College of General Dentistry Blog

Leadership Masterclass – not just another CPD course

Dr Pardeep Saini AssocFCGDent, a Specialist Orthodontist practising in Bristol, reflects on the College’s Leadership Development Masterclass led by Professor Sreenivas Koka FCGDent and Professor Elizabeth Carr FCGDent.

Have you ever booked onto a CPD course convinced it’s exactly what you need but quietly suspect that it would probably just be…OK?

You clear your clinic weeks in advance. You make the journey, your attention is ‘maintained’ by multiple cups of questionable ‘coffee’, you listen politely for six hours and leave having been reminded of things you already knew. It wasn’t a bad day – it just wasn’t memorable.

If you’ve been there, then you’ll understand why I saw the word “leadership” on the programme and assumed this course would be much the same.

On 14th October 2025 I attended the College’s inaugural Leadership Development Masterclass, and everything began exactly as expected: an early commute into London, a welcome break from clinic and the quiet assumption that I’d leave with a few useful reminders. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It was a day that opened my mind and my heart to a different way of thinking about leadership.

What surprised me most wasn’t the extensive CVs of the speakers. It was the humility with which they shared their failures, their uncertainty and the lessons they’d learnt along the way. This wasn’t leadership as charisma or authority; it was leadership cultivated from curiosity, service and continual learning.

This course has lived with me every day since. I’m still revisiting my notes. I’m still working through the brilliant book references. Concepts from the course still resurface before difficult meetings or when I’m thinking through challenges with my team. I’ve attended many CPD courses over the years; very few continue teaching me long after I’ve left the room.

I was fortunate to hear about lessons taken from a diverse range of sources including the Navy Seals, The Mayo Clinic and M.I.T to name a few. What struck me was how every idea was grounded in evidence. Concepts that could easily have remained abstract were supported by data, research and real experience – a combination that’s surprisingly rare.

Before this course, I tended to think feedback was simply feedback. I now realise that appreciation, coaching and evaluation are all different forms of feedback. Failing to understand the difference and when to use each often leaves team members confused or demoralised – even when our intentions as leaders are good.

Since then, I’ve become much more intentional about conversations with my team. Before giving feedback, I ask myself a simple question: what does this person need from me right now? Recognition? Coaching? Or evaluation? That one change has improved the quality of conversations far more than any leadership skill I’ve previously learnt. This is just one example of the many lessons I learnt at this masterclass. Listing them all would be impossible. Suffice to say the value of the course to me wasn’t the individual learning points but more how it improved the way I think.

I’m fortunate to spend my days as an associate Specialist Orthodontist leading a busy NHS service in primary care. Alongside treating patients, I oversee three orthodontic therapists, a wider clinical support team and have been heavily involved in reception training. It’s a role I love, but one that has occasionally left me feeling less prepared as a leader than I am as a clinician.

As Chair of both the Bristol Orthodontic MCN and, nationally, the Orthodontic Specialists Group at the British Orthodontic Society – leading highly-intelligent and accomplished peers requires a different style of leadership from that used in the clinic, yet I found that the principles from the masterclass apply equally well in both settings.

This masterclass didn’t give me a checklist for becoming a better leader. It gave me something much more valuable: a different way of thinking about people, conversations and responsibility. Those lessons have already changed how I lead today and will undoubtedly shape me as the director of an independent Specialist Orthodontic Practice I hope to build in the future.

I’m deeply grateful to Professor Sreenivas Koka and Professor Elizabeth Carr for sharing their knowledge, ideas and experiences with such honesty and generosity. I’m equally grateful to the College of General Dentistry for organising the masterclass and giving me the opportunity to be part of its inaugural cohort and attend one of the few CPD courses that didn’t require copious cups of coffee to keep me engaged!

We often measure CPD in hours. The best CPD, however, is measured in the decisions it changes long after the certificate has been filed away.

Nearly twelve months on, it’s still teaching me.

The 2026 Leadership Development Masterclass will take place on Thursday 24 September in London. There are limited places available and College members benefit from a reduced fee. To find out more and secure your place, click the button below.

Leadership development masterclass 2026

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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 Blog

Supporting confidence, communication and career development within the dental team

Caroline Persaud, a Clinical Dental Technician and board member of the College’s Faculty of Dental Technology and Clinical Dental Technology, describes her experience of the Foundation Nakao – CGDent Award in Coaching and Mentoring.

I qualified as a Clinical Dental Technician in 2007 and have practised, within my own business, for 19 years. Although I have been on the Faculty Board representing my profession for several years, at times I have lacked the confidence to impart my knowledge and opinions with others without seeming too direct. So when the Foundation Nakao – CGDent Award was announced last year, my primary motivation in applying was to gain skills to support this role. My second driver was that opportunities like this do not come along every day – and it was specifically for Dental Care Professionals. I took the plunge, pushed the nervous twitch to one side, submitted my application and was delighted to be awarded a place.

The course provided an opportunity to step back from day-to-day practice and reflect on how we support colleagues, trainees and the wider profession. Although many of us naturally share knowledge and experience in practice or the laboratory environment, the course helped me gain a greater understanding of the differences between advising, coaching and mentoring. The result was that I gained a base knowledge of how each can positively influence professional growth and confidence.

One of the most valuable aspects of the programme was enjoying learning alongside fellow DCPs from a range of professional backgrounds. The course was delivered online, which I had some reservations about as any type of home-based or non-face-to-face learning is often fraught with distractions. However, all my misgivings were dispelled within the first 45 minutes. The discussions were engaging, supportive and thought-provoking, with relatable content and scenarios that brought about a meeting of minds from the group of DCPs in attendance. The course leaders created an excellent environment for open conversation and shared learning.

The most useful part of the course for me was the Coaching Supervision Interview. Conducted just ahead of Day 3, this exercise gave me the opportunity to put the knowledge learned so far into my everyday practice and illustrate how effective it was for me and my mentee.

Having sat on the Faculty board for some years, I have at times struggled to find my voice. However, I have realised that the environment of smaller gatherings of board members, where your opinions do not feel under scrutiny, seems to bring out my best thoughts and ideas; over time my fear of personal expression has alleviated, and I have truly found my voice. I also perceived that there was a similar pattern within some of my fellow board colleagues, so I wanted to encourage them to grow the same level of confidence to raise their hand and speak aloud. The coaching model I adopted for my test case worked seamlessly. Through a series of questions and conversation, the mentee was able to identify the problem, provide solutions and implement them in real time to achieve the end goal. I must say: it felt satisfying to have made a difference. Perhaps it was a small difference, but ‘mighty oaks from little acorns grow‘.

As all professionals will confess, time is a precious commodity. One of the most poignant moments of Day 2 was a role-play session whereby I was mentor, and my mentee came to me with time management issues. This issue hit home hard; I am known for working some rather unorthodox hours and so I had a vested interest in this scenario. After five minutes of following a particular coaching model, the mentee had devised an action plan that seemed realistic. I sensed that this was genuinely going to be implemented and felt that I had influenced some key decision-making which would benefit the mentee going forward. It also illustrated the versatility of these techniques, and how they can apply to our personal situations as well as our professional roles.

When the final session commenced, there was an air of confidence and a real buzz amongst the delegates. Everyone had started to put into practice the skills learned during Days 1 and 2, and the open discussions revealed the positives and challenges, including some real personal triumphs. The groupwork flowed with a level of calm and conviction, with a real sense of pride that we all had applied ourselves and felt richer for the experience. Three days invested and well worth it!

Since attending, I have become more aware of how effective coaching and mentoring can support confidence, communication and career development within the dental team. The idea that ‘you get out what you put in’ is a timeless principle. As a group, we invested our time, our minds and our passion for the profession. In turn, we all came away enriched compared to where we began at the start of Day 1. If you follow the philosophy learned here, this course will broaden your thinking and provide you with the tools to gain the most from your colleagues, mentees and the wider dental community.

Attending the course was an extremely worthwhile experience, and one I would strongly encourage other Dental Care Professionals to consider applying for now that the course is being run again this year. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is passionate about supporting others and giving something back to the profession along with those who may see their future in a teaching environment of any kind.

An extended thank you to Foundation Nakao and to Professor Avijit Banerjee FCGDent for their generosity, and for working with the College to provide DCPs with this opportunity.

The Foundation Nakao – CGDent Award 2026 is now open to registered dental therapists, dental hygienists, dental nurses, orthodontic therapists, dental technicians and clinical dental technicians with at least two years’ post-qualification experience in their role. Applications close on Friday 31 July. To find out more and apply, click the button below:

Foundation nakao – CGDent award 2026

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College of General Dentistry News

CGDent-GC Award 2026 – winners

The College of General Dentistry, GC and The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation would like to congratulate the successful candidates in the 2026 CGDent and GC Award for Foundation Trainees, and thank everyone who entered.

A selection of successful cases which illustrate a range of different types of cases entered in the award. Cases submitted by (L-R) Dr Esha Gupta, Dr Xiaoyu Foo and Dr Lance Lesterpearson

This year, all 14 winning entrants are dentists, who between them studied at eight different dental schools and are now completing their Foundation / Vocational Training through eight different deaneries across the regions and nations of the UK.

Candidate nameUndergraduate qualificationEducational Supervisor(s)Deanery
Dr Abdurahman AbdiBDS Cardiff University 2025Dr Sian BlackshawWales
Dr Sahand AbolfathiBDS University of Glasgow 2025Dr Bushra BashirScotland
Dr Mariam AhmedBDS Newcastle University 2025Dr Rosie Johnston, Dr Heather CoventryNorth East and Cumbria
Dr Xiaoyu FooBDS University of Dundee 2025Dr Iain BuftonScotland
Dr Esha GuptaBDS University of Plymouth 2025Dr Saleem MullaMidlands
Dr Joshua HurleyBDS King’s College London 2025Dr Niloy KariaLondon and Kent, Surrey and Sussex
Dr Anushka KapourBDS University of Plymouth 2025Dr Deepa Shah, Dr Neil ShahLondon and Kent, Surrey and Sussex
Dr Daniel LekhiBDS University of Birmingham 2025Dr Brenda Macmillan, Dr Rebecca HamiltonThames Valley and Wessex
Dr Lance LesterpearsonBDS University of Plymouth 2024Dr Mohammed FaisalLondon and Kent, Surrey and Sussex
Dr Aqil MatinBDS University of Manchester 2025Dr Emily McConnellNorth West
Dr Imane NagiBDS University of Birmingham 2025Dr Bharat ModhwadiaNorth West
Dr Priyanka ShahBDS University of Dundee 2025Dr Nava Darzi, Dr Hardeep MatharuEast of England
Dr Safa ShareefBDS University of Manchester 2025Dr Jemma HookNorth West
Dr Heba TurkiBDS Newcastle University 2025Dr Neesha ChopraNorth East and Cumbria

To enter, each participant submitted a restorative case which included at least one anterior tooth restored with composite. Cases entered involved a range of restorative treatments including those for midline diastema, dental trauma, tooth wear and peg shaped laterals. View all the successful cases here.

The award was open to dentists and dental therapists who graduated in the UK or Ireland in 2025 and/or are undergoing Dental Foundation Training, Dental Vocational Training or Joint Dental Foundation Core Training in 2025-26. Entries were received from dentists and dental therapists around the country.  

The assessment panel, which comprised Trustees of The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and senior members of the College, scored each case based on a set of assessment criteria which allocated points to overall improvement in the patient’s oral health (including periodontal health), the standard of aesthetic treatment, the complexity of the case and the quality of the entrant’s reflection.

The successful candidates are each awarded a fully-funded place on a two-day composite layering course which is taking place on 23-24 July 2026 at GC’s European Education Campus in Leuven, Belgium. The prize includes international travel and hotel costs and is worth around £1,400 per place.

The CGDent-GC Award is funded by The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and organised in conjunction with the College and GC.

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

GC is an oral health company which manufactures dental systems and products which are sold around the world, and has won awards for its products and innovations. It provides both online and in-person training covering many areas of dental practice. 

The College, GC and the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation also collaborate on the new Tom Bereznicki Award for Tooth Wear Cases, which is currently open to dentists who qualified between 2020 and 2024, and who practise in the UK or Ireland, until Monday 10 August 2026, and which will offer up to 20 successful candidates a fully-funded place on a one-day, hands-on course on composite injection moulding technique.

The next round of the CGDent-CG Award will open in September 2026. For further information, visit our award page. To receive email notification when the competition opens, register your interest via the button below:

REGISTER YOUR INTEREST

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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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College of General Dentistry News

Foundation Nakao – CGDent Award in Coaching and Mentoring 2026

The 2026 Foundation Nakao – CGDent Coaching and Mentoring Award for Dental Care Professionals is now open.

Establishing a mentor 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.

Thanks to sponsorship by Foundation Nakao, generously donated through Prof Avijit Banerjee FCGDent, and following the success of the 2025 award, we are able once again to a number of places on a three day training course in mentoring and coaching in 2026.

The award is open to College members who are registered as a dental therapist, dental hygienist, dental nurse, orthodontic therapist, dental technician or clinical dental technician. Our aspiration is to cultivate a community of College members amongst Dental Care Professionals who are equipped and confident to nurture their peers, and dentist members are therefore asked to support this aim by highlighting the opportunity to dental team colleagues.

The short course will be delivered synchronously online, using the Zoom platform, by UMD Professional, an organisation with more than thirty years of experience with dentistry, medicine, healthcare and law, to establishing coaching and mentoring practices within organisations*.

Caroline Persaud, a clinical dental technician and board member of the College’s Faculty of Clinical Dental Technology & Dental Technology, was awarded a place on the course last year. She shares her experience of the course in a College blog and in the video below.

Course dates

  • Day 1. Friday 9 October 2026
  • Day 2. Saturday 10 October 2026
  • Day 3 Friday 27 November 2026

Applicants must:

  1. Hold a current membership of the College at the time of application, in one of the registered Dental Care Professional roles. Join today.
  2. Have at least two years of post-qualification experience in the role.
  3. Be available to participate in all three days of the training.
  4. Be prepared to:
    • apply mentoring or coaching skills between Day 2 and Day 3.
    • apply the learning to support less experienced colleagues through the College
    • contribute to the promotion of the experience in mentorship through an article or at a College event.

To apply

Download and complete the application form, which should be submitted by email to [email protected] using the subject line “Application for Foundation Nakao – CGDent Award 2026”.

DOWNLOAD

The deadline for applications is 11.59pm on Friday 31 July 2026.

Places will be awarded based on candidates’ motivations, commitment to professional development and potential for impact in their practice and more widely, as evidenced through their application form. Successful applicants will be informed by email in August.

Foundation Nakao – also known as The Nakao Foundation for Worldwide Oral Health – was founded in Luzern in 2018 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 and The Tom Bereznicki Award for Tooth Wear Cases.

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College of General Dentistry News

Fellowships for the whole dental team

The College has launched fellowships for each role in the wider dental team.

Recognising professional accomplishment in clinical and other areas of practice, the new fellowships are:

  • Fellowship in Dental Nursing – FDN (CGDent)
  • Fellowship in Orthodontic Therapy – FOT (CGDent)
  • Fellowship in Dental Hygiene – FDH (CGDent)
  • Fellowship in Dental Therapy – FDTher (CGDent)
  • Fellowship in Dental Technology – FDTech (CGDent)
  • Fellowship in Clinical Dental Technology – FCDT (CGDent)

The launch of the new fellowships represents a significant advance in the professional recognition available to members of the wider dental team.

It is also the latest stage in the fulfilment of the College’s founding ambition to promote and develop the whole team, and follows the recent inauguration of Deans to lead its Faculty of Dental Nursing & Orthodontic Therapy, Faculty of Dental Hygiene & Dental Therapy and Faculty of Clinical Dental Technology & Dental Technology.

Every registered Dental Care Professional is eligible to join the College as an Associate Member. Those holding a recognised and relevant Postgraduate Certificate may join as (or upgrade to become) a Full Member (MCGDent), and those satisfying any one of the College’s five fellowship domains (see below) can qualify as an Associate Fellow (AssocFCGDent).

The six new fellowships are open to dental professionals with at least ten years’ experience in practice who fulfil the requirements of any two of the College’s fellowship domains. Each domain has a range of possible routes to eligibility. Example routes are in the following table:

Fellowship domainSummary / example routes
Clinical & TechnicalRecognised and relevant PgDip or Master’s degree  
Teaching & AssessmentFHEA or FAcadMEd or  
PgCert in Dental, Medical or Clinical Education plus 3 years’ service in a recognised role or  
8 years’ service in a recognised role plus either 27 hours’ relevant and recent CPD or FDTFEd  
Leadership, Management & Clinical GovernanceDiploma-level leadership qualification or
Certificate-level leadership qualification plus 3 years’ leadership experience or  
3 years’ senior leadership experience plus 10 hours’ relevant and recent CPD
Research & PublicationsPhD or
Master’s degree including a research dissertation worth 30+ credits or
5+ peer-reviewed articles published in MEDLINE-indexed publications or Dental Update
Law & EthicsPgCert or PgDip in a legally-related subject relevant to dentistry plus 1 year’s experience in a relevant role or  
5 years’ experience in a relevant role plus 10 hours’ relevant and recent CPD

A Fellow in Dental Nursing, Orthodontic Therapy, Dental Hygiene, Dental Therapy, Dental Technology or Clinical Dental Technology may also become a College Fellow (FCGDent) should they meet the requirements of a third fellowship domain. Fellowship for dentists is only available in the form of College Fellowship, requiring satisfaction of three domains.

Fellows are senior members of the College, with their Fellowship marking them out as ‘Accomplished Practitioners’ on the College’s Career Pathway. Providing leadership and support to the development of dentistry, they can attend the College’s biannual Fellows’ Receptions, and have the opportunity for ceremonial admission by the President.

In addition to enhanced professional standing, Fellows and Associate Fellows of the College receive a reduction in their dental indemnity fees with Dental Protection. They can also enrol on a one year, part-time, distance learning MSc in General Dental Practice (which in itself satisfies the Research & Publications domain of fellowship).

All College members receive quarterly print issues of the Primary Dental Journal, the only peer-reviewed professional development journal dedicated to general dental practice, as well as free or heavily discounted access to live CPD events, study days and networking opportunities.

Dental hygienists, dental therapists, dental technicians, clinical dental technicians and orthodontic therapists all receive a one-third discount on the College’s standard membership fees. Dental nurses receive a two-thirds discount, as do retired members and overseas practitioners.

There is no fee for applying to become a Fellow, and existing members who successfully upgrade will only start paying the applicable higher membership fee from their next annual renewal.

Full details of the College’s fellowship domains, and a link to apply for the relevant Fellowship, are available via the button below:

FELLOWSHIP DOMAINS

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