Category: News

The College of General Dentistry has announced the appointment of Dr Eugene Chan SBS BBS JP as an ambassador.

Drawn from a variety of backgrounds, College Ambassadors have a remit to advocate for the College’s mission and vision, and Dr Chan’s appointment further expands the range of expertise and scope of influence within its ambassadorial team.

Eugene Kin Keung Chan is the principal of a multi-disciplinary dental group practice in Hong Kong, where he was born and raised, and the Chief Dental Officer & Chief Public Affairs officer of EC Healthcare, a listed company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. He graduated BDS from the University of Adelaide in 1988, and later attained the certificate of the National Dental Examining Board of Canada, memberships of the FGDP(UK), Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) and the Hong Kong College of Dental Surgeons, and the FGDP(UK) Diploma and Advanced Certificate in Implant Dentistry.

With over 20 years of teaching experience, Dr Chan is a visiting professor at Jinan University, Guangzhou, and Honorary Clinical Associate Professor of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and was previously a part-time Clinical Lecturer in the University of Hong Kong’s Faculty of Dentistry.  For ten years he was also an Examiner for the FGDP and RCS.

A past President of both the Australian Doctors & Dentists Association of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Dental Association, he has also served as Co-Chairman of the 26th Asia-Pacific Dental Congress, Vice President of the Asia Pacific Dental Federation, a member of the Dental Council of Hong Kong, and a Governor of Prince Philip Dental Hospital.

In 2006, he was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the FGDP for his contribution to continuing dental education, and he also holds honorary fellowships of the International College of Dentists, American College of Dentists, Pierre Fauchard Academy and the Academy of Dentistry International.

Outside of dentistry, he has been a member of the Advisory Committee of the School of Chinese Medicine of Hong Kong Baptist University, the Quality Education Fund Steering Committee and the Council of City University of Hong Kong, as well as both Chairman and President of the Association of Hong Kong Professionals, and an independent non-executive director of Hong Kong listed companies PuraPharm Corporation and Classified Group. He has also served on over 15 government committees and was made a Justice of the Peace in 2011, awarded a Bronze Bauhinia Star Medal (equivalent to MBE) for meritorious public service in 2016 and a Silver Bauhinia Star Medal (equivalent to OBE) in 2021.

Co-author of eleven books, host of a health awareness television show and anchor of an English language current affairs television programme for TVB Limited, he also publishes news articles about Hong Kong and is a past Chairman of the Board of Advisors of Radio Television Hong Kong.

Dr Chan is the College’s sixteenth ambassador to be appointed, and the first based outside the UK. Previously appointed College Ambassadors include:

• Dr Louise Belfield, Associate Professor of Biomedical and Oral Health Sciences, Peninsula Dental School
• Professor Jonathan Cowpe, former Director of Postgraduate Dental Education in Wales         
• Dr Shelagh Farrell, 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, National Clinical Director, Scottish Government
• Dr Ian Mills,Past Dean of the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK
• 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, Lecturer in Primary Dental Care, University of Manchester
• Dr Pouya Zohrabpour, Associate Dentist

Details of all College ambassadors are available here

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Maria Clark and Igor Blum have been re-appointed as non-voting members of the College Council for 2022-23.

Professor Igor R. Blum FCGDent has been Editor-in-Chief and Clinical Editor of the Primary Dental Journal since 2017, and is a Foundation Fellow of the College and a member of its Professional Affairs Committee.

After qualifying DDS (Hons) from Semmelweis University, Budapest, in 1995, he completed an MSc in Oral Surgery and a PhD in Restorative Dentistry at the University of Manchester, and a Doctor of Medical Dentistry degree at the University of Frankfurt, Germany. Following several years in general dental practice and working as part time clinical assistant at the Manchester Dental Hospital, he became a Clinical Lecturer/Honorary Specialist Registrar in Restorative Dentistry at Bristol Dental School.

With clinical interests encompassing all aspects of advanced restorative dentistry, Prof Blum is a GDC-registered specialist in prosthodontics, periodontics, endodontics and restorative dentistry, and has lectured widely both nationally and internationally. A Fellow in Restorative Dentistry at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and a member of the European Prosthodontic Association and the British Society for Dental Research, he has also been appointed to the Specialist Training Committee for Restorative Dentistry. He has authored six book chapters and over 80 peer-reviewed journal papers, holds several visiting professorships in Europe and the US, and is on the editorial board of several dental journals, including the Journal of Dentistry and the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry.

A member and examiner at both the Royal College of Surgeons of England and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, he has also been an external examiner at the University of Kent. Holding a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, an MA in Education and an LLM (Medico-Legal), he is a member of the Association for Dental Education in Europe, which last year awarded him its Mature Career Educator Award in recognition of his excellence in dental education. He is also a Fellow of the Faculty of Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, of the International College Dentists and of the Higher Education Academy.

He is currently Clinical Lead and Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at King’s College Hospital, and Head of the Departments of Restorative Dentistry and Primary Dental Care at King’s College Hospital Dental Institute, as well as Maurice Wohl Professor in Primary Care Dentistry and Advanced General Dental Practice at the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral and Craniofacial Sciences at King’s College London, and the university’s Director for Dental Outreach Education.

Maria Clark FFGDP(UK)(Hon.) is the College’s Patient Representative, and was previously a member of the Faculty of General Dental Practice’s Lay and Patient Panel (2016-17) and its Patient Representative (2017-21).

Her interest in health services began in 2006 when going through genetic counselling for a rare genetic condition, and she has been involved ever since both as a service user in maternity and gynaecological services and as a supporter for various family members across a range of NHS departments.

As a solicitor, she spent 10 years supporting people disabled as a result of the negligence of clinicians, employers and others, and she has worked for disability organisations and those aiming to redress the balance in health inequalities.

Driven to ensure patient views are incorporated into healthcare policies and research, Maria holds a range of public involvement and engagement positions, including being a Patient Safety Partner at NHS England, Vice-Chair of the British Medical Association’s Patient Liaison Group and Patient Champion at her local GP practice. She is also a member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Women’s Network (and lay examiner for their part 3 MRCOG examination), and external research ethics reviewer (and member of the Research Ethics Committee) at the University of Sheffield.

She acted as Patient Representative during the development of both Antimicrobial Prescribing in Dentistry – Good Practice Guidelines and Implications of COVID-19 for the safe management of general dental practice: a practical guide, and was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the FGDP in 2020.

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We regret to report that Robert Leslie Morgan FFGDP(UK)(Hon.), former national board member and West Midlands regional director for the Faculty of General Dental Practice, has passed away aged 69.

Born and raised in South Wales, he was awarded the Licentiate in Dental Surgery from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1975, and graduated from Birmingham Dental School the same year. He worked at Morgan Dental Practice in Halesowen, a mixed NHS-and-private practice with an orthodontic contract, from its purchase in 1977 with his wife, Sue, until his retirement from clinical dentistry in 2012.

Always encouraging colleagues and peers to go further with their career at whatever stage, and with a particular passion for inspiring the younger generation, he was heavily involved in postgraduate dental education. In the West Midlands, he had been a member of the Postgraduate Education Board, a postgraduate tutor, coordinator for dental nurse access training and Associate Dental Dean, overseeing and running over 100 courses per year. After being awarded the MFGDP(UK), he became a regional MFGDP tutor, later serving as an examiner, then Deputy Chief Examiner, until 2009. As a member of the MFGDP Core Group he was responsible for the OSCE circuit and overseas examinations, and he was involved in planning the merger of the MFGDP and MFDS examinations into the MJDF.

He also lectured and taught throughout the UK as well as in Hong Kong, India, Gibraltar, Singapore and Nepal, on legislative and practice management topics as well as aspects of the MFDGP and MDJF. He achieved the Award in Medical Education from the University of Warwick, and later became an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at its medical school, and for three years he was a Senior Lecturer at the University of Kent, as well as Quality Assurance lead for its MSc in Primary Dental Care.

Bob was on the FGDP West Midlands divisional board for over fifteen years, including three as Divisional Director, and served on the FGDP Education Committee throughout his thirteen years as an elected representative on the National Faculty Board. He contributed to the Legislation and Good Practice Guidelines module of the Faculty’s Key Skills in Primary Dental Care e-learning package, wrote a series of articles about Key Skills for First Hand (one of the forerunners of the Primary Dental Journal), and was a member of the Interfaculty Membership Development Group of the FGDP and the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FDS). Achieving Fellowship of the FDS in 2008, he was awarded Honorary Fellowship of the FGDP in 2012.

He was a member of the BDA, on Dudley LDC for over 30 years, and for four years acted as Regional Advisor and Consultant Clinical Assessor for Bupa Dental Cover. Also actively involved in the community outside of dentistry, he was a member of the West Midlands Library Development Group, Chairman of Belbroughton Parish Council, and Area Chairman and past President of the local Round Table. He was also Chairman of the PTA during the school years of his daughter, Sarah – who is now a dental hygienist and dental team representative on the College Council.

On top of his many professional and civic involvements, Bob had a rich array of hobbies and sporting interests. A French speaker, he enjoyed family caravanning holidays in the south of France, as well as skiing trips to the French, Swiss and Austrian Alps. He was a fan of Welsh rugby, liked playing tennis, ran the London and Paris marathons, and made the Guinness Book of Records in 1982 for driving around Britain. He was a keen gardener, photographer and party host, his Christmas lights were said to be better than the Blackpool Illuminations, and he enjoyed taking his granddaughters Georgia and Louisa ‘Gruffalo hunting’ in the woods near their home.

He was kind, generous, welcoming, and had a cheeky smile that belied his strong will. He was very ill in 2011, but survived against all the odds and continued to play an active but non-clinical role in his practice. He passed away peacefully at Worcestershire Royal Hospital on Thursday 14 July 2022, with Sue and Sarah by his side and surrounded by his favourite flowers from his pride and joy of a garden.

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