Marking another milestone

Igor Blum FCGDent, Clinical Professor of Primary Care Dentistry and Advanced General Dental Practice at King’s College London and Editor of the Primary Dental Journal, and Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent, President Emeritus of the College and the journal’s first Editor, celebrate the publication of its fiftieth issue

Prof Igor Blum FCGDent (left) and Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent (right)

The latest issue of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ) – the 50th to date – is a truly special ‘general dentistry’ edition marking this significant milestone.

Not only does the PDJ have a rich history of serving general dental practice, but it is also one of the premier journals for intellectual discourse on all aspects of primary dental care pertinent to members of the whole dental team.

First published in 2012, shepherded under the tenure as Editor-in-Chief of the then Professor (now Sir) Nairn Wilson, it brought together three publications of the former Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP[UK]): Primary Dental Care (a research journal for dentists), Team in Practice (a journal for Dental Care Professionals) and the newsletter First Hand.

The fourth volume of the journal, published in 2015, was produced with the assistance of a new Clinical Editor – Dr (now Professor) Igor Blum. In addition to themed issues on Consent (curated by Guest Editor, Andy Toy), Special Care Dentistry (Guest Editors, Debbie Chandler and Richard Valle-Jones) and Paediatric Dentistry (Guest Editor, Richard Welbury), the volume included the journal’s first ‘general issue’ with papers on a range of topics, including temporomandibular dysfunction, contemporary laboratory work, tooth surface loss, the effects of bisphosphonates in implant dentistry, reducing harm (iatrogenic damage) in the provision of care, risk assessment and the prevention and management of dry sockets.

Volume 6, issue 1 was a special, one-off, commemorative issue of PDJ to help mark and celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the formation of the FGDP(UK). In addition to a ‘conversation’ between Professor Nairn Wilson and the then Dean of the Faculty, Mick Horton, and a photo montage of the history of the faculty, the issue included commissioned papers by leading dental experts in the UK. This commemorative issue and the subsequent two themed issues – Dental Emergencies (Guest Editor, Russ Ladwa) and Extended Integrated Care (Guest Editor, Kathy Fan) were Professor Wilson’s last contributions to PDJ before passing on the baton to Dr Blum in 2017.

Professor Blum’s first issue as Editor-in-Chief was the December 2017 (Volume 6, issue 4) themed issue on Removable Prosthodontics (Guest Editor, Graham Stokes). Professor Blum’s vision for the journal was to evolve, grow and, in the process, continue to go from strength to strength. A further vision was to make the journal accessible on an international level, rather than limiting it to the readership in the UK, for the benefit of primary dental care teams and their patients around the world.

Within each annual volume, two or three issues are themed on specific and relevant fields of interest, and one or two ‘general dentistry’ issues cover a wide range of topics. Each issue offers a combination of research, clinical best practice papers and scenario articles which allow the whole dental team to work together to improve standards of patient care. In Spring 2021 the PDJ published its 10th Volume Anniversary special issue celebrating this remarkable milestone.

After nine years’ publication by the FGDP(UK), the College took over in 2021, and this 2025 Spring issue marks fifty issues of the journal as a source for dissemination of contemporary research, clinical and non-clinical articles relevant to general dental practice.

Since its inception, the PDJ has evolved substantially and earned an established place as an authoritative source in today’s dental literature. As such, it provides CGDent with one of its most valued membership benefits. While its purpose has been constant – to be a professional development journal for the whole dental team, and a record and source of news about the College – its editorial and production processes and standards have evolved over the years.

Most significantly, in 2019 the FGDP entered into a contract with Sage Publishing and the PDJ has progressed from an in-house ‘cottage industry’ publication to an internationally accessible publication with an electronic editorial management platform, ScholarOne. As such the journal benefits from the resources available through our publisher, which has facilitated its continued growth.

Over the years, we have watched with great pleasure how the PDJ has grown and gained ever-increasing standing and status in becoming an internationally recognised and esteemed journal, aimed at the whole primary care team. The journal is now indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus, and 1,500 papers – past and present – are available online to CGDent members through the PDJ Library and in over 10,000 academic institutions worldwide.

With the current international exposure of articles published in the PDJ, there have been many thousands of downloads and citations of articles. This confirms that the PDJ has an international reach and impact on the dental team and clinical practice, both nationally and internationally, improving standards of patient care.

As a result, the PDJ has started to attract international dental experts as guest editors. In the context of a new membership organisation borne out of a more established one, the journal has also played a central role in providing reassurance and continuity of service to members over the last four years and has developed an important role in supporting the College’s membership retention and growth.

Looking back, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the very many authors, guest editors, peer reviewers, staff and others who have contributed to each of the 50 issues to date and enabled us to reach this important milestone.

Special thanks must be extended to the former and current managing editors of the journal – Amy Brewerton, Hillevi Sellén, and Lily Atkins; to a member of the founding Editorial Board, Ario Santini FCGDent, who continues to provide highly rated abstracts of relevance to the contents of each issue of the journal; and to Darren Westlake, who has designed the covers and laid out the figures in each and every issue.

We are confident that we have created an attractive, distinctive, reader-friendly journal and it is our hope that you will enjoy the 50th issue and join the previous and current editorial team in celebrating all it stands for.

A list of the themed editions within the first 50 issues of the PDJ is available here

The titles and abstracts of PDJ papers are available to all dental professionals via the searchable PDJ homepage, with full paper access available to College members through the PDJ Library

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College celebrates 50th issue of the Primary Dental Journal

The College has this week published the fiftieth issue of the Primary Dental Journal, its quarterly peer-reviewed professional development journal for General Dental Practitioners and Dental Care Professionals working in primary care.

Translating current evidence into best practice, each issue of the PDJ offers a combination of research, clinical best practice papers and scenario articles which allow the whole dental team to work together to improve standards of patient care. Unique in its dedication to general dental practice, the PDJ’s general issues include a range of papers on a variety of relevant topics of interest, and its themed issues explore subjects in depth and are guest edited by renowned experts in their fields.

First published in 2012, the PDJ brought together three publications of the former Faculty of General Dental Practice of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FGDP): Primary Dental Care (a research journal for dentists), Team in Practice (a journal for Dental Care Professionals) and the newsletter First Hand. Since 2019, the PDJ has been published in partnership with one of the world’s leading journal publishers, and the College took over editorial production from the FGDP in 2021.

CGDent is the UK’s only medical college run by and for dental professionals, and welcomes all oral health professionals into Associate Membership and those with relevant postgraduate qualifications, skills and experience into Full Membership, Associate Fellowship and Fellowship. Supporting professional development and recognition for the whole dental team, the College is building on the achievements of the FGDP in setting standards for general dental care, and has a vision to achieve Royal College standing.

The PDJ is printed and distributed to the College’s UK and international members, indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus, and 1,500 papers past and present are available online to College members and in over 10,500 academic institutions worldwide.

In addition to 9 general issues to date, themed issues of the PDJ have been published on:

  • Infection prevention and control
  • Radiology and radiation protection (x2)
  • Implant dentistry (x3)
  • Management of caries
  • Aesthetic dentistry (x3)
  • Medical emergencies
  • Advances in the restoration of posterior teeth
  • Non-surgical therapy and management of periodontal disease (x2)
  • Prescribing in dentistry
  • Communication, complaints & consent
  • Special care dentistry (x2)
  • Paediatric dentistry (x2)
  • Oral mucosal disease
  • Endodontics (x2)
  • Tooth wear
  • Orthodontics
  • Operative dentistry
  • Dental emergencies
  • Extended integrated care
  • Removable prosthodontics
  • Digital dentistry (x2)
  • Primary care oral surgery (x2)
  • Dental pain & anxiety
  • Dento-legal matters
  • Fixed prosthodontics
  • Oral health and the ageing population
  • Leadership and professionalism
  • Urgent dental care & COVID-19
  • Dental trauma

The titles and abstracts for papers in all these issues are available to all dental professionals via the searchable PDJ homepage, with full paper access available to members of the College through the PDJ Library (members will need to be logged in to see this page).

Fittingly, the new 50th issue is a bumper ‘General dentistry’ edition with papers covering a wide range of topics such as an assessment of how artificial intelligence can assist in the evaluation of patients’ medical histories; a guide to skin cancer and what to look for in protecting your patients; how digital innovations can enhance occlusal diagnostics and treatment precision; the role of hypnosis in patient stress and pain management; and minimum intervention oral care. In this special issue, six papers have been made available in full to the whole dental profession free of charge. A full list of papers is available here

A reception to celebrate the first 50 issues of the PDJ was recently held in London, hosted by Professor Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent (Chair of the first Editorial Board), Professor Igor Blum FCGDent (current Editor-in-Chief) and Dr Roshni Karia MCGDent (President of the College).

The next three issues of the PDJ will be on oral medicine, leadership and temporomandibular disorders, and dental professionals can make sure to receive these by joining the College. Membership is available from £45 and includes a range of other benefits.

While full PDJ access is reserved for members, non-members can access the College’s standards and guidance publications free of charge online, and receive its free monthly email of news and events, by becoming a College Subscriber

Commenting on the publication of the 50th issue, Sir Nairn and Prof Blum said:

“The Primary Dental Journal has a rich history of serving general dental practice, and is pertinent to members of the whole dental team. It has earned an established place as an authoritative source in today’s dental literature and is one of the premier journals for intellectual discourse on all aspects of primary dental care. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the very many authors, guest editors, peer reviewers, staff and others who have contributed to each of the 50 issues to date and enabled us to reach this important milestone.”

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Widening the Circle – ‘1992’ meetings now open to all retired members

The College has expanded eligibility to join its 1992 Circle to all fully retired members.

Cutler’s Hall, London; venue for the next 1992 Circle gathering

Created shortly after the inception of the College, the 1992 Circle initially brought together a dedicated group of retired College Fellows and past Fellows of the Faculty of General Dental Practice with a shared enthusiasm for the work of the College.

The group is named in honour of the year the FGDP(UK) was founded, a key moment which brought together the members of the College of General Dental Practitioners (UK) and the former RCS Advisory Board in General Dental Practice with the shared ambition to create an independent College over time.

More than 30 years later, the 1992 Circle celebrates the vision of those who put the general dental profession in the UK on a journey towards independent collegiate status. Bringing the benefit of our members’ significant experience to the work of the College today, the Circle promotes their continued standing in the profession in retirement and creates a sociable network of like-minded individuals.

Since its formation, the 1992 Circle has since held a series of gatherings prior to the College’s biannual Fellows’ Receptions, and its members have been involved in recording the histories of the formation of the FGDP and of FGDP qualifications, and in raising funds to secure the College’s Coat of Arms. The Circle has also fed into discussions on the ambitions and priorities for the future development of the College.

The College is now building on this by extending Circle membership to all fully retired members, with the aim of fostering continued close connections with and between our whole retired community.

Retired members enjoy the same benefits, rights and privileges of the College as practising members, but enjoy a fee discount of up to 66% from their next renewal – and there is no additional charge for membership of the 1992 Circle.

Circle members receive special invitations to College events, as well as periodic updates from its Convenor, Sir Nairn Wilson CBE, and information on the events and activities of the Lindsay Society for the History of Dentistry.

All members of the College who are already fully retired from practice have now been enrolled in the 1992 Circle, and College members who are currently in practice will be enrolled once fully retired.

Members of the 1992 Circle are invited, for their Winter 2025 gathering – the first since the expansion in membership – to attend a special reception marking the 50th issue of the Primary Dental Journal. This takes place on the afternoon of Thursday 30 January 2025 in London. There is no charge for this event, but prior registration via the button below is requested.

Circle members are also invited to join the online Annual Members’ Meeting on 4 March 2025, and will soon be invited to the inaugural College Lecture and the Fellows’ Summer Reception in Sheffield on 13 June 2025. Details will be circulated soon, and interest will also be gauged in holding a 1992 Circle Lunch the same day.

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Nominations open for Council elections

Nominations are now open for elections to six seats on the College Council, and all Full Members, Associate Fellows and Fellows of the College are invited to nominate themselves as candidates.

Nominations are sought for the following seats:

  • East of Scotland
  • National representative
  • Overseas representative
  • South East & South West Thames
  • Wessex & Oxford
  • West & North of Scotland

Candidates for regional seats must live or work within that region, and be registered with that region with CGDent. Candidates for the National seat must live or work in the UK, and have a registered UK address with CGDent. Candidates for the Overseas seat must practice dentistry wholly outside the UK, and have a registered overseas address with CGDent.

All eligible members as at 16 January 2025 have been 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, where you will be asked for further information, the names of two supporting members, and to submit an election statement.

Members may stand simultaneously for both the National seat and the regional seat for which they are eligible (if applicable) by submitting a separate nomination form for each seat.

Further information on the role, nomination requirements and the election timetable can be found via the button below.

The deadline for receipt of nominations is Sunday 16 February 2025.

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 to answer any questions you may have about the role and the process. Please get in touch via [email protected]

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College Summer Reception

Friday 13 June 2025, 5pm-8pm

The Old Banqueting Hall, Cutlers’ Hall, 7-15 Church St, Sheffield S1 1HG

The College Summer Reception, incorporating the fourth annual College Fellows’ Summer Reception, is an opportunity to network with your peers in the grand surroundings of the historic Cutlers’ Hall, Sheffield.

All dental professionals and those with professional interests in contemporary dentistry are invited to attend, with discounted tickets available to College members.

The Summer Reception will include the ceremonial admission of new Fellows, and for the first time also Associate Fellows of the College. The President’s Award will also be presented during the Reception, and the 2025 winner of the prestigious College Medal will be announced (tbc). Photographs of the event will be made available to attendees shortly afterwards to download free of charge.

Taking place at 5pm to 8pm, with registration open from 4.30pm, it follows the 1992 Circle Lunch (12.30pm-2pm – open to all College members) and the Inaugural College of General Dentistry Lecture, which will be delivered by Martin Kelleher FCGDent, Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at King’s College Dental Hospital.

For these events, we will also be gathering alumni, course directors and examiners to celebrate the achievements of the Diploma in Restorative Dentistry programme which was established 20 years ago by our predecessor organisation, the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP). 

These special events are open to all dental professionals and others with professional interests in contemporary dental practice.

Tickets can now be booked via the button below, with ‘Early Bird’ rates currently available:

Lecture onlyReception onlyLecture & Reception
Member or Fellow£20 £15£55 £40£65 £50
Non-member£30 £20£75 £60£95 £70

Associate Fellows and recent Fellows expecting to be ceremonially admitted may book their place at the reception free of charge until 30 April.

Non-members or existing members applying for Fellowship who wish to be ceremonially admitted at the reception are advised to submit their applications as soon as possible in order to allow enough time for admissions procedures to be completed.

Information on eligibility for Fellowship of the College (FCGDent) and Associate Fellowship (AssocFCGDent) is available here

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Birmingham meet-and-greet

Friday 16 May (9am-5.30pm) & Saturday 17 May 2025 (9am-5pm)Birmingham

Hall 5, National Exhibition Centre, North Ave, Marston Green, Birmingham B40 1NT

The College invites all dental professionals to visit its exhibition stand (Q01) at British Dental Conference and Dentistry Show 2025

College members and non-members alike are encouraged to come and introduce themselves, to find out more about the College and have their queries answered.

Perhaps you have questions about your membership or how to access your benefits? Or want to know whether you’re eligible for Full Membership, Associate Fellowship or Fellowship? Or you wonder how to download your membership certificate, what Life Fellowship is, or how to add your qualifications to the Member Register?

Maybe you’re a former member of FGDP(UK) uncertain of your College status, or the correct way to present your Faculty post-nominals?

Or perhaps you’re a non-member who’s not yet heard much about the College and just wants to find out why we were set up, what our plans are or how we can help you in your career?

Whatever your query, senior College members and staff will be there throughout the conference to help you out, and we’ll have live access to our systems to help solve membership queries on the spot.

Or even if you don’t have a query, we’d be delighted to meet you!

The College is also an education partner for the Enhanced CPD Theatre, where it is hosting four lectures.

The British Dental Conference and Dentistry Show is the UK’s largest dental event, giving you access to 400 exhibitors and 10,000 fellow dental professionals, and offering 200 lectures across 11 CPD theatres.

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New messaging service for members

College members can now contact each other via the new Member Messaging service.

The free service has been developed to enable members to establish or re-establish contact with other members so that they can help, guide and collaborate with each other.

All members of the College can both send and receive messages via the new system, which will also be available to those non-members who join the College’s forthcoming Register of Implant Dentistry Mentors, and will enable College members to contact non-members on that register.

To be able to receive messages, members must opt in within the ‘Preferences’ section of their online account, and must also have not opted out of appearing on the College’s online Member Register. Those admitted to the Register of Implant Dentistry Mentors will be opted in by default. Scroll down for full instructions.

Messages are initiated by clicking the ‘Message’ link on the intended recipient’s individual page on the Member Register. If available, the message link will appear directly underneath the intended recipient’s name near the top of the page, and clicking it will open a new page where a subject line and message can be entered and sent. If the message link does not appear, this means either that the sender has not logged in or that the intended recipient has not opted in to receiving messages.

When a message is sent, the recipient is alerted to it by an email which provides a link to their Member Messaging inbox, where they can read and reply to the message. Their reply is then sent to the original sender’s Member Messaging inbox and likewise triggers email notification.

The system has been designed to keep members’ email addresses confidential, though users are free to share their contact details within correspondence should they wish.

Further information is available on your personal Member Messaging page. Please note this page will only be visible if you are a member of the College, and only when logged in.

How to enable other members to contact you

1. Sign in to your account using the email address you have registered with the College.

If you need to use the ‘Forgot Password’ option, please check your junk/spam folder in case the password reset email is directed there

2. Click Update my account

3. Click  Preferences

4. Under Exclude my details from the Register of Members & Fellows, select No

5. Under Allow messaging by other Members & Fellows, select Yes

6. Click Save changes

If ‘Save changes’ cannot be completed, you may first need to complete other fields on the ‘Update my account’ page

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