Tag: College people

Professor Avijit Banerjee FCGDent has been appointed as the first Chair of the Board of the College’s Faculty of Dentists.

The Faculty of Dentists comprises all dentist members of the College, and the Faculty Board advances the interests of dentists as a discrete professional group. The Chair is appointed for a three-year term, advises and reports to the College Council, and works closely with the President and other Faculty Board Chairs in realising College priorities.

Professor Banerjee is Professor of Cariology and Operative Dentistry, Clinical Lead for Undergraduate Education, and Honorary Consultant and Clinical Lead for Restorative Dentistry at the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences at King’s College London (KCL) and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospitals Trust. 

He is also KCL’s Head of Conservative & Minimum Intervention (MI) Dentistry, Programme Director of its distance-learning MSc in Advanced MI Dentistry, leads its Cariology & Operative Dentistry research programme, and continues to work in private practice in north London as a specialist in restorative dentistry, prosthodontics and periodontics.

Born in Kuala Lumpur and raised in Bolton, after graduating in 1993 from the United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals (UMDS, now part of KCL), he became a House Officer in oral surgery and orthodontics at Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, then a Senior House Officer in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Mount Vernon, Hillingdon and Watford General Hospitals.

With thirty years’ experience as a researcher, teacher and examiner, he has worked at KCL since returning to the then-UMDS as a Clinical Training Fellow in 1995, becoming a Clinical Lecturer in 1998, Senior Clinical Lecturer in 2005, and Reader, then Professor, in 2011. He holds an MSc in Mineralised Tissue Biology and a PhD in Cariology, and in 2022 received the International Association of Dental Research’s William H Bowen Distinguished Scientist Award for Research in Dental Caries.

Editor-in-Chief of the journal Oral Health & Preventive Dentistry, he is an Associate Editor of the British Dental Journal, an editorial board member of the International Journal of Adhesion & Adhesives and of Dental Update, and a peer reviewer for thirteen dental journals. He is also the author of 158 published peer-reviewed papers covering cariology and MI operative dentistry, microscopy, dental biomaterials science and dental education research, and author or editor of seven books (and a number of book chapters), most recently A Clinical Guide to Advanced Minimum Intervention Restorative Dentistry.

A Fellow of CGDent and Chair of its Career Pathways Programme Board, he is a reviewer of the forthcoming third edition of Standards in Dentistry, and has previously served on the editorial board of the Primary Dental Journal and as a subject matter expert for the Diploma in Restorative Dentistry of the former Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP).

He has also gained Fellowship of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, of the Higher Education Academy, of the International College of Dentists and of the former FGDP.

He is Deputy Lead of the NIHR Clinical Research Network Oral & Dental Specialty, a Council Member of the European Federation of Conservative Dentistry, and a member of the BDA Health and Science Committee and BDA Indemnity Advisory Panel. He has previously served as a Council Member of the British Society of Restorative Dentistry and of the British Society of Oral & Dental Research, and as President of the BDA Metropolitan Branch.

A member of the European Organisation for Caries Research and of the British Association for Teachers of Conservative Dentistry, he is also an Honorary Member of the Association of Consultants and Specialists in Restorative Dentistry and of the British Association of Dental Therapists, and an Honorary Fellow of the Society of British Dental Nurses.

He is an Honorary Consultant Advisor to the Office of the Chief Dental Officer for England, Visiting Professor at CEU Cardinal Herrera University in Valencia, and Distinguished Adjunct Professor at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan University in Bhubaneswar and at Saveetha Dental College and Hospitals in Chennai. He was previously a Visiting Professor at Oman Dental College, and an Honorary Professor at Hong Kong University.

At 7pm on Monday 22 July 2024, Professor Banerjee will be presenting a live CGDent webinar entitled Minimum intervention oral care (MIOC): making caries prevention pay in primary care, which will be free to view all dental professionals. College members will also have free access to the recording of the webinar and can claim CPD hours for free.

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Professor Ario Santini FCGDent has been awarded the College Medal, the College’s most prestigious honour. 

Prof Santini being presented with the certificate formalising his award by outgoing College President, Dr Abhi Pal

Reserved for no more than one recipient per year, the College Medal is awarded for exceptional service to the dental profession and its patients in a manner aligned with the values and mission of the College. Professor Santini has received the award in recognition of his considerable contributions to postgraduate dental education and dental research, including through the College and the former FGDP, during a career spanning more than half a century.

After graduating BDS from the University of Edinburgh in 1966, he studied statistics for a further year, and was a House Officer at Edinburgh Dental Hospital. He was then a general dental practitioner (GDP) in the Lothian region, and partner in a mixed NHS-and-private practice in Edinburgh, for 33 years, and was one of the first GDPs to engage in and publish practice-based research outcomes. For fifteen of these years, he was also a visiting dentist for the Scottish Prison Service, and for ten he was a Clinical Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer, in restorative dentistry and latterly also forensic medicine, at the University of Edinburgh. He was also the first GDP to obtain the DDS degree by thesis from Edinburgh, and later completed a Diploma in Forensic Medicine from the University of Glasgow and a PhD from the University of Nijmegen.

He was a Council member of the Lothian Area Dental Committee for over ten years, including a period of service as Chair, as well as a member of Lothian Health Board and Chair of its General Dental Practitioners sub-committee. He has also served on committees for the National Association of Prison Dentistry, the Oral & Dental Speciality Group of the National Institute for Health and Care Research and the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme.

For almost 20 years, he served the British Dental Association in a number of local, regional and national roles including election to the Scottish Council, the General Dental Services Committee and the Presidency of the East of Scotland Branch.

A founding member of the FGDP, he has been involved with the Faculty, now College, ever since. He achieved the Diploma in General Dental Practice in 1992 and Fellowship in 2010, was appointed to the Faculty Academy in 2020, and is now a Fellow of CGDent.

A member of the Faculty Board for many years, he served on the External Affairs and Quality Control committees and was elected Vice Dean. He also established the FGDP Research Committee, and as Chair for six years was the driving force behind numerous lectures, study days and other initiatives. He was also co-author of the Faculty’s Introduction to research for primary dental care clinicians guidance, which remains available through the College, and which he has recently updated and expanded (together with Professor Kenneth Eaton FCGDent) into a comprehensive 300 page guide. Most recently, he was co-author of The history of the College of General Dentistry: the formation of the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners, which was published in the Dental Historian.[1]

He was also a co-organiser for the Scottish Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education of MGDS exam preparation courses, a lecturer in endodontics and research methodology to Vocational Trainees, a scholarship assessor for the British Society of General Dental Surgery, examiner for the MJDF and MGDS, Honorary Professor at the University of Belgrade and a Visiting Professor at the University of Sassari.

For over a decade he was Director of Biomaterial Research at the Edinburgh Postgraduate Dental Institute, lecturing in research methodology and statistics to postgraduate MSc and PhD students and supervising MClinDent and PhD projects, and for four of these he was also a visiting lecturer in research methodology for undergraduate veterinary students.

From 2010 until his retirement in 2022, he was Professor of Postgraduate Medical Studies at the University of Târgu Mureș, Romania, where he developed and led a course in research methodology for medical students studying for MSc and PhD degrees.

He has been awarded Fellowships of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Glasgow, the Academy of Dental Materials, the Academy of Facial Aesthetics and the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Edinburgh, and has received Life Membership of the British Dental Association and the prestigious Doctor Honoris Causa from the George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology. 

He is also a primary author of three books and over 200 published papers and abstracts, and has been a peer reviewer and editorial board member for a wide range of academic journals. He was among those who created the FGDP’s Primary Dental Care journal, and later Primary Dental Journal, which is still published quarterly by the College. Setting out the latest evidence in the evolving art and science of general dentistry, these journals have formed the intellectual backbone of the Faculty and College, complementary to its guidance and standards publications, through 120 issues to date over 30 years – and in his role as Research Editor, Prof Santini has contributed to every one.

A certificate formalising the award of the College Medal was presented to Prof Santini at the CGDent Fellows’ Summer Reception, which was held at Cutler’s Hall in London on Thursday 20 June. The College has deferred the casting of medals pending grant of a Coat of Arms, which is expected soon. Previous winners (including of the preceding Faculty Medal) were Shelagh Farrell, Mike Mulcahy, Nikolaus Palmer, Professor Ken Eaton, Ian Mills and Andrew Hadden.

Dr Abhi Pal, who conferred the award in one of his final duties as President of the College, said:

“Ario is an extraordinarily committed and accomplished colleague whose contributions to supporting the provision of high quality oral healthcare have been significant and exceptional. The College Medal is the highest honour we bestow, and it is my privilege to be able to confer upon him this most deserved recognition of his remarkable career, and of his record of service to the Faculty, College and profession as a whole.”

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[1] Gordon E, Santini A, Wilson N. The history of the College of General Dentistry: the formation of the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners. Dental Historian, 2024 69 (1) 7-15.

The College has awarded the President’s Award to Professor John Gibson, founder and CEO of The Canmore Trust.

The award, announced during Mental Health Awareness Week and the first of its type to made by the College since it opened in 2021, has been bestowed on Professor Gibson to honour his work on suicide prevention and suicide postvention (the provision of support after someone dies by suicide).

Previously known as the Dean’s Award under the former Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP), it is given at the discretion of the College President to charities, dental professionals and other individuals who have made significant contributions to promoting and improving oral health or public health relevant to dentistry in the UK or internationally.

John Gibson is Emeritus Professor of Oral Medicine at the University of Aberdeen, and Honorary Consultant in Oral Medicine to the British Army. He graduated in both medicine and dentistry from the University of Glasgow, where he also undertook specialist training in oral medicine and completed his PhD in orofacial granulomatosis.

For 35 years, he worked as a clinical academic, with research interests including oral cancer, the oral manifestation of gastrointestinal disorders, and oro-facial pain syndromes. His appointments have included Professor of Medicine in Relation to Dentistry and Honorary Consultant in Oral Medicine at the University of Glasgow, Head of the University of Aberdeen Institute of Dentistry, Associate Postgraduate Dental Dean for Scotland, Chair of the General Dental Council’s Fitness to Practice Committee and Chair of Dental Protection Limited, and he has also worked at the Edinburgh Dental Institute and Dundee Dental Hospital and School.

In the early hours of Sunday 20 October 2019 his life, and that of his wife and family, was suddenly and cruelly changed when his beloved son Cameron, a newly qualified veterinary surgeon, died by suicide aged just 24. He had no known history of psychological distress and left no note to explain his decision – his death remains a mystery to those who knew and loved him.

This devastating event led to a period of mental ill health for John, and both he and his wife Isobel, a GP, resigned from work as they attempted to rebuild their shattered existence. As the family, including his two surviving children, struggled to resume their lives, they began the process of trying to understand suicide, and John and Isobel have since dedicated their time to suicide prevention and postvention, particularly in the medical, dental and veterinary professions.

Discovering that veterinary surgeons in the UK are three to four times more likely than the general population to die by suicide, they drove forward a discussion in the veterinary profession about improving mental health, engaging with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons to bring about changes in drug-handling as well as research into suicidality within the profession.

In 2022 they established The Canmore Trust with a mission to reduce the number of people who die by suicide, and to help the family and friends of those who have died by suicide. The charity works with communities, practices, workplaces, schools, colleges and universities touched by suicide, and provides 24/7 support to those who may need encouragement to stay in the world despite all the struggles and difficulties they are currently facing.

To raise funds and awareness, John and Isobel embarked on multiple events. Most notably John walked 1,200 miles and climbed over 100,000 feet between Land’s End and John O’Groats in the summer of 2022, and he was joined by members of the veterinary and dental professions along the way. The journey inspired many others to mount their own events, and within ten months over £250,000 had been donated.

During the 76-day walk, he also delivered multiple talks to dental and other groups – including 50 dentists at a memorable CGDent evening in Inverness – where he discussed the issues of suicide and mental ill health and encouraged open discussion of these subjects.

John also trained as a facilitator with Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide, and The Canmore Trust trains those impacted by suicide to become “experienced friends” – people who have developed the skills to walk with others on the journey of suicide grief.

The Trust also aims to influence government policies and societal change, and following a chance encounter with Nicola Sturgeon, in September 2022 John was appointed to the Lived Experience Panel advising the Scottish Government’s National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group.

The President’s Award will be conferred by outgoing President Dr Abhi Pal FCGDent at the College’s Fellows’ Summer Reception in London on 20 June.

Announcing the award, Dr Pal said:

“Dentistry can be isolating, stressful and extremely demanding, and we know that the profession is, like veterinary medicine, at a higher-than-average risk of suicide. But while the importance of mental well-being is increasingly being recognised, we all still have much to learn about how we can better support ourselves and each other, both professionally and in our wider lives.

“John’s dogged determination to help others by addressing these issues is an inspiration. He has long been a highly respected colleague, admired as an excellent educator and an engaging, passionate and informative speaker. His candour and openness in discussing his own experiences and personal struggles is compelling, relevant and highly deserving of recognition. He is an example to us all, and on behalf of the College I wish him, and all those involved in The Canmore Trust, all the very best in their important work.”

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