College of General Dentistry News

Coat of Arms Appeal – update

College Trustees have received an update on the fundraising appeal to support the full adoption of the College’s Coat of Arms, Badge and new colours following its recent Grant of Arms.

(l-r): The College’s recently-granted Coat of Arms; Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent receiving the Grant of Arms at the College of Arms; the College Badge

Since the appeal was launched in late July, £19,550 of the £28,000 sought has been generously donated by eight individuals, seven of whom are new donors to the fund:

  • Dr Irfan Ahmad FCGDent
  • Prof Subir Banerji FCGDent
  • Dr Keith Hayes FCGDent
  • Dr George Margaritis FCGDent
  • Dr Ralph Pickup FCGDent
  • Dr Peter Willy FCGDent
  • Dr Margaret Wilson
  • Prof Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent

These donations are in addition to the £22,500 given to the Coat of Arms Fund in the initial phase of fundraising – before an open appeal was launched – which covered the costs of the processes which culminated in the Grant of Arms. These funds were generously given by:

  • Dr Ali Al Bayati FCGDent
  • Col John Anderson FCGDent
  • Dr Tariq Ashraf FCGDent
  • Dr Christine Breare FCGDent
  • Dr John Gamon CBE FCGDent
  • Prof Stanley Gelbier FCGDent
  • Dr Edgar Gordon FCGDent
  • Dr Andrew Hadden FCGDent
  • Dr Robert Hensher FCGDent
  • Dr Stuart Johnston FCGDent
  • Dr Anthony Kravitz OBE FCGDent
  • Dr Graham Orr FCGDent
  • Dr Abhijit Pal FCGDent
  • Mr William Sharpling FCGDent
  • Smile Academy
  • Dr Christopher Turner FCGDent
  • Prof Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent

In all, £42,050 of the £50,500 total costs associated with receiving and making best use of the College’s Grant of Arms have now been donated by 25 individuals and organisations.

Donations to the Coat of Arms Appeal are being used specifically to realise the privileges of being granted Arms to best possible effect in order to further enhance recognition of the College, the status of Members and the standing of the general dental profession in the UK and elsewhere. 

Funds donated to the Appeal have so far been drawn upon to create a new College logo and related branding, incorporating the Coat of Arms and its colours, which have now been applied to the Primary Dental Journal; to the new edition of Standards in Dentistry; to the College’s website, member communications, newsletter and social media channels; and to new banners and displays which are now being used at College events and dental shows.

An application has also been lodged with the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh for the recognition of the College’s Coat of Arms in Scotland, and appeal funds have been set aside for the anticipated matriculation fees. The Letters Patent by which the College has been granted Arms provide official recognition in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, but as a UK-wide organisation, parallel recognition in Scotland is a priority for the College and will be important in the future application for Royal Charter.

Funds received to date are also being used to re-design and re-issue the digital membership certificates available to all College Members through their online accounts; to incorporate the new branding in all of the College’s standards and guideline publications; and to design, produce and distribute new College lapel pins to all Members featuring the College Badge – an opinicus rampant holding a giant pearl of wisdom (see right hand image above) – granted by the College of Arms.

In addition, Mick Horton FCGDent, Chair of CGDent’s Trustee Board, has agreed to fund the design and production of a run of College Medals – the College’s most prestigious honour, awarded annually for exceptional service to the profession; and Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent, the Honorary Founding President of the College and Chair of College Fundraising, is covering the cost of designing and producing a number of Past Presidents’ medals.

The design and production of a special medal to be worn by the sitting President, which in recognition of the College’s history will be hung on the Chain of Office previously worn by Deans of the former Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) [FGDP], has also been covered by donations received to date, as has a gown for use by the President on ceremonial occasions such as during the admission of new Associate Fellows and Fellows of the College.

The Trustees would now like to encourage all Members and Fellows, supporters and supporting organisations of the College to give generously towards the remaining £8,450 required to fully realise the benefits of the Grant.

New donations will be used among other things to have the College’s Grant of Arms by Letters Patent professionally mounted for permanent display; to purchase an embossed, leather-bound Fellows’ Register; to produce gowns for use by the College’s Chief Executive and two Vice Presidents on ceremonial occasions; and to re-design, print and distribute new physical Membership and Fellowship certificates.

All donors, existing and new, will be acknowledged in the Primary Dental Journal and in perpetuity on the College website, with their cumulative donations, including to the Coat of Arms Fund, categorised as follows:

  • Major benefactors (>£50,000)
  • Benefactors (>£25,000)
  • Major donors (>£10,000)
  • Donors (>£5,000)
  • Major contributors (>£1,000)
  • Contributors (<£1,000)

Over 125 individuals and organisations from across the UK and beyond have so far donated to support the establishment and development of the College. These are listed on the College website’s donors page.

Sir Nairn said:

“Subscription income is fully employed in providing for the College’s core expenditure, making fund raising necessary to help the College realise its greater ambitions for the general dental profession.

“Donating to the Coat of Arms Fund is a special opportunity to go down in history as having helped the College reach a historic milestone in its development. This is a one-off opportunity to contribute to a lasting legacy which recognises the origins of dentistry as we know it today, and signifies the purpose, aims and aspirations of the College.”

All those wishing to secure a special place in the history of the development of the College should contact Sir Nairn, who will be pleased to assist you in becoming a Coat of Arms donor, and, if you are so minded, a College legator or regular donor. Please email [email protected]

CONTACT SIR NAIRN

Sir Nairn’s description of the symbolism and meaning behind each of the heraldic elements in the College’s Coat of Arms is here

Subscribe to receive our monthly newsletter

College of General Dentistry News

Foundation Nakao – CGDent Award winners 2025

The College and Foundation Nakao would like to congratulate the successful candidates in this year’s Foundation Nakao – CGDent Award in Coaching and Mentoring for Dental Care Professionals.

The winning entrants comprise five Dental Therapists, four Dental Nurses, two Clinical Dental Technicians, one Dental Hygienist and one Orthodontic Therapist from across the UK and elsewhere.

Candidate nameRoleMembershipRegion
Zahra AkhtarDental TherapistAssociate MemberYorkshire and Northern
Humair AlamClinical Dental TechnicianAssociate MemberNorth Thames
Dena AndrewsDental TherapistAssociate Member Trent & East Anglia
Kenneth Binnah AssocFCGDentDental NurseAssociate Fellow Central London
Steven William CatterallDental Nurse Associate Member Mersey & North West
Poppy Louise IrvineDental Hygienist Associate MemberYorkshire and Northern
Sara Amina JalloulOrthodontic TherapistAssociate Member Wessex & Oxford
Maria de los Llanos Martinez AssocFCGDentDental TherapistAssociate FellowOverseas
Caroline PersaudClinical Dental Technician Associate MemberWessex & Oxford
Carolyn Roberts Dental Nurse Associate MemberWales
Michaela Christina Robinson Dental Therapist Associate Fellow Wessex & Oxford
Georgina Smith Dental Nurse Associate Member South Thames
Tyra Anne Watt Dental Therapist Associate Member West & North Scotland

The successful candidates have each been awarded a fully-funded place, worth £375, on a three-day training course in mentoring and coaching. Delivered online by UMD Professional – an organisation with more than thirty years’ experience of establishing coaching and mentoring practices within medical and legal organisations – the short course takes place over two days in November 2025 and one in January 2026, with eight weeks of assimilation and application and a 30-minute 1:1 supervision session in between.

Course content will include:

  • What are coaching and mentoring?
  • Skills, knowledge, attributes and behaviours required in coaching and mentoring
  • A personal SWOT
  • Contracting in coaching and mentoring
  • Understanding boundaries
  • Communication theories:
    • Shannon and Weaver
    • Transactional analysis
    • Johari
    • Assertiveness
  • Objectivity v emotional response and unconscious bias
  • Setting meaningful objectives and action planning
  • Giving feedback
  • The GROW model
  • The OSCAR model
  • Scaling
  • Reflection
  • Successes and challenges
  • Cognitive distortion
  • The role of emotional intelligence
  • Supervision, group supervision and peer review
  • Action learning using delegate examples

The award was made possible by the generous donation through Prof Avijit Banerjee FCGDent of sponsorship by Foundation Nakao. Also known as The Nakao Foundation for Worldwide Oral Health, it was founded by Makato Nakao, Chairman of GC Corporation, a leading manufacturer of dental materials and equipment. (GC also partners with the College on the CGDent-GC Award for Foundation Trainees.)

To enter the award, participants each submitted an application form stating how they would be able to apply their mentoring or coaching skills in practice during the assimilation and application period, and how they would apply the learning to support less experienced colleagues thereafter. The award was open to all Dental Care Professional members of the College.

Establishing a mentoring and coaching culture is key to the College’s commitment to workforce diversity, inclusion, and wellbeing. In promoting effective mentoring practice, we aim to foster appropriate support in the career pathway progression for all members of the oral healthcare team. Our aspiration is to cultivate a community of College members amongst Dental Care Professionals who are equipped and confident to nurture their peers.

It is anticipated that the Foundation Nakao – CGDent Award 2026 will open soon. To register your interest in the 2026 award and receive notifications as soon as applications open, email [email protected] with the subject line “Foundation Nakao – CGDent Award 2026”.

Subscribe to receive to our monthly newsletter

College of General Dentistry News

College masterclass teaches leadership development skills

The College recently hosted a Leadership Development Masterclass for dental professionals.

Professor Sreenivas Koka FCGDent presenting to participants at the CGDent Leadership Development Masterclass

The masterclass taught 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 took place at the Royal Society of Medicine in London on Tuesday 14 October 2025, was restricted to Full Members, Associate Fellows and Fellows of the College and was attended by members from across the dental team.

The event was 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 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 Koka is also the guest editor of the next issue of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ), which will be published later this year on the theme of leadership, and co-author of its paper ‘Oral health in the context of patient well-being: Implications for the general dentist’. Professor Carr is the author of ‘Effectively managing difficult conversations with patients and dental teams’. Both are co-authors of ‘Everyday leadership’.

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. It was the theme of our very first journal issue in 2021, we’re re-visiting it in the next issue, it is one of our five domains of Fellowship and we have a recorded webinar on the subject available free of charge for all our members. It is also the topic of a blog post by our Immediate Past President, under whose Presidency we hosted a Leadership Workshop for early career dental professionals.

“Leadership can be taught and learned, so we were delighted to be able to host this masterclass, and privileged that it was 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.”

Subscribe to receive to our monthly newsletter

College of General Dentistry News

Notice of elections

Elections will take place early in 2026 for two seats on the College Council, and eligible members are encouraged to consider standing.

The Council is the voice of our members.  Overseeing our role as a professional body and guiding Trustees on the development of the College to fulfil its mission, it includes representation based both on geographical region and professional role.

Nominations will be open early in the new year, with voting taking place in the Spring and the result announced in May. Elected candidates are expected to attend their first Council meeting on Friday 12 June 2026, when they will be formally inducted.

The role

As a Council member, you would provide leadership, strategic input and direction in all the professional affairs of the College. You would be helping to shape key moments in the College’s growth and could also get involved in specific initiatives on areas such as careers, policy and standards.

If elected, you would serve a three-year term from June 2026 – June 2029, during which you would be expected to attend three one-day, face-to-face meetings in June, October and February each year, as well as regular online meetings and occasional committees outside of business hours.

You would also be expected to vote, and eligible to stand, in the annual election of up to two Vice Presidents; eligible to participate in the triennial appointment of a College President in 2027; and expected to attend College events around the UK.

You would be able to stand for re-election in 2029, and individuals may serve up to three elected terms (i.e. nine years) on the Council. The role is voluntary, but we do cover essential expenses. 

*An indicative role profile is available below; please note this may be updated by the time nominations open.

ROLE DESCRIPTION*

Council seats for election in 2026

Nominations will be sought for the following seats:

  • Mersey & North West
  • Northern Ireland

Further seats on the Council will be due for election in 2027 and 2028 – see the College Council page for details.

Eligibility

All Full Members, Associate Fellows and Fellows of the College, regardless of dental team role, who live or work within one of the above regions, and who are registered with that region with CGDent, will be eligible to nominate themselves as candidates for election to the relevant Council seat.

Members who live and work in more than one region are welcome to change the address with which they are registered with the College. This can be done at any time through their online account: log in at cgdent.uk then navigate via My Account to Update my details. The new address will then be used for all correspondence, including receiving copies of the Primary Dental Journal.

Associate Members within these regions who wish to nominate themselves for election will need to have successfully completed an upgrade to Full Membership before doing so. Any non-members will first need to join the College as a Full Member.

College electoral regions

This map can be downloaded here

If you are unsure which College region you are in, check your entry on the Member Register

Nominations process

Once opened (anticipated to be in January 2026), all eligible members will be emailed a link to the nominations website by the College’s election services provider, Mi-Voice.

If you are interested in standing for election, you will need to complete the nomination process via that link (once received), where you will be asked for further information, and to submit an election statement.

You will also be required to provide the names of two supporters of your nomination. Your supporters must each be a Full Member, Associate Fellow or Fellow of the College within the constituency you are standing for. If you are unsure of the membership status or region of potential supporters, please consult our Member Register

If you think you might like to put yourself forward as a candidate and would like further information before deciding, we would be pleased to have a confidential discussion and answer any questions about the role and the process.

Please get in touch via [email protected]

The deadline for submission of applications – around a month after nominations open – will be announced in due course.

Subscribe to receive to our monthly newsletter

College of General Dentistry News

Portfolio submissions in Restorative Dentistry: eligibility & requirements

Following the recent launch of a portfolio-based route to Associate Fellowship and the Clinical & Technical domain of Fellowship, the College has published detailed requirements for portfolio submissions in Restorative Dentistry.

To be eligible to submit a portfolio for assessment, applicants must have at least five years’ post-qualification experience in Restorative Dentistry, and must hold Associate Membership or Full Membership of the College at the time of application. Non-members should first join the College and should allow up to two weeks for their membership application to be validated and processed.

They will then need to submit:

  1. A log of training meeting the requirements below.
  2. Six cases meeting the specifications below.
  3. A comprehensive CV detailing at least five years’ post-qualification experience in roles with the appropriate responsibilities and clinical environment to meet the expected standard of patient care.

Training requirements

Applicants must have:

  • Completed 165 hours of verifiable training consistent with RQF Level 7, set out in a training log which details the hours and attaches the evidence for each of the required topics below, or
  • Completed an accredited postgraduate qualification of at least 60 RQF credits for which the transcript demonstrates coverage of the required topics below, or
  • Successfully completed a recognised Royal College Diploma examination

Applicants submitting evidence of training undertaken before 2010 must also provide evidence of at least 50 hours of Enhanced CPD relevant to restorative dentistry undertaken in the last 5 years.

Required topics:

  • Patient assessment, history and treatment planning and communication
  • Principles and application of occlusion             
  • Smile design          
  • Tooth whitening                
  • Anterior direct restorations          
  • Posterior direct restorations                  
  • Clinical photography                   
  • Anterior direct restorations          
  • Posterior direct restorations                  
  • Indirect restorations – crowns, onlays and ceramic veneers            
  • Management of tooth surface loss                   
  • Replacement of missing teeth               
  • Endodontics           
  • Periodontics           
  • Contemporary caries management

Case specifications

Applicants must present a total of six anonymised cases, all undertaken within the past five years. The first three must demonstrate, respectively, endodontic, periodontic and prosthodontic management. The remaining cases can be in any of these three disciplines, however no more than half of the total number of cases may be submitted from any one discipline.

Endodontic cases must demonstrate at least one of the following:

  • a multirooted tooth with root curvatures 30 – 45 degrees
  • a tooth with canals deemed non-negotiable in the coronal third, but patent thereafter, as evidenced clinically and radiographically
  • a multirooted tooth with a canal length exceeding 25 mm
  • a tooth with incomplete root development
  • re-treatment of a previously treated tooth, with evidence of patency beyond an existing short root filling, provided there are no complicating factors from earlier treatment
  • removal of a fractured post (less than 8 mm in length)

Periodontic cases must demonstrate one of the following:

  • Treatment of generalised stage II, III or IV periodontitis that has true pocketing of 6 mm or more showing BOP <10% and PPD < 4mm at 1 year after treatment
  • Management of gingival enlargement non-surgically with a minimum of 1 year post operative review: showing BOP <10% and PPD < 4mm at 1 year after treatment
  • Management of a peri implant mucositis case with a minimum of one-year postoperative review showing ≤ 1 point of BOP and absence of suppuration
  • Management of furcation defects and other complex root morphologies when strategically important (in more than one sextant) showing stability at 1 year after treatment e.g. <10% BOP and PPD <4mm at a 1 year post operative review
  • Periodontal treatment that includes pocket reduction surgery in more than 1 sextant

Prosthodontic cases must demonstrate one of the following:

  • Occlusal reorganisation is necessary, and medium-term stability is achieved through plastic restorations, removable appliances, or both
  • Occlusion requires careful management to avoid premature failure of restorations (e.g., guidance for multiple restorations)
  • Replacement and temporisation of multiple fixed restorations, where oral condition stability/control may be at risk
  • Addressing anatomical challenges related to soft tissues
  • Compromised health of denture-bearing soft tissue
  • Raised or critical aesthetic or functional expectations/needs
  • Definitive replacement of at least three teeth involving pre-prosthetic procedures, such as: (i) abutment optimisation (ii) minor oral surgery procedures (iii) occlusal adjustments

Consent

For each case, applicants must ensure that they have the consent of the patient for inclusion in their portfolio. The bespoke Patient Information Sheet and Patient Consent Form should be used to ensure informed participation.

Case format

Each case must adhere to the structure and content outlined in the Restorative Case Template

Application & assessment

To submit their application, applicants will need to upload their case presentations, CV and training log (or equivalent), and pay a non-refundable Assessment Fee of £600.

Assessment will be centred around the evidence submitted, with specific emphasis on the case selection, and will include a case-based discussion. This will be undertaken by a panel of two suitably qualified assessors with experience of assessment for Postgraduate Diploma qualifications.

A successful portfolio will qualify the applicant for Associate Fellowship of the College and in addition will satisfy the Clinical & Technical domain of Fellowship. The applicant will also be able to add their successful portfolio to the College’s Register of Members and Fellows as a recognised qualification. If an application is unsuccessful, the applicant may be able to request a review by a separate panel, for which an additional Review Fee of £200 would apply.

FIND OUT MORE AND APPLY

Portfolio specifications for Implant Dentistry and Orthodontics will be published in 2026.

Subscribe to receive to our monthly newsletter

College of General Dentistry News

New portfolio route to Associate Fellowship and Fellowship

The College has launched a new portfolio-based route to joining its Fellowship community.

The new route, which will be available in relation to specific fields of practice, means that both Associate Fellowship and the Clinical & Technical domain of College Fellowship can now be achieved through recognition of a wealth of clinical experience and expertise, not just advanced qualifications.

Under the new scheme, those with at least five years’ post-qualification experience in the discipline for which they are applying, and who meet the specification for prior training, can submit a portfolio of six suitably complex cases, undertaken within the past five years, for assessment. The expected standard for cases is that which would be achieved with a relevant 120 credit, Level 7 Diploma or at Level 2 clinical complexity.

As well as qualifying the applicant for Associate Fellowship and the Clinical & Technical domain of Fellowship, a successful portfolio can also be published as a recognised qualification in the College’s Member Register.

Both Associate Fellowship and Fellowship of the College are open to dental professionals in all team roles.

Associate Fellowship acts as a stepping stone to Fellowship, recognising enhanced knowledge and skills as well as a commitment to lifelong learning and the highest levels of patient care. As members of the College’s Fellowship community, Associate Fellows are eligible to attend its prestigious Fellows’ Receptions, have the opportunity of ceremonial admission by the College President and may use the postnominal ‘AssocFCGDent’.

All those holding an eligible qualification can become an Associate Fellow without the need of portfolio assessment. These are:

  • a relevant PhD, Master’s degree or Postgraduate Diploma meeting the College’s eligibility criteria
  • Specialty membership of a Royal College or Royal College faculty
  • Membership in General Dental Surgery (MGDS)
  • Diploma in Postgraduate Dental Studies (DPDS)
  • CGDent Diploma in Primary Care Orthodontics
  • FGDP(UK) or RCS Edinburgh Diploma in Implant Dentistry
  • FGDP(UK) Diploma in Restorative Dentistry
  • FGDP(UK) Diploma in Primary Care Oral Surgery

Fellowship is the most distinguished membership of the College and is recognised with the postnominal designation ‘FCGDent’. It is a mark of excellence; significant commitment to the science, art and practice of dentistry; and distinction across clinical and professional domains. All dental professionals with ten or more years’ post-qualification practice may apply for Fellowship by route of experience, and to be successful applicants must provide evidence of meeting the requirements of three of five domains:

  • Clinical & Technical
  • Teaching, Learning & Assessment
  • Leadership & Management
  • Publications & Research
  • Law & Ethics

The Clinical & Technical domain is automatically satisfied without the need of portfolio assessment for those who meet one of the eligibility criteria for Associate Fellowship described above, or who have qualified as a:

  • Specialist (with demonstrable referral activity)
  • Member of the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgery
  • Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry
  • Accredited Full Member of the British Academy for Cosmetic Dentistry.

Applications for portfolio assessment are now being accepted in Restorative Dentistry. Portfolios in Implant Dentistry will start being accepted early in 2026, with those in Orthodontics thereafter.

To find out more, and to apply, click the button below:

APPLY BY CLINICAL PORTFOLIO

The next College Fellows’ Reception, incorporating the ceremonial admission of new Associate Fellows and Fellows, will take place on the evening of Thursday 5 February 2026 in London. For details, visit cgdent.uk/events

Subscribe to receive to our monthly newsletter

College of General Dentistry News

College to host Leadership Development Masterclass

The College will soon be hosting a Leadership Development Masterclass for dental professionals.

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

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 at the Royal Society of Medicine in London from 10am to 4pm on Tuesday 14 October 2025, 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 is also the guest editor of the next issue of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ), which will be published later this year on the theme of leadership, and co-author of its papers on ‘Everyday leadership’ and ‘Oral health in the context of patient well-being: Implications for the general dentist’.

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 is also the author of ‘Effectively managing difficult conversations with patients and dental teams’ and co-author of ‘Everyday leadership’ in the upcoming leadership-themed issue of the PDJ.

The Leadership Development Masterclass, which is restricted to just 25 places, costs only £170 to attend and comes with 4.75 hours of CPD verified for GDC Development Outcome B. Attendees will need to be a Full Member, Associate Fellow or Fellow of the College at the time of booking – information on joining and eligibility is available here

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. It was the theme of our very first journal issue in 2021, we’re re-visiting it in the next issue, it is one of our five domains of Fellowship and we have a recorded webinar on the subject available free of charge for all our members. It is also the topic of a blog post by our Immediate Past President, under whose Presidency we hosted a Leadership Workshop for early career dental professionals.

“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

Subscribe to receive to our monthly newsletter

College of General Dentistry Blog

Our Coat of Arms: an encapsulation of the College’s ethos and aspirations

Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent, President Emeritus of the College, describes the symbolism and meaning behind each of the heraldic elements in the College’s newly-granted Coat of Arms.

Sir Nairn with the Grant of Arms presented to the College on 19 May 2025

A Grant of Arms is a formal recognition bestowed by the official heraldic authority, the College of Arms, and symbolises legitimacy and identity. Dating back centuries, grants of arms are typically conferred upon those organisations and individuals which meet established criteria of permanence, achievement, and contribution in their respective fields, and the College (intended Royal College) of General Dentistry has recently been so honoured.

The process leading up to the Grant of Arms involved the design of an ‘Armorial Achievement’ – colloquially known as a Coat of Arms – which includes various heraldic elements such as a shield, crest and motto, each imbued with symbolic meaning. These elements collectively encapsulate the ethos and aspirations of the organisation.

The Armorial Achievement (Coat of Arms) of the College of General Dentistry

The shield – the centrepiece of the heraldic achievement – has a blue background (field). The central feature of the shield is a golden pelican ‘in her piety’ – feeding a brood of three chicks in a nest, with the chicks pecking and wounding their mother’s breast, anxious to be fed. The principal meaning evoked by the pelican is caring: first and foremost for patients, secondly for early career oral healthcare professionals and students, and thirdly for the moral compass of the profession – hence the three chicks.

The pelican is surmounted by a golden band (‘chief’) displaying three snakes, each knotted (‘nowy’). The knotted snakes symbolise unity within the profession, unity with other health professions and unity of purpose in healthcare, emphasising the importance of oral health to general health and wellbeing. Together the pelican and snakes symbolise trust and reliance.

The crest on top of the helm features the upper half of an ‘opinicus’, resting its right (‘dexter’) foreleg on a giant pearl. The traditional opinicus, derived from the crest of the Company of Barber Surgeons, which was incorporated in 1462, is a symbol of influence, and of strength in diversity and inclusivity within the College. The pearl signifies wisdom in the art and science of dentistry. The opinicus, rarely included in heraldic achievements, resembles a dragon in the forepart and in the wings, with a beaked head and ears similar to those of a griffin. The hind part and the legs resemble those of a lion. The tail is similar to that of a bear.

The mantling around the shield and helm displays the livery colours of the College – azure blue and gold.

Below the shield sits the College motto: Sanitate oris venit fortitudo – Strength through oral health – strength for patients and strength for the profession.

The College of General Dentistry badge

The badge of the College is a proud and bold opinicus in College blue and rampant posture (standing on one hind foot in profile, with raised wings and tail), holding the giant pearl of wisdom, as featured in the crest of the Arms, between its clawed forepaws.

The Grant of Arms adds to the legitimacy of the College, which is now firmly part of the healthcare establishment, and is considered to be an important step towards eligibility for the granting of a Royal Charter – a priority for the College in its further growth and development. The College is only the ninth dental organisation in the UK, Australia or New Zealand to have receive a Grant of Arms, and will now start making use of its Arms and badge in, for example, a re-design of diploma certificates and the introduction of College regalia.

The full text of the Grant of Arms can be read here.

This abridged article is presented with the kind permission of the Dental Historian, the journal of the Lindsay Society, a membership organisation which promotes interest, study and research into the history of dentistry and brings together people who share these interests.

The version of record (‘Making history: The grant of arms to the College of General Dentistry’) is available in the Dental Historian, volume 70 (2025), issue 2.

Subscribe to receive to our monthly newsletter

College of General Dentistry News

MoU signed with RCS Edinburgh

The College has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

Dr Roshni Karia MCGDent (l) and Professor Grant McIntyre (r) signing the MoU

With the signing ceremony taking place on 1 July, the fourth anniversary of CGDent’s launch, Dr Roshni Karia MCGDent, its President, and Simon Thornton-Wood PhD, its Chief Executive, met RCS Edinburgh colleagues to discuss future collaboration on education and examinations.

The MoU sets out an aspiration by the two Colleges to work together to provide practical ways for dental professionals to advance their careers, and among these it is expected that RCS Edinburgh’s diploma examinations will be recognised within the CGDent’s Career Pathways framework, including the Certified Practitioner credentialling scheme which will soon be launched.

Several RCS Edinburgh awards are already recognised towards CGDent membership:

Founded in 1505, RCS Edinburgh is the world’s oldest surgical college, and its Faculty of Dental Surgery was established in 1982.

The MoU was signed by Dr Karia on behalf of the College of General Dentistry and by Professor Grant McIntyre, Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery, on behalf of RCS Edinburgh. Dr Karia and Professor McIntyre said:

“We are delighted to enter into this important partnership between our two organisations and look forward to working together to support general dental professionals.”

Subscribe to receive our monthly newsletter

College of General Dentistry News

Our mission and vision for dentistry

The College has outlined its ambitions and priorities as a professional body and registered charity.

Our mission and vision for dentistry, developed by the College Council, seeks to define the College’s role and characterise its values and ways of working.

It describes the College’s vision for dentistry over the coming decade, and articulates its ambitions in relation to patients and public health, delivery of care and the professional development of the whole dental team.

Informing the College’s perspective and framing the influence it wants to have on the future of oral healthcare, it sets out a foundation for the College to contribute to the development of public policy to address the many challenges facing the sector.

To read Our mission and vision for dentistry, click the button below.

READ THE DOCUMENT

Subscribe to receive to our monthly newsletter