Introduction to Digital Dentistry

Friday 12 February 2027 – Saturday 13 February 2027

Funded places on this course are reserved for successful candidates in the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry. It is not possible to register on this course separately.

Dentsply Sirona Academy, Building 3, The Heights, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 0NY

The Introduction to Digital Dentistry course, which combines theory, demonstrations and hands-on experience, has been designed by Dr Tom Bereznicki and Dr Chris Leech specifically for early career dentists with limited or no experience of practising within a digital workflow. It provides a comprehensive introduction to digital dentistry techniques, and how harnessing them can enhance your aesthetic practice and patient care.

The two-day course will include hands-on elements of learning, with additional theory and material science modules delivered through pre-course videos.

The course will take you step-by-step through the complete process of creating a digitally produced crown, from scanning to cementation, and provisionally includes:

  • Presentations on digital dentistry and digital dentures
  • Short demonstrations followed by hands-on experience of:
    • Scanning each other
    • Scanning a preparation of a restoration on a pre-prepared model
    • Using software to design your final restoration
    • Demonstration of programming and milling processes
    • Adjustment and polishing techniques using pre-milled crowns that fit the model
    • Cementation of the crown onto the model

Refreshments and lunch are provided on both days.

The course accommodates 12 participants and also takes place on Friday 29 January – Saturday 30 January 2027.

Watch interviews with successful candidates who describe what they learnt on the course, and pass on advice to other early career dentists.

Course leaders

Dr Chris Leech
BDS, MAGDS RCS (Ed), MFDS RCPS (Glasg), Dip Imp Dent RCS (Ed), FDS RCS (Ed), FCGDent

A graduate of Newcastle Dental School, Dr Leech is a partner in a private dental practice and the Scientific Director of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He holds the Diploma in Implant Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, for which he is now an examiner. He was also the first dentist to be awarded the Membership for Advanced General Dental Surgery by RCS Edinburgh and is a Fellow of its Faculty of Dental Surgery. He is also a member of the Society for the Advancement of Anaesthesia in Dentistry and of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and is a Fellow of the College of General Dentistry.

Dr Bal Rohal
BDS (Kings) Hons

Dr Sohal is a cosmetic dentist who has showcased his work in presentations in the UK and US. He is experienced in the use of digital workflows, in particular for restoring single unit restorations and aesthetic multi-unit veneers, crowns and onlays. He graduated BDS from King’s College London in 2018, where he was undergraduate president of the dental society and was awarded the Guy’s Full Shield, awards from the Richard Dickinson USA Trust Fund and King’s Opportunity Fund, the Gold Star Award and the Jelf Medal for the most distinguished undergraduate.

Dr Tom Bereznicki
BDS (Edin), FDS RCS (Ed), MFDTEd, FCGDent, MFDSEng

After graduating from Edinburgh, Dr Bereznicki worked as a house surgeon at Guy’s and The Royal Dental Hospitals before entering general dental practice, in which he has over 40 years’ experience. With a special interest in restorative dentistry, in particular occlusion and emergence profile, he was also a visiting clinical specialist teacher at King’s College London Dental Institute and later joined the teaching faculty for the university’s MSc in Aesthetic Dentistry. In 2018, he joined the Academy of Dental Excellence as a senior specialist teacher, and in 2021 became a partner associate lecturer for the University of Portsmouth’s Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Aesthetic and Restorative Dentistry. In 2023, he founded the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation which supports educational opportunities for early career dental professionals. A former member of the FGDP and Founder Member of CGDent, he has been a Fellow of the College since 2022 and is a member of both the Faculty of Dental Trainers at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He is also a regional speaker on occlusion for the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.

Attending the course

The Introduction to Digital Dentistry course has been created solely for the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry, which is open to dentists who qualified between 2020 to 2024 and who practise in the UK or within the European Union. Successful candidates will each be awarded a fully funded place on one of two course dates, and hotel accommodation, UK travel and subsistence will also be covered.

To enter, eligible dentists must submit an aesthetic case they plan to treat with a mainly analogue workflow, which involves more than one tooth, including at least one anterior tooth, and the use of composite to restore teeth.

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Introduction to Digital Dentistry

Friday 29 January 2027 – Saturday 30 January 2027

Funded places on this course are reserved for successful candidates in the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry. It is not possible to register on this course separately.

Dentsply Sirona Academy, Building 3, The Heights, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 0NY

The Introduction to Digital Dentistry course, which combines theory, demonstrations and hands-on experience, has been designed by Dr Tom Bereznicki and Dr Chris Leech specifically for early career dentists with limited or no experience of practising within a digital workflow. It provides a comprehensive introduction to digital dentistry techniques, and how harnessing them can enhance your aesthetic practice and patient care.

The two-day course will include hands-on elements of learning, with additional theory and material science modules delivered through pre-course videos.

The course will take you step-by-step through the complete process of creating a digitally produced crown, from scanning to cementation, and provisionally includes:

  • Presentations on digital dentistry and digital dentures
  • Short demonstrations followed by hands-on experience of:
    • Scanning each other
    • Scanning a preparation of a restoration on a pre-prepared model
    • Using software to design your final restoration
    • Demonstration of programming and milling processes
    • Adjustment and polishing techniques using pre-milled crowns that fit the model
    • Cementation of the crown onto the model

Refreshments and lunch are provided on both days.

The course accommodates 12 participants and also takes place on Friday 12 – Saturday 13 February 2027.

Watch interviews with successful candidates who describe what they learnt on the course, and pass on advice to other early career dentists.

Course leaders

Dr Chris Leech
BDS, MAGDS RCS (Ed), MFDS RCPS (Glasg), Dip Imp Dent RCS (Ed), FDS RCS (Ed), FCGDent

A graduate of Newcastle Dental School, Dr Leech is a partner in a private dental practice and the Scientific Director of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He holds the Diploma in Implant Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, for which he is now an examiner. He was also the first dentist to be awarded the Membership for Advanced General Dental Surgery by RCS Edinburgh and is a Fellow of its Faculty of Dental Surgery. He is also a member of the Society for the Advancement of Anaesthesia in Dentistry and of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and is a Fellow of the College of General Dentistry.

Dr Bal Rohal
BDS (Kings) Hons

Dr Sohal is a cosmetic dentist who has showcased his work in presentations in the UK and US. He is experienced in the use of digital workflows, in particular for restoring single unit restorations and aesthetic multi-unit veneers, crowns and onlays. He graduated BDS from King’s College London in 2018, where he was undergraduate president of the dental society and was awarded the Guy’s Full Shield, awards from the Richard Dickinson USA Trust Fund and King’s Opportunity Fund, the Gold Star Award and the Jelf Medal for the most distinguished undergraduate.

Dr Tom Bereznicki
BDS (Edin), FDS RCS (Ed), MFDTEd, FCGDent, MFDSEng

After graduating from Edinburgh, Dr Bereznicki worked as a house surgeon at Guy’s and The Royal Dental Hospitals before entering general dental practice, in which he has over 40 years’ experience. With a special interest in restorative dentistry, in particular occlusion and emergence profile, he was also a visiting clinical specialist teacher at King’s College London Dental Institute and later joined the teaching faculty for the university’s MSc in Aesthetic Dentistry. In 2018, he joined the Academy of Dental Excellence as a senior specialist teacher, and in 2021 became a partner associate lecturer for the University of Portsmouth’s Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Aesthetic and Restorative Dentistry. In 2023, he founded the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation which supports educational opportunities for early career dental professionals. A former member of the FGDP and Founder Member of CGDent, he has been a Fellow of the College since 2022 and is a member of both the Faculty of Dental Trainers at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He is also a regional speaker on occlusion for the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.

Attending the course

The Introduction to Digital Dentistry course has been created solely for the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry, which is open to dentists who qualified between 2020 to 2024 and who practise in the UK or within the European Union. Successful candidates will each be awarded a fully funded place on one of two course dates, and hotel accommodation, UK travel and subsistence will also be covered.

To enter, eligible dentists must submit an aesthetic case they plan to treat with a mainly analogue workflow, which involves more than one tooth, including at least one anterior tooth, and the use of composite to restore teeth.

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2026 Aesthetic Dentistry Award open for entries

The Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry, which promotes aesthetic dentistry skills and patient care, is now open for entries to the 2026 competition.

Successful candidates on the Introduction to Digital Dentistry course in November 2025

Following a successful inaugural year, and an expansion to the award’s eligibility criteria, the 2026 award is open to dentists who qualified between 2020 and 2024 in the UK or within the European Union (EU), and who practise in the UK or the EU. Entrants must submit an aesthetic case they are about to start treating which involves more than one tooth, including at least one anterior tooth, and the use of composite to restore teeth. It must also mainly follow an analogue workflow.

There are 23 winning places available, with each successful candidate receiving a fully-funded place on a hands-on, two-day digital dentistry course at the Dentsply Sirona training facility in Surrey. The prize is worth around £2,000 per place and includes the costs of UK travel, hotel accommodation and subsistence.

Successful candidates in the inaugural competition took part in the tailor-made digital dentistry course, which is not available commercially, in November 2025. Led by Dr Chris Leech FCGDent and Dr Bal Sohal, participants were guided step-by-step through the complete process of creating a digitally produced crown, including the science behind material choice.

One participant described the course as “an incredible introduction into the future of dentistry” and another said they “had no expectations upon attending the Introduction to Digital Dentistry Course but I have got out far more than I could have imagined. I now feel a lot clearer on how to progress and elevate my clinical skills moving forward.

The 2026 award is now open, the closing date for entry is Monday 8 June 2026 and final cases must be submitted by Monday 5 October 2026. The winners will be announced in November, and their course, which is repeated on two separate dates, will take place on Friday-Saturday 29-30 January 2027 and Friday-Saturday 12-13 February 2027.

The Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry is funded by The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and organised in conjunction with the College of General Dentistry and Dentsply Sirona. The Foundation supports educational opportunities for early career dentists, and was founded by Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent, a general dental practitioner with a special interest in restorative dentistry. Dentsply Sirona is a global company that designs and manufactures leading-edge dental products, enabling enhanced patient care through the adoption of a digital workflow.

Click the button below for further information about the award and 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.

CGDent and GC Award for Foundation Trainees
Dentists and dental therapists who qualified in 2025 or are enrolled on DFT are eligible to enter the CGDent-GC Award 2026, to win fully funded composite layering training in Belgium. Full details and entry form.

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Inaugural aesthetic award winners

The College of General Dentistry, Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and Dentsply Sirona would like to congratulate the successful candidates of the inaugural Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry.

The competition, which recognises aesthetic dentistry skills and patient care, was open to dentists who qualified in the UK or Ireland between 2019 and 2023, or who qualified overseas between 2019 to 2023 and had been practising in the UK for at least the two years.

The 19 winning entrants are:

Dr Cordelia AshbyDr Milton JustinsuthakaranDr Golasa Sheikh Akbari
Dr Alastair CampbellDr Nafeesa KhanDr Arav Soin
Dr Nathaniel-Edouard DavidsonDr Adam KingsleyDr Mojgan Talibi
Dr Farah ElnaqaDr Emily LawtonDr Nickhalas Tan Chun Khye
Dr Puyan HeydariDr Ronan LeeDr Jarmima Uddin
Dr Victoria HillsonDr Tendai Manangazira
Dr Abida IslamDr Parth Patel

To enter the award, participants each submitted an aesthetic case which involved more than one tooth, including at least one anterior tooth, and the use of composite to restore teeth. Cases also followed a mainly analogue workflow. Cases entered featured a range of restorative treatments including those for diastema, severe tooth wear, and peg shaped laterals. View all successful cases here.

A selection of the winning cases which illustrate a range of different types of cases entered in the competition. Cases submitted by (L-R): Dr Nafeesa Khan, Dr Mojgan Talibi, Dr Cordelia Ashby

The assessors scored each case based on a set of assessment criteria which allocated points to overall improvement in the patient’s oral health, the standard of aesthetic treatment, the complexity of the case and the quality of the entrant’s reflection.

The successful candidates will each receive a fully funded place on a bespoke, hands-on two-day digital dentistry course next month at the Dentsply Sirona Academy in Weybridge, Surrey. Travel costs, hotel accommodation and subsistence are included in the prize, which is worth around £2,000 per place.

The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation supports educational opportunities for early career dental professionals in the UK, and was founded by Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent, a general dental practitioner with a special interest in restorative dentistry.

Dentsply Sirona is the world’s largest manufacturer of professional dental products and technologies.

Dr Bereznicki commented:

“I would like to thank everyone who entered our first competition for early career dentists, and congratulate the successful candidates. We were impressed by the high standard of entries we received as well as the interesting and wide variety of aesthetic cases. I am sure the winners, and their patients, will all benefit immensely from the intensive hands-on course on Digital Dentistry, which has been generously supported by Dentsply Sirona.”  

Further details about the award are available on the award web page. To register your interest in next year’s award and receive a notification as soon as the competition opens, sign up to our notification list.

The College also partners with the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation on the CGDent-GC Award for Foundation Trainees (which is currently open to applications) and the ‘Introduction to Occlusion’ series of symposia, the next of which takes place on Saturday 1 November 2025 in Edinburgh.

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