4 October 2022

This webinar aims to strengthen and develop dental teams’ relationships with LGBTQ+ communities and provide an understanding of barriers faced by LGBTQ+ people in accessing healthcare services. Viewers will gain the tools to assist their workforce to be able to support patients and colleagues by further developing inclusive practice and patient-centred care.

Speakers:

  • Dr Kaushik Paul, general dental practitioner
  • Dr Ian Mills, dentist and former Dean FGDP
  • Andrew Gilliver, Pride in Practice Coordinator (Gtr Mancs) LGBT Foundation
  • Hassan Shariff, Clinical and Academic Educator, University of the Highlands and Islands

GDC development outcomes: A B C D

CPD approx 1.5 hours

CGDent members and ProDental subscribers have free access to the recorded webinar and can claim CPD hours for free.  A £20 fee will apply for non-members/non-subscribers who wish to claim CPD.

watch webinar

This webinar is powered by our CPD delivery partner, ProDental CPD.

Membership of the College of General Dentistry is open to all registered dental professionals. Membership for dentists is available from £94, and for other registered dental professionals from £33. The full list of CGDent membership rates is at https://cgdent.uk/membership-fees/. 

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College of General Dentistry Recent event

Developments in minimum intervention dentistry

In-person expert panel discussion and Q&A, Tuesday 4 October, 6.30pm

King’s College London, New Hunt’s House, Guy’s Hospital Campus, London

Professor Avijit Banerjee and an expert panel of guests, explored the renewed emphasis on Minimum Intervention oral healthcare prevention delivery and the College of General Dentistry’s related career pathways for primary care team members.

Discussion programme

  • Primary care, team-delivered prevention-based MI oral healthcare delivery in the context of impending NHS dental contract reform and post-pandemic primary care service delivery.
  • NHS policy development for prevention-based phased care and its wider implications in society.
  • Structured postgraduate career pathways for all oral healthcare team members, delivered through the College of General Dentistry frameworks, and highlighting the King’s master’s programme in Advanced Minimum Intervention Restorative Dentistry (AMIRD) designed for dentists and dental therapists working in primary care, globally.

Speakers

Chair:

Panel:

  • Dr Abhi Pal, President of the College of General Dentistry
  • Dr Amanda Gallie, past-President of the British Association of Dental Therapists and MSc AMIRD graduate
  • Dr Len D’Cruz, GDP and dento-legal expert, Head of Indemnity at the British Dental Association
  • Dr Sara Hurley, Chief Dental Officer, England

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