Category: News

Dr Mick Horton FCGDent, former Dean of the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP), has been appointed as the next Chair of the College’s Trustee Board.

Dr Horton qualified from Manchester University in 1986, initially working in Fleetwood, Lancashire. In 1992, he purchased a mixed NHS/private practice in Caergwrle, North Wales, where he worked for the next thirty years.

In 2015, he became the ninth Dean of the FGDP, and the first non-Fellow to have been elected to the post. Under his Deanship, the Faculty initiated the process of separating from the Royal College of Surgeons of England to create an independent college for general dental professionals. He has served as a Trustee of the resulting College of General Dentistry, into which the FGDP transferred in 2021, since completing his three year term as FGDP Dean in 2018.

Dr Horton’s experience also encompasses 22 years as Chair of his Local Dental Committee, ten years as Vice Chair of his local Health Board, 20 years as a postgraduate CPD tutor, working as a dental nurse examiner and being a member of the Welsh Dental Committee as well as Managed Clinical Networks. His professional interests include patient safety, human factors, risk management, mentoring and quality improvement, and he continues to serve on national policy groups in these areas.

During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, he chaired the joint FGDP-CGDent working group which developed Implications of COVID-19 for the safe management of general dental practice, guidance which the organisations published a week ahead of the re-opening of dental practices in England, at a time when no official guidance for re-opening was available, and which was downloaded over 50,000 times in that week alone.

In 2020 he was elected to the Fellowship of FGDP in recognition of his exceptional career record and active support of the Faculty and its mission. In 2021, he was Guest Editor of the first issue of the Primary Dental Journal published by the College, on the theme of leadership and professionalism, and he has since chaired College webinars on leadership and professionalism and delivered one on preventing wrong tooth extraction, and earlier this month was a speaker at its event on creating a positive patient safety culture in dentistry.

In taking up post as Chair in April 2023, he will succeed Dr Janet Clarke MBE, former Deputy Chief Dental Officer for England, who joined the Board of Trustees in 2019 and became Chair in 2020. During her tenure, the College has formally launched, successfully incorporated the membership and intellectual assets of the FGDP, opened up Full Membership and Fellowship to all suitably qualified registered dental professionals, opened its ‘by experience’ route to Fellowship, created the new grade of Associate Fellowship, published its Professional Framework for career pathways in dentistry and launched its Certified Membership scheme.

Outgoing Chair, Janet Clarke, said:

“It has been a great privilege to lead the College of General Dentistry over the last few years, during which it has been established and, building on the legacy of the FGDP, begun its vital work of creating an independent organisation built by, and specifically for, general dental professionals. I am proud to be handing over the reins to Mick, who is a highly experienced, respected and forward-thinking general dental practitioner with an unsurpassed knowledge of, and dedication to, the College and its mission.“

Commenting on his appointment, Dr Horton said:

“Having been passionate about the College of General Dentistry since its inception, it is a joy to look back and see that such considerable progress has been made, in a short period of time, in establishing the College and pursuing its mission. It has been a great pleasure to work with Janet on the Trustee Board, and I would like to thank her for her leadership and commitment in driving our progress, and congratulate her on all that has been achieved. I am honoured to have now been given the responsibility of steering the College through its next phase, as we develop and implement new ways of supporting the profession to enjoy fulfilling careers in general dentistry, with structured progression. We can only do this with the support of the profession, so I call on all colleagues to play their part at this historic moment by joining us in membership.”

The College has announced the appointment of Kevin Lewis FCGDent as an Ambassador.

College Ambassadors, drawn from a variety of backgrounds, provide strong advocacy for the mission and vision of the College as it works towards eligibility for the award of a Royal Charter.

Following a number of years in general dental practice, Dr Lewis spent 27 years at Dental Protection, including as Dental Director between 1998 and 2016, and served on the Council and Executive of the Medical Protection Society. He is Consultant Editor of Dentistry and a Special Consultant to BDA Indemnity. He recently demitted office after five years as a Trustee of the College and founder member of its predecessor Transition Board. He has been awarded Honorary Membership of the British, Irish and New Zealand Dental Associations, and of the British Society for Restorative Dentistry, and is a Fellow of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Dr Lewis’s appointment enriches the already considerable expertise and scope of influence of the College’s team of Ambassadors:

• Dr Eugene Chan SBS BBS JP FCGDent, Visiting Professor at Jinan University, Guangzhou
• Professor Jonathan Cowpe FCGDent, former Director of Postgraduate Dental Education in Wales
• Dr Shelagh Farrell FCGDent, Founder Member of the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK
• Dr Marina Harris, Senior Lecturer and Periodontology Lead, University of Portsmouth Dental Academy
• Professor Jacky Hayden CBE, President, Academy of Medical Educators
• Professor Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet
• Dame Parveen Kumar DBE, Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Education, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London
• Professor Jason Leitch CBE FFGDP(UK)(Hon.), National Clinical Director, Scottish Government
• Dr Ian Mills FCGDent, Founder and former Trustee of the College, and former Dean of the FGDP
• Dr Govin Murugachandran, Founder, Flynotes
• Dr Yewande Oduwole, Associate Dentist
• Marie Parker, Deputy Programme Director of Hygiene and Therapy at University College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust London
• Rt Hon Sir Mike Penning, Member of Parliament
• Dr Wendy Thompson FCGDent, Lecturer in Primary Dental Care, University of Manchester
• Dr Pouya Zohrabpour, Associate Dentist

Commenting on the appointment, Dr Abhi Pal FCGDent, President of the College, said:

“I would like to extend my congratulations to Kevin on his appointment as an Ambassador of the College, which follows a period of time in which he has been a valued Trustee. The College is privileged to have such a distinguished member of our profession supporting our cause, and I am delighted that we will continue to benefit from his wide experience and enthusiasm.”

Kevin Lewis said:

“It has been a real privilege to have spent the past five years as a Trustee and Board member of the College, from its inception through to launch as an autonomous, independent collegiate home for all members of the dental team working in general dental practice.  In time it will hopefully blossom into the Royal College that dentistry and general dental practice so richly deserve.  In the meantime, I am delighted to continue my association with the College in the capacity of an Ambassador, and would urge any colleague involved in general dental practice to join CGDent and support it on this historic journey.”

The College is establishing the ‘1992 Circle’ as a social forum for retired Fellows.

The new group is named in honour of the year the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners was founded, a key moment which brought together the members of the College of General Dental Practitioners (UK) and of the former RCS Advisory Board in General Dental Practice, with the shared ambition to create an independent College over time.

Thirty years on, the 1992 Circle aims to bring together, and recognise, those whose vision put the general dental profession in the UK on a journey towards independent collegiate status, and those whose ongoing commitment carried this through to the establishment of the College of General Dentistry. The group will gather periodically for social events, typically linked to the College’s main activities.

An inaugural gathering will take place at 4pm on Wednesday 18 January 2023 at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, 84 Plymouth Grove, Manchester M13 9LW. In addition to retired current and former Fellows of the College, all those who are retired from practice and are a past Fellow of the FGDP(UK) are eligible to attend and encouraged to make themselves known to the College. Readers are also encouraged to get in touch with retired Faculty Fellows with whom they are acquainted to make them aware of the new group.

There is no charge to become a member of the 1992 Circle or to attend the inaugural gathering. Eligible individuals wishing to attend should email [email protected], using the subject line ‘1992 Circle’.

Attendees at the 1992 Circle gathering who are members of the College are also invited to join the CGDent Fellows Winter Reception, which is taking place a short walk away later the same evening.