College of General Dentistry News

Raising quality in postgraduate dental skills training

An event will be held in the new year to discuss key questions about the future of the postgraduate clinical dental skills market, and to set out the College’s plans to support practitioners in making their choice of courses and their wider career development.

The UK market for postgraduate clinical dental skills has changed dramatically over the past two decades, and the relationship between professional title and competence in dentistry is now much more obscure than it once was.

In 2006, most structured postgraduate clinical development was concentrated in a relatively small number of university programmes and Royal College diplomas. By 2026, the market has become larger, more commercialised, more modular, and increasingly driven by private-sector providers and practitioner demand. Accelerating particularly in the last ten years, there has been a clear shift away from qualification acquisition aligned to structured career pathways, toward a prioritisation of business enhancement, with skills for advanced and high-value treatment options.

While the commercial opportunity for training through this era of rapid change has ushered in real innovation and vastly improved access for practitioners, it has brought with it a good measure of confusion and sometimes questionable quality.

These shortcomings are particularly faced by today’s early career practitioners, who feel much greater pressure to invest substantial sums in upskilling than their predecessors ever did. Delivering high value treatments risks becoming a measure of intrinsic value as a professional, yet the General Dental Council’s statutory authority does not reach far into the oversight of the training market.

The College of General Dentistry has engaged with this challenge since its independent establishment in 2021, and is clear on its own direction, working in the interests of patients and the profession.

At the event, which will take place in London on Thursday 28 January 2027 and is entitled Raising quality in postgraduate dental skills training, the College will set out its perspectives on these changes and its intentions to help guide patients and the professional community in navigating this confusion. Discussion will be invited on the evolution of the training market and on the College’s plans.

We look forward to welcoming to this event everyone with an interest in this subject: training providers, mentors and coaches, and practitioners with experience of navigating the dizzying market for clinical skills training.

Everyone with an interest in this subject is welcome to attend the event: training providers, mentors and coaches, and practitioners with experience navigating the dizzying market for clinical skills training.

Tickets cost £30 (with a 50% discount for Members & Fellows of the College). Secure your place via the button below:

BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE

Raising quality in postgraduate dental skills training will be followed in the same venue at 6pm by the College’s Fellows’ Winter Reception, including the Presentation of the 2026 College Medal and the Presentations of Associate Fellows and Fellows. This is a chargeable event with separate ticketing arrangements.

It will be preceded in the same venue by the Lindsay Society’s Lilian Lindsay memorial lecture: The development and changing face of implant dentistry. This is a free event but prior booking is required.

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College of General Dentistry Blog

Developing your career in restorative dentistry

Dr Nicola Gore FCGDent, Vice President of the College, practice owner, clinical educator and author of Dentistry in a Nutshell, shares her advice to early-career colleagues about the skills needed for a career in restorative dentistry.

Dr Gore delivering the CGDent lecture on ‘Developing your career in restorative dentistry’ at Dentistry Show London 2026

A career is more than a clinical procedure

What makes a restorative dentist successful? After years in practice, teaching and mentoring, I believe it is never just the quality of a restoration. It is also how we listen, explain, plan, work with colleagues and recognise when we need help.

I trained at Guy’s and St Thomas’, and my career has taken me through clinical practice, practice ownership, education and mentoring. Those different roles have taught me that there is no single route to a fulfilling career. My message to younger colleagues is simple: career progression is a journey, not a race.

Start with the person, not the procedure

A technically excellent crown can still leave a patient disappointed if we have not understood their expectations. Before discussing treatment, I try to understand what matters to the person in front of me: their concerns, previous experiences, priorities and fears. Explain the options in language they understand, including limitations, benefits, risks and fees. Listening is as important as talking.

For example, a patient may arrive asking for eight veneers. Our responsibility is not simply to deliver what has been requested, but to consider whether a more conservative approach could better serve that patient. Managing expectations, discussing alternatives and reaching a shared decision are all clinical responsibilities as much as communication skills.

And when something goes wrong or a complaint arises, respond calmly. Listen, acknowledge the concern, apologise where appropriate, investigate and, crucially, follow up. The way we handle difficulties often shapes trust more than the procedure itself.

The non-clinical skills that make a difference

I deliberately focus on non-clinical skills first because they underpin everything else. Leadership does not have to mean running a practice. It can mean respecting your nurse, communicating clearly with your technician, valuing the contribution of dental therapists and knowing when a specialist referral is appropriate. We achieve better care when we work as a team.

Professional judgement matters just as much. Obtain and document valid consent; record your findings, differential diagnoses, options and discussions; recognise your limits; and put patient welfare before the desire to attempt a complex case. There is strength, not weakness, in seeking advice.

Reflection is another habit worth developing early. When an outcome differs from what you expected, ask why. Keep a portfolio, choose targeted CPD to address gaps, and learn from audits and feedback. Understanding practice costs, overheads and the time needed for treatment also helps you make sustainable, realistic decisions.

Finally, protect your wellbeing. Ask colleagues or mentors for support early, set boundaries and make time for life outside dentistry. A rewarding career needs to be sustainable.

Build strong clinical foundations

Restorative dentistry starts before the bur. The sequence I emphasise is diagnosis, treatment planning, delivery and review. Sound assessment and careful decisions come before the choice of material or technique.

Master the fundamentals: local anaesthesia, isolation, treatment planning, scheduling, clear discussions about fees and patient engagement. Aim to make simple treatment safe and predictable before taking on increasing complexity. As you gain experience, move from thinking about an individual tooth to considering the whole patient and the wider restorative picture.

Invest thoughtfully in the instruments and materials that suit your work, whether that means reliable isolation equipment, loupes or dental photography. Equipment is valuable when it supports sound judgement and reproducible care; it cannot replace either.

Choose a pathway that suits you

One of the most reassuring points I’d like to make is that you do not have to follow somebody else’s career plan. The CGDent Career Pathways provide a useful framework for the whole dental team, with five stages: Safe Practitioner, Capable Practitioner, Experienced Practitioner, Enhanced Practitioner and Accomplished Practitioner. These are a framework for development, not a rigid or compulsory ladder.

For dentists interested in restorative dentistry, there are opportunities to grow within general practice through mentorship, observation, focused courses and postgraduate study such as a PGCert, PGDip, MSc or MClinDent. Others may explore dental core training and formal specialist training. These are different routes, with distinct requirements: a postgraduate degree or enhanced skills in general practice does not, by itself, confer specialist status.

Whichever route interests you, speak to people already doing the work, find a mentor and look for learning you can apply in practice. The College’s pathways and early-career resources are good places to explore your next steps.

The key take aways

If you only take away a few things after reading this blog, let them be these:

  • Develop clinical and non-clinical skills together.
  • Choose courses that teach something you can put into practice the next day.
  • Seek a mentor or supportive peer; you do not have to build your career alone.
  • Invest thoughtfully in equipment, materials and your own development.

This thought captures how I see professional growth: “Don’t measure your development by the number of crowns or veneers you have completed. Measure it by the quality of your decisions, the outcomes for your patients and your ability to recognise when you need help.”

Be ambitious, but give yourself time to develop. Invest in your skills, your people and your purpose. That is how we build careers we can be proud of.

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College of General Dentistry Blog, News

Introducing a philosophy of care for the profession

Dr Roshni Karia MCGDent, President of the College, describes the four pillars of the College’s new philosophy of care, an approach it encourages all oral healthcare professionals to adopt in the interests of patients.

When I first took office as President of the College of General Dentistry, the College Council worked hard to focus our priorities. We carefully crafted our mission and vision for dentistry, which set out our values and anchored our initiatives in professional morality, institutional integrity and the public interest. This ethical foundation speaks directly to our ongoing aspirations for a Royal Charter for our profession.

To help guide the evolution of contemporary oral health care, the College has now established a four-pillar philosophy of care – a living blueprint which serves as a professional compass for our entire oral healthcare community:

1. Holistic care

Oral health is inextricably linked to general health, and we are developing an Oral Health for Healthcare curriculum for the wider health and social care workforce. This initiative, in which we are working with the Chief Dental Officer for England and supported by Colgate, will create an ecosystem of resources which finally recognises oral health as a central tenet of systemic health and wellbeing.

By adding an oral health dimension to their practice, healthcare colleagues beyond dentistry will be equipped to raise awareness of oral-systemic connections. Actionable prompts and accessible resources will empower patients and streamline communication throughout health and social care. Importantly, it will aim to synchronise the care patients receive between general and oral healthcare systems.

We are already collaborating with stakeholders in many relevant sectors:

  • pharmacy and retail
  • general nursing and general medical practice
  • dietetics and diabetes care
  • cardiology, bone health and oncology
  • health visiting, early years, and care homes
  • undergraduate medical education

This means the resources will be directly applicable to those involved in:

  • early years and maternity care
  • care of adults and chronic disease management
  • elderly and dementia care
  • disabilities and complex care needs

To ensure widespread clinical utility, we have collated early insights and hosted a workshop designed to understand the real-life challenge that our frontline colleagues face. We have now started to work through potential solutions to navigate these hurdles, as we progress to engineer simple, realistic and pragmatic resources. This initiative will position the College as the leading authority in oral health among our health and social care colleagues.

2. Assured care

Through our formalised career pathways, credentialling schemes and portfolio of guidelines, the College promotes higher standards of care to assure clinical quality and patient safety. Our Faculty Deans have worked hard to develop progressive career pathways, underpinned by our Professional Framework, to provide a more structured and supported career trajectory for all those working in dental primary care.

To take but one example, our Certified Practitioner programme will help to validate the higher skill levels individuals have achieved, and the greater knowledge and further experience they have gained, in specific disciplines. Planned to extend to all members of the oral healthcare team, this will support colleagues in more strategic decisions about their career choices as well as help patients to make informed decisions about the care they receive.

Fellowship, the most distinguished membership of the College, focuses on how members of the whole team have developed their practice for the benefit of both patients and the wider profession. Whether it be through clinical expertise, teaching, research, leadership or in the legal/ethical field, Fellows help the College serve as a catalyst for a shared community of practice. This ensures we can support one another in realising our professional aspirations and reinforce our sense of belonging, while serving patients at our very best.

To ensure greater confidence among practitioners in navigating postgraduate and post qualification education, the College is launching a Training Provider Forum. This group will allow post-qualification education providers to help shape the College’s developing role in quality assurance, guide early-career practitioners, and support our credentialling schemes. Furthermore, our Academic Court will recognise those whose intellectual contributions are central to the delivery of the College’s mission, bringing them together to ensure the College’s continued authority in promoting high standards in education and practice.

Together, these initiatives empower the workforce, advance the profession and support the public and patients to achieve and maintain good oral health.

3. Responsive and proactive care

We aim to drive a major shift from reactive treatment to patient-centred prevention, early detection and tooth preservation, and have convened an international expert consensus group to review the evidence and create a pragmatic framework around initial caries management for the whole oral healthcare team.

Supported by vVardis, this work is led by Professor Avijit Banerjee FCGDent, Dean of the CGDent Faculty of Dentists, who has set out the details of this pivotal aspect of our philosophy of care in the latest issue of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ). It is intended that this paper will form the basis for upcoming, evidence-based recommendations on the management of early caries in general dental practice.

4. Ethical and Professional Care

The College actively promotes a moral and ethical framework for treatment choices. This includes the importance of beneficence and the decided focus on diagnosis, while carefully weighing the nuanced detail and salient facts that inform our management options.

Some of you will have heard the inaugural College Lecture, Satisficing standards in dentistry: Who decides? Who benefits?, which was delivered by Mr Martin Kelleher FCGDent in June 2025; these questions will also be discussed in the next issue of the PDJ. Building upon the same themes, Dr Catherine Rutland FCGDent will be delivering the 2026 College Lecture, The Ethical Shield: Protecting enamel, professional integrity and patient smiles, on Thursday 12 November in London; this is open to all dental professionals, and others with professional interests in contemporary dental practice, and I encourage readers to attend if you can.

Our upcoming articles and frameworks will guide the profession’s philosophy of care – proving that true sustainability in dentistry starts with preserving enamel.

Writing the future of dentistry

Through these four pillars, we aim to write the future of dental care for the UK and beyond. We are setting a bold direction built upon the firm foundations we proudly inherited from the former Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP).

As we celebrate the fifth anniversary of the College, I encourage you to be a part of this journey, where our ambitions speak confidently toward a future Royal College – as our Honorary Founding President, Professor Sir Nairn Wilson CBE, has previously said, “a College that befits excellence in the care of patients with dedicated support for the profession.”

I urge all those delivering oral healthcare to adopt this philosophy of care for the benefit of patients everywhere, and to get behind your future Royal College so that it can stand tall on behalf of all the dental professions. Working together, let these be our greatest achievements.

This article was first published in the recent ‘Dental education’ issue of the Primary Dental Journal, further information on which is available via the button below.

‘Initial dental caries management: a College of General Dentistry (CGDent) philosophy of care statement’, by Professor Avijit Banerjee, is in the same issue. This paper is currently restricted to College members and PDJ subscribers, however it is intended that it will be made available to the whole profession in due course.

PRIMARY DENTAL JOURNAL: DENTAL EDUCATION ISSUE

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College of General Dentistry News

The CGDent Award for Distinguished Service to Dentistry and Oral Health: nominations open

The College has launched a new award to recognise those whose selfless service to the dental professions or patients in the UK has had a transformational impact or reach.

The CGDent Award for Distinguished Service to Dentistry and Oral Health is intended to celebrate inspiring ‘unsung heroes’, from across the dental professions, whose contributions to dentistry and oral health align with the College’s mission and values as a professional body and registered charity serving the public interest.

The College is open to receiving nominations based on contributions of a wide variety, for example those with a longstanding record of service in voluntary roles, or those whose outstanding practice sets an example for others. Eligible contributions can be local, regional, national or international in scope, and could (for example) be clinical, educational or organisational in nature, or in a leadership capacity.

Any registrant or former registrant with the General Dental Council (or a national equivalent elsewhere) can be nominated, however for the initial 2027 awards nominations can only be made by members of the College. (Please note that we actively discourage, and will rule out, nominations that appear to have been solicited by the nominee).

The relevant Faculty Board will then review nominations and recommend potential recipients to the College Council, which will determine up to one recipient of the Distinguished Service Award annually for each of the College’s four faculties (Faculty of Dentists; Faculty of Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy; Faculty of Dental Nursing and Orthodontic Therapy; and Faculty of Clinical Dental Technology and Dental Technology).

The Faculty Deans will then present the awards at the College Fellows’ Summer Reception in June 2027.

To make a nomination, complete the nomination form below and submit it to [email protected] with the subject line “Distinguished Service Award nomination” by Monday 30 November 2026. Please note that the award is available for UK nominations only this year.

DOWNLOAD THE NOMINATION FORM

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College of General Dentistry News

Certified Practitioner in Endodontics scheme now open

The College has launched its Certified Practitioner in Endodontics scheme – CertPract(Endo) – which recognises the skills and knowledge of general dental practitioners with experience of providing Level 2 complexity endodontic treatment within dental primary care.

Developed in consultation with NHS authorities and endorsed by the British Endodontic Society, the new status will enable practitioners to provide patients, colleagues and commissioners with authoritative validation of their enhanced capabilities.

Supporting recognition across both NHS and private practice, its requirements have been designed to align with Level 2 NHS care in England, with the British Endodontic Society’s average/high case difficulty categorisation, and with the capabilities achieved following successful completion of a skills-based, university-awarded postgraduate diploma in endodontics.

The application process is a staged and supported journey for which up to 12 months is allowed:

Stage 1

Applicants must:

  • Provide a comprehensive CV detailing at least five years’ post-qualification experience, at least two of which are in general dental practice
  • Submit a log of training to the standard required to undertake Level 2 complexity endodontic procedures (waived for those holding an accredited PgDip or Master’s in Endodontics)
  • Pay an Assessment Fee (£1,000) and a Credentialling Fee (£2,500, or £1,500 for Associate Fellows and Fellows of the College)

The CV will be reviewed, and the training log subject to peer assessment to ensure it reflects a breadth of relevant contemporaneous endodontic learning to the required standard. Those requiring further training will be offered guidance and will be invited to re-submit their training log on completion. Applicants assessed as having an appropriate level of training will be invited to proceed to Stage 2.

In the event that an applicant is deemed to have outstanding training needs which are unlikely to be achievable within 12 months, their candidature will not proceed to Stage 2 and both their Assessment Fee and Credentialling Fee will be refunded. Any College member not proceeding to Stage 2 will have the opportunity of peer support to help identify appropriate training.

Stage 2

Candidates are asked to provide:

  • Log-level data on 25 cases, undertaken in the past 3 years, using a provided template spreadsheet and completion guidance. These cases must be verified by two other dentists, one from inside your practice(s) and one from outside, and taken together should demonstrate the full range of treatments described in the Certified Practitioner in Endodontics Curriculum

Once accepted, applicants move to Stage 3. Feedback will be given where necessary.

In the event that an applicant has not successfully completed Stage 2 within 12 months of initial application, their application will not be taken forward to Stage 3 and their Credentialling Fee will be refunded.

Stage 3

Candidates will be asked to submit:

  • Detailed expositions of 6 of their 25 logged cases, covering a wide range of the required competencies
  • A clinical audit report related to endodontic practice

These will be reviewed, and the 6 cases will inform a case-based discussion undertaken by a panel of two suitably qualified assessors with experience of assessment for postgraduate diploma qualifications in endodontics.

The assessors will then determine whether the candidate will be designated as a Certified Practitioner in Endodontics.

Candidates will receive feedback on their assessment, and any deemed to be unsuccessful in their application will have their Credentialling Fee refunded.

Successful applicants will be awarded Certified Practitioner in Endodontics status for a period of five years, during which they will be entitled to use the postnominal letters CertPract(Endo) and their designation will be published on the College’s Register of Certified Practitioners. Continuing status thereafter will be subject to re-assessment (£500) and a further Credentialling Fee every five years.

Certified Practitioners will be deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of the Clinical & Technical domain of College Fellowship and are therefore eligible for at least Associate Fellowship of the College. Applicants who are not an Associate Fellow or Fellow of the College may therefore choose to apply at the Fellows’ rate, and if successful will be admitted as an Associate Fellow. They will then need to maintain this status in order to remain on the Register of Certified Practitioners.

For College members achieving Certified Practitioner status, their designation will also appear on the College’s Register of Members & Fellows

For further information, and to start your application to become a Certified Practitioner in Endodontics, click the button below:

START YOUR APPLICATION TODAY

Criteria for the Certified Practitioner in Oral Surgery and Certified Practitioner in Implant Dentistry designations will be published in the coming months. To register your interest, click here and follow the link to the scheme you are interest in.

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College of General Dentistry News

National honour for College Fellow

Congratulations to College Fellow Mhari Coxon, who has been recognised in this year’s King’s Birthday Honours list.

Currently Head of Marketing & Communications at Sureserve, and a registered dental hygienist for almost 30 years, Mhari Coxon FCGDent has been made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to oral health.

She began her career in dentistry in 1992, completing a Certificate in Dental Assisting with the University of Glasgow in 1994, followed by a Diploma in Dental Hygiene from King’s College London in 1996. She practised in both general practice and hospital environments for 14 years, and from 2007 began a parallel career as a healthcare marketing consultant and as Managing Director of CPDforDCP Ltd.

Since 2011 she has worked exclusively in healthcare marketing, initially as Senior Professional Marketing Manager for Philips, then as Medical Marketing Manager for Reckitt Benckiser. This was followed by the positions of Global Marketing Manager for Health Care Professions and Global Category Digital Marketing Manager at GlaxoSmithKline and in 2020 she became Healthcare and Prescription Marketing Strategy Lead for Northern Europe at Johnson & Johnson. In 2022 she moved to the Adelphi Group as Group Marketing Director before taking up her current role in 2024.

She joined the College of General Dentistry in 2021, became a Fellow in 2023, and was previously a longstanding DCP Member of the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP). She served on the Faculty’s Dental Care Professionals Committee, as the DCP Editor of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ), and in 2015 as co-guest-editor of the PDJ themed issue on communication, complaints and consent.

She sits on the British Dental Industry Association’s Board of Advisors, is a mentor for both the Chartered Institute of Marketing and for the government’s Help to Grow scheme for small businesses, and was previously a mentor for The Prince’s Trust. In 2014, she was appointed to the Oral Health Foundation’s Board of Trustees, acting as a Trustee and Non-Executive Director until 2025, including as Chair. She served as the organisation’s thirteenth President from 2021-23.

In addition to her dental qualifications, she holds an MSc in Marketing and Marketing Management from the University of Liverpool and a Condensed MBA in Business Administration and Management from the University of Brighton. She has also completed the Institute of Leadership and Management’s Level 7 Certificate in Executive Business Mentoring, Business Administration and Management, and has recently been admitted to the City and Guilds of London Institute.

A member of the British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy, she is a past member of both its Council and its Publications Committee, and was Chair of the London Regional Group from 2006-10. She is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and the Association of Business Mentors, and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

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College of General Dentistry News

Leadership Development Masterclass 2026

The College will be hosting its second Leadership Development Masterclass for dental professionals on Thursday 24 September 2026.

Professor Sreenivas Koka FCGDent (l) and Professor Elizabeth Carr FCGDent (r), co-presenters of the CGDent Leadership Development Masterclass 2026

Following the success of the 2025 event, the masterclass will teach some of the most critical elements needed to be an effective team leader, with carefully curated content offering appropriate breadth and depth for early-career leaders, including:

  • Giving and receiving feedback as a leader
  • Learning one’s motivations for leadership (and adapting accordingly)
  • Measuring your leadership effectiveness

The one-day programme, which will take place in London, will be led by Professor Sreenivas Koka DDS MS PhD MBA MAS FACD FCGDent and Professor Elizabeth Carr MAADH DHA FACD(Hon) FCGDent.

Professor Koka is co-founder of Executive Leadership Enterprises and the Future Leaders in Prosthodontics (FLiP) programme, and founder of both the Shaping the Future of Implant Dentistry (SHIFT) leadership workshop series and the non-profit Career Design in Dentistry organisation. He is also a former Chair of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management Alumni Board. Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry from 2021-2024, he has been a lecturer at the University of Michigan and University of California Los Angeles, and a professor at Loma Linda University, the University of Nebraska and the Mayo Clinic. In addition to qualifying as a Doctor of Dental Surgery, he holds a Master’s in Prosthodontics from the University of Michigan, an MBA from MIT, a Master’s in Applied Sciences from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD from the University of Nebraska. He was the founder and owner of Premium Dental Editing in Rochester, Minnesota, and of Koka Dental Clinic in San Diego, and is the author/co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed articles and nine book chapters. A Fellow of CGDent, he was brought up in Romford, emigrated to the United States at the age of 19 and is one of 16 dentists in his family.

Professor Koka was also the guest editor of the recent themed issue of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ), highlighting the power of leadership for all members of the primary dental care team and its impact on their patients.

Professor Carr is Chair of the Department of Dental Hygiene, Professor of Dental Hygiene and Director of the Mississippi Population Oral Health Collaborative at the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry, where she has worked for over 20 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene and a Doctorate in Health Administration from the University of Mississippi and a Master’s in Dental Hygiene from the University of Tennessee. She has also completed the MIT Sloan School of Management’s Executive Certificate programme in Leadership and Management. A Fellow of the CGDent, she is also an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Dentists, a past President of the Mississippi Dental Hygienists’ Association, and a member of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association and the American Academy of Dental Hygiene. Her peer-reviewed articles on leadership and dental education have been published in the Journal of the American College of Dentists, the Journal of International Oral Health, the Journal of Prosthodontic Research, the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, the Journal of Dental Hygiene and the Journal of Dental Education.

Professor Carr was also the author of Effectively managing difficult conversations with patients and dental teams and co-author of Everyday leadership in the leadership-themed issue of the PDJ.

The first CGDent Leadership Development Masterclass in October 2025

The Leadership Development Masterclass, which has a limited number of places, costs only £225 to attend (£175 for College members) and comes with 4.75 hours of CPD verified for GDC Development Outcome B. Booking is now open for College members, who benefit from an early booking window prior to general booking opening on Wednesday 1 July.

Launching the leadership development masterclass initiative last year, Simon Thornton-Wood PhD, Chief Executive of the College, said:

“To practise dentistry requires years of education, yet people can take on leadership roles with little or no training at all. First-time and second-time dental leaders are challenged because other people’s actions now define them; the potential to fail in a leadership role is high and the consequences can be significant.

“That’s why leadership in dentistry is such a focus for the College [and] it is one of our five domains of Fellowship. Leadership can be taught and learned, so we are delighted to be able to host this masterclass, and privileged that it will delivered by two College Fellows who are world-leading scholars in the art and science of practising leadership in the context of oral healthcare delivery.”

For further information, and to book your place at the Leadership Development Masterclass, click the button below.

FIND OUT MORE AND BOOK YOUR PLACE

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College of General Dentistry News

Special recognition for Dental Nursing representative

Congratulations to Jane Dalgarno AssocFCGDent, College Council representative for dental nursing and orthodontic therapy, who has received an Individual Contribution Special Recognition Award from the National Examining Board for Dental Nurses (NEBDN).

Jane Dalgarno RDN MSc AssocFCGDent

Given annually, the NEBDN’s Special Recognition Awards recognise the significant contributions made by individuals and groups to the dental nursing profession and to the NEBDN itself, and may reflect either a specific single achievement or achievements over a significant period of time.

Chair of the East of England Managed Clinical Network for Dental Care Professionals and a past President of the British Association of Dental Nurses, Ms Dalgarno began her career in general dental practice as a trainee dental nurse in 1986 and completed the National Certificate for Dental Surgery Assistants in 1993. A past Programme Director for the HEE Foundation Degree in Advanced Dental Nursing and former Clinical Workforce Development Lead at Community Dental Services CIC, she holds certificates in education, oral health education, sedation and dental radiography, the A1/A2 assessors award, a BSc in Primary Dental Care and an MSc in Applied Dental Professional Practice from the University of Kent. She has been on the Board of the College’s Faculty of Dental Nursing & Orthodontic Therapy since it was convened in 2021, and was a member of the Dental Nursing and Orthodontic Therapy Working Group which co-developed the College’s Professional Framework for Career Pathways in Dentistry. She was elected to her current College role in 2024.

She has received the Special Recognition Award in recognition of:

“…her exceptional and sustained contribution to education and professional development in dental nursing over more than 25 years. Through her extensive experience delivering and leading education across a wide range of NEBDN-linked and national programmes, alongside her work in qualification development, quality assurance, and Learner support, Jane has made a lasting impact on Learner success and professional standards. Her educational leadership, national influence and unwavering commitment to excellence make her a highly deserving recipient of this award”.

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College of General Dentistry Event

Advanced orthodontics course (block 6)

Thursday 2 March 2028 – Saturday 4 March 2028

This training block is reserved for enrolled candidates progressing towards the CGDent Postgraduate Diploma in Primary Care Orthodontics.

IAS Academy, Towergate House, 22 Wintersells Road, Byfleet, Surrey KT14 7LF

The Advanced Orthodontics course is a comprehensive, 120-credit, Level 7 programme leading to the award of the CGDent Postgraduate Diploma in Primary Care Orthodontics.

Delivered by IAS Academy, it is designed to give General Dental Practitioners the skills and knowledge needed to treat more complex malocclusions, including extraction cases, taking them up to just below specialist training level. It covers all appliance systems – fixed functional, aligners, lingual and Inman – and includes both the theory and practical aspects of orthodontic care.

In addition to lectures, students will discuss multiple new cases, participate in hands-on practical sessions and receive one-to-one mentoring by specialists for ten treated cases. The syllabus, which is delivered across six 3-4 day training blocks as well as weekly online planning discussions, includes:

  • Records, assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning
  • Treatment planning for Class I, Class II div1, Class II div 2 and Class III malocclusions
  • Radiography – Ceph/OPG/CBCT
  • Fixed appliances
  • Lingual appliances
  • Removable appliances
  • Functionals
  • Retention
  • Aetiology of malocclusion, growth & development
  • Development of the dentition and tooth movement
  • Dental material & biomechanics
  • Multidisciplinary care, including restorative, periodontics & surgery
  • Critical reading skills
  • Health education, health & safety, legislation and audit
  • Marketing and practice management 

Successful completion of the CGDent Postgraduate Diploma in Primary Care Orthodontics satisfies the Clinical & Technical domain of Fellowship and brings automatic eligibility for Associate Fellowship of the College.

Attending

This training block is specifically for candidates accepted onto the 2026-28 cohort of the diploma course and is limited to 12 places. To ensure enough case-flow and experience, the course is recommended for dentists who have treated at least ten fixed cases, are treating a minimum of ten orthodontic cases per annum, and are familiar with using fixed appliances.

further information & REGISTRATION

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College of General Dentistry News

Recruitment of a Credentialling Development Manager

**APPLICATIONS FOR THIS POSITION ARE NOW CLOSED** 

The College is looking for a Credentialling Development Manager to help complete the development and implementation of its Certified Practitioner programme. The programme is a series of credentialling schemes which will validate and recognise a practitioner’s skills, knowledge and experience at an advanced level in particular fields of dental practice.

The Credentialling Development Manager is a contractor role anticipated to last around six months, which will project-manage the construction and completion of the schemes and their systems of assessment. They will work with senior practitioners via working groups to ensure that robust systems and processes are developed to underpin quality and operational effectiveness, and to provide a good experience for candidates. 

The credentialling schemes will provide authoritative validation of enhanced capability for patients, colleagues and NHS commissioners. The schemes require practitioners to submit a detailed portfolio of evidence which will be assessed by a panel against an agreed curriculum and set of criteria. We have piloted the application and assessment processes with a small number of candidates for the Certified Practitioner in Endodontics scheme, and this will open more widely to dentists shortly, followed by schemes for Oral Surgery and Implant Dentistry, with further disciplines thereafter.

We are seeking someone who is decisive and delivery-focussed, with high attention to detail, persistence and the ability to see a project through to the end. The ideal candidate will have strong communications skills; experience of project management, building systems, quality assurance and managing senior stakeholders; and a background in professional credentialing, regulation, healthcare education or postgraduate assessment. Full details are in the role description below:

ROLE DESCRIPTION

Applications should be sent by email to [email protected] using the subject line “Credentialling Development Manager”. Applicants should submit their CV together with a supporting statement setting out their suitability and skills with reference to the role description.

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