Poppy Dunton

Poppy Dunton is a dental therapist working in general dental practice and implant clinics in Harrogate and County Durham, a Clinical Lecturer in Dental Hygiene at Teesside University, and a dental business consultant who helps ailing squat practices to improve their periodontal care. She was previously Operations Manager, CQC Manager and Lead Dental Therapist at a private dental practice group in Northampton. Having first worked in dentistry on a work placement as a 15-year-old, she has also been a receptionist, compliance and treatment coordinator and dental nurse.

She completed the National Certificate in Dental Nursing in 2008 and graduated from Cardiff University with a Diploma of Higher Education in Dental Therapy and Dental Hygiene, where she was awarded the Johnson and Johnson Clinical Excellence Prize, in 2011. She also holds a City & Guilds Diploma in Leadership and Management, a Level 6 qualification in employment law from the Institute of Paralegals, the Perio School Diploma in Periodontics for Hygienists and Therapists and the Smile Dental Academy Diploma in Restorative and Aesthetic Dentistry for Dental Therapists, and has completed training as a Menopause Coach in order to help improve the care provided to her patients.  In 2026 she launched the Diploma in Advanced Dental Health and Business Strategy, an EduQual-accredited Level 7 programme for dental hygienists and therapists which bridges clinical dentistry with leadership, reflective practice and business development.

She joined the College as an Associate Member in 2022, enrolled on the Certified Membership Scheme, was appointed to the Board of the Faculty of Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy and was a facilitator at the College’s NextGen Leadership Workshop in 2023. She is also a member of the British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy, the British Association of Dental Therapists, the Association of Dental Implantology and the British Society of Periodontology and Implant Dentistry.

She was appointed Chair of the Board of the Faculty of Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy in 2025, becoming Faculty Dean in 2026.

Updated 2026