Oral medicine, leadership and TMD – PDJ themes for 2025

The College has announced the themes and guest editors for the 2025 issues (volume 14) of its Primary Dental Journal (PDJ).

(l-r) 2025 PDJ guest editors: Dr Ziad Al-Ani, Dr Emma Hayes and Professor Sreenivas Koka FCGDent

The Spring issue will be a general edition with articles covering a wide range of topics relevant to general dental practice. The 50th issue of the PDJ, it is expected to be published in April.

The Summer issue will be the first to be dedicated to oral medicine. Due out in July, it will be guest-edited by Dr Emma Hayes.

The Autumn issue, devoted to leadership in dentistry, will be guest-edited by Professor Sreenivas Koka FCGDent and will go to press in late September.

The Winter issue will be the first thematic edition of the PDJ to explore temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Guest-edited by Dr Ziad Al-Ani, it will be distributed in December.

Uniquely dedicated to primary dental care, PDJ is the College’s quarterly, peer-reviewed, professional development journal. In partnership with one of the world’s leading journal publishers, each issue is printed and distributed to the College’s UK and international members and subscribers, indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus, and made available online in over 10,500 academic institutions worldwide.

Dr Hayes is a Consultant and Clinical Lead in Oral Medicine at King’s College London Dental Institute, with special interests in facial pain and paediatric oral medicine conditions. After qualifying as a doctor from the University of Oxford in 2008, she worked in the north of England and gained Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. She then studied dentistry on King’s College London’s three-year programme for medical graduates, also working part-time in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Graduating in 2013, she completed specialty training in oral medicine at the Eastman Dental Hospital in 2019. She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education from University College London and contributed to the 2023 update of the Oral Medicine Specialty Training Curriculum.

Professor Koka is Dean of the University of Mississippi Dental School. 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 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 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 both Koka Dental Clinic and the non-profit Career Design in Dentistry in San Diego. 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. Author/co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed articles and nine book chapters, he is co-founder of the Future Leaders in Prosthodontics (FLiP) programme and founder of the Shaping the Future of Implant Dentistry (SHIFT) leadership workshop series. Brought up in Romford, he emigrated to the United States at the age of 19 and is one of 16 dentists in his family.

Dr Al-Ani is a Senior Lecturer and Senior Recognised-Excellence-in-Teaching Fellow at the University of Glasgow Dental School, and former professor of Temporomandibular Disorders at the College of Medicine and Dentistry. He graduated BDS and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Damascus, before being awarded an MSc in Prosthodontics and PhD on temporomandibular disorders and occlusion at the University of Manchester. He then became a Clinical Teacher in Restorative Dentistry and Research Co-ordinator for the TMD clinic at Manchester, later obtaining Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice. He is a former Director of the International Association for Dental Research’s Prosthodontics Research Group, former member of the editorial board of the Journal of Prosthodontics, and author of the books ‘Temporomandibular Disorders: A Problem-Based Approach’ and ‘Practical Procedures in Dental Occlusion’. 

Submissions will be accepted for the issue on leadership until 7 January 2025 and for the issue on TMD until 7 April 2025. Submissions on any other topic relevant to primary dental care can be made until 7 July 2025 for consideration for the Spring 2026 general issue. Instructions for authors are available here.


Dr Al-Ani’s paper, Whiplash-associated temporomandibular disorders: a review article (PDJ vol. 12, no. 1, March 2023) has been made available for all dental professionals to download free of charge.

He was also author of Temporomandibular Joint Osteoarthrosis: a review of clinical aspects and management (vol. 10, no. 1, March 2021) and Occlusion and Temporomandibular Disorders: a long-standing controversy in dentistry (vol. 9. no. 1, April 2020), and co-author of Occlusion on a single implant-supported crown: any differences? (vol. 11, no. 2, June 2022).

These are available in the online PDJ Library to College members and PDJ subscribers, as is Dr Hayes’ paper, An overview of vesicobullous conditions affecting the oral mucosa, (vol. 5 no. 1, March 2016).

Members can read these articles by logging in via the button below, then clicking ‘Access the PDJ Library’:

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Introduction to digital dentistry for early career dentists

Friday 28 November – Saturday 29 November 2025

Dentsply Sirona Academy, Building 3, The Heights, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 0NY

Places on this course are awarded to successful candidates in the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry.

The Introduction to Digital Dentistry course, which combines theory, demonstrations and hands-on experience, has been designed by Dr Tom Bereznicki and Dr Chris Leech specifically for early career dentists with limited or no experience of practising within a digital workflow. It provides a comprehensive introduction to digital dentistry techniques, and how harnessing them can enhance your aesthetic practice and patient care.

The two-day course will mainly focus on the hands-on elements of learning with additional theory and material science modules delivered through pre-course and post-course videos.

The course will take you step-by-step through the complete process of creating a digitally produced crown, from scanning to cementation, and provisionally includes:

  • Presentations on digital dentistry and digital dentures
  • Short demonstrations followed by comprehensive hands-on experience of:
    • Scanning each other
    • Scanning a preparation of a restoration on a pre-prepared model
    • Using software to design your final restoration
    • Demonstration of programming and milling processes
    • Adjustment and polishing techniques using pre-milled crowns that fit the model
    • Cementation of the crown onto the model

Refreshments and lunch are provided on both days.

The course accommodates 12 participants and is repeated on two further dates: Friday 14 – Saturday 15 November 2025 and early 2026 (date to be confirmed).

Course leaders

Dr Tom Bereznicki
BDS (Edin), FDS RCS (Ed), MFDTEd, FCGDent, MFDSEng

After graduating from Edinburgh, Dr Bereznicki worked as a house surgeon at Guy’s and The Royal Dental Hospitals before entering general dental practice, in which he has over 40 years’ experience. With a special interest in restorative dentistry, in particular occlusion and emergence profile, he was also a visiting clinical specialist teacher at King’s College London Dental Institute and later joined the teaching faculty for the university’s MSc in Aesthetic Dentistry. In 2018, he joined the Academy of Dental Excellence as a senior specialist teacher, and in 2021 became a partner associate lecturer for the University of Portsmouth’s Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Aesthetic and Restorative Dentistry. In 2023, he founded the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation which supports educational opportunities for early career dental professionals. A former member of the FGDP and Founder Member of CGDent, he has been a Fellow of the College since 2022 and is a member of both the Faculty of Dental Trainers at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He is also a regional speaker on occlusion for the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.

Dr Chris Leech
BDS, MAGDS RCS (Ed), MFDS RCPS (Glasg), Dip Imp Dent RCS (Ed), FDS RCS (Ed), FCGDent

A graduate of Newcastle Dental School, Dr Leech is a partner in a private dental practice and the Scientific Director of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He holds the Diploma in Implant Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, for which he is now an examiner. He was also the first dentist to be awarded the Membership for Advanced General Dental Surgery by RCS Edinburgh and is a Fellow of its Faculty of Dental Surgery. He is also a member of the Society for the Advancement of Anaesthesia in Dentistry and of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and is a Fellow of the College of General Dentistry.

Dr Bal Rohal
BDS (Kings) Hons

Dr Sohal is a cosmetic dentist who has showcased his work in presentations in the UK and US. He is experienced in the use of digital workflows, in particular for restoring single unit restorations and aesthetic multi-unit veneers, crowns and onlays. He graduated BDS from King’s College London in 2018, where he was undergraduate president of the dental society and was awarded the Guy’s Full Shield, awards from the Richard Dickinson USA Trust Fund and King’s Opportunity Fund, the Gold Star Award and the Jelf Medal for the most distinguished undergraduate.

Attending the course

The Introduction to Digital Dentistry course has been created solely for the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry, which is open to dentists who qualified in the UK or Ireland between 2019 to 2023, or who qualified overseas between 2019 to 2023 and have been practising in the UK for at least the past two years. Successful candidates will each be awarded a fully funded place on one of three course dates, and hotel accommodation, UK travel and subsistence will also be covered.

To enter, eligible dentists must submit an aesthetic case they plan to treat with a mainly analogue workflow, which involves more than one tooth, including at least one anterior tooth, and the use of composite to restore teeth.

The entry deadline is Friday 23 May 2025*.

*The entry deadline has been extended from 17 January 2025.

Introduction to digital dentistry for early career dentists

Friday 14 November – Saturday 15 November 2025

Dentsply Sirona Academy, Building 3, The Heights, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 0NY

Places on this course are awarded to successful candidates in the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry.

The Introduction to Digital Dentistry course, which combines theory, demonstrations and hands-on experience, has been designed by Dr Tom Bereznicki and Dr Chris Leech specifically for early career dentists with limited experience of practising within a digital workflow. It provides a comprehensive introduction to digital dentistry techniques, and how harnessing them can enhance your aesthetic practice and patient care.

The two-day course will mainly focus on the hands-on elements of learning with additional theory and material science modules delivered through pre-course and post-course videos.

The course will take you step-by-step through the complete process of creating a digitally produced crown, from scanning to cementation, and provisionally includes:

  • Presentations on digital dentistry and digital dentures
  • Short demonstrations followed by comprehensive hands-on experience of:
    • Scanning each other
    • Scanning a preparation of a restoration on a pre-prepared model
    • Using software to design your final restoration
    • Demonstration of programming and milling processes
    • Adjustment and polishing techniques using pre-milled crowns that fit the model
    • Cementation of the crown onto the model

Refreshments and lunch are provided on both days.

The course accommodates 12 participants and is repeated on two further dates: Friday 28 – Saturday 29 November 2025 and early 2026 (date to be confirmed).

Course leaders

Dr Tom Bereznicki
BDS (Edin), FDS RCS (Ed), MFDTEd, FCGDent, MFDSEng

After graduating from Edinburgh, Dr Bereznicki worked as a house surgeon at Guy’s and The Royal Dental Hospitals before entering general dental practice, in which he has over 40 years’ experience. With a special interest in restorative dentistry, in particular occlusion and emergence profile, he was also a visiting clinical specialist teacher at King’s College London Dental Institute and later joined the teaching faculty for the university’s MSc in Aesthetic Dentistry. In 2018, he joined the Academy of Dental Excellence as a senior specialist teacher, and in 2021 became a partner associate lecturer for the University of Portsmouth’s Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Aesthetic and Restorative Dentistry. In 2023, he founded the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation which supports educational opportunities for early career dental professionals. A former member of the FGDP and Founder Member of CGDent, he has been a Fellow of the College since 2022 and is a member of both the Faculty of Dental Trainers at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He is also a regional speaker on occlusion for the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.

Dr Chris Leech
BDS, MAGDS RCS (Ed), MFDS RCPS (Glasg), Dip Imp Dent RCS (Ed), FDS RCS (Ed), FCGDent

A graduate of Newcastle Dental School, Dr Leech is a partner in a private dental practice and the Scientific Director of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He holds the Diploma in Implant Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, for which he is now an examiner. He was also the first dentist to be awarded the Membership for Advanced General Dental Surgery by RCS Edinburgh and is a Fellow of its Faculty of Dental Surgery. He is also a member of the Society for the Advancement of Anaesthesia in Dentistry and of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and is a Fellow of the College of General Dentistry.

Dr Bal Rohal
BDS (Kings) Hons

Dr Sohal is a cosmetic dentist who has showcased his work in presentations in the UK and US. He is experienced in the use of digital workflows, in particular for restoring single unit restorations and aesthetic multi-unit veneers, crowns and onlays. He graduated BDS from King’s College London in 2018, where he was undergraduate president of the dental society and was awarded the Guy’s Full Shield, awards from the Richard Dickinson USA Trust Fund and King’s Opportunity Fund, the Gold Star Award and the Jelf Medal for the most distinguished undergraduate.

Attending the course

The Introduction to Digital Dentistry course has been created solely for the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry, which is open to dentists who qualified in the UK or Ireland between 2019 to 2023, or who qualified overseas between 2019 to 2023 and have been practising in the UK for at least the past two years. Successful candidates will each be awarded a fully funded place on one of three course dates, and hotel accommodation, UK travel and subsistence will also be covered.

To enter, eligible dentists must submit an aesthetic case with a mainly analogue workflow, which involves more than one tooth, including at least one anterior tooth, and the use of composite to restore teeth.

The entry deadline is Friday 23 May 2025*.

*The entry deadline has been extended from 17 January 2025.

CGDent and Dentsply Sirona launch the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry

The College has partnered with the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and Dentsply Sirona to develop a new aesthetic dentistry award for early career dentists.

The Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry recognises aesthetic dentistry skills and patient care and is open to dentists who qualified in the UK or Ireland between 2019 to 2023, or who qualified overseas between 2019 to 2023 and have been practising in the UK for at least the past two years.

36 successful candidates will each receive a fully funded place on a bespoke, hands-on two-day digital dentistry course at the Dentsply Sirona Academy in Weybridge, Surrey. The course is repeated on three separate dates. Travel costs, hotel accommodation and subsistence are included in the prize.

The digital dentistry course has been designed by Dr Tom Bereznicki BDS (Edin), FDS RCS (Ed), MFDTEd, FCGDent, MFDSEng and Dr Chris Leech BDS, MAGDS RCS (Ed), MFDS RCPS (Glasg), Dip Imp Dent RCS (Ed), FDS RCS (Ed), FCGDent. Created solely for the Award, the course is aimed at dentists with limited of working with a digital workflow. The exclusive course is only open to winners of the new Award and is not available commercially.

Delivered predominantly through short demonstrations and comprehensive hands-on sessions, participants on the course will be guided step-by-step through the complete process of creating a digitally produced crown, from scanning to cementation. Theory modules, such as material science, will be provided through pre-course and post-course videos.

To enter, candidates must submit pre-op photographs of an aesthetic case and upload a final case report when treatment is complete.  The case must involve more than one tooth, including at least one anterior tooth, and the use of composite to restore teeth. It must mainly follow an analogue workflow. Full case eligibility guidance is outlined on the Award web page.

The inaugural Award is now open and the deadline to enter the competition with pre-op photographs is Friday 23 May 2025*. Entrants have until Friday 5 September 2025 to complete the treatment and submit their final case. The successful candidates will be announced in October and the digital dentistry courses will take place on Friday-Saturday 14-15 November 2025, Friday-Saturday 28-29 November 2025, and a Friday-Saturday in early 2026 (date to be confirmed). The number of Award entries has been capped at 150, and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.

Click the button below for further information about the award, links to guidance for entrants and the entry form.

Further opportunities for early career dentists

The College is collaborating with the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation, and other partners, to deliver a range of educational opportunities for early career dental professionals.

Occlusion and perio symposia
Featuring a line-up of expert speakers, a series of symposia for early career dentists on the topics of occlusion and perio will take place in London in 2025. Find out more.

CGDent and GC Award for Foundation Trainees
Dentists and dental therapists enrolled on DFT are eligible to enter the CGDent-GC Award 2024/25, to win fully funded composite layering training in Belgium. Full details and entry form.

*The entry and submission deadlines have been extended and the course due to take place on 4-5 July 2025 has been rescheduled to early 2026 (date to be confirmed).

Occlusion and perio symposia for early career dentists

The College of General Dentistry is delighted to partner with the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation to host a series of symposia for early career dentists on the topics of Occlusion and Perio. 

Carefully curated for early career dentists, the symposia will be open to dentists who qualified in the UK or overseas between 2019 and 2023 and have been practising in the UK for at least the past two years.

Introduction to Occlusion Symposium

The first of the symposia, Introduction to Occlusion Symposium for Early Career Dentists, will take place on Saturday 5 April 2025 at the Kensington Conference and Events Centre in London.

A line-up of renowned speakers will deliver a series of lectures to enhance delegates’ understanding of the fundamentals of occlusion and how these principles can support the placement of successful, long-term restorations for patients presenting with tooth wear and other conditions.

The opening lecture will be delivered by Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent, a general dental practitioner with a special interest in restorative dentistry and founder of the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation. Dr Bereznicki’s presentation will be followed by sessions from Professor Paul Tipton FCGDent, Dr Ken Harris FCGDent, Dr Tif Qureshi FCGDent and Dr Shiraz Khan, and Dr Koray Feran FCGDent.

Perio-Occlusion Symposium

The second in the series of symposia for early career dentists will focus on the aesthetic aspects of perio and functional occlusal aspects post orthodontic treatment and will also take place at Kensington Conference and Events Centre in London on Saturday 20 September 2025.

The event will consist of two half-day sessions delivered by Dr Reena Wadia MCGDent, a Specialist Periodontist and founder of Perio School, and Dr Raman Aulakh FCGDent, a Specialist Orthodontist, Invisalign Platinum Elite Doctor and co-founder of Aligner Dental Academy.

Alongside the programme of lectures, delegates at either symposia who wish to develop their knowledge of occlusion or perio further, can visit a selection of education stands to learn more about leading postgraduate courses available in these fields.

To ensure the symposia are accessible to early career dentists, the fee for each event has been set at an affordable rate of £75 per symposium and they will each take place on a Saturday to avoid time away from clinic.

Tickets for the Introduction to Occlusion Symposium for Early Career Dentists will be made available from January 2025. Bookings for the Perio-Occlusion Symposium for Early Career Dentists will open later next year, and as places are limited, dentists are advised to secure a ticket early to avoid disappointment.

Eligible dentists interested in attending either or both symposia, are urged to ‘save-the-dates’ and sign-up to receive a notification as soon as tickets go on sale.

The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation supports educational initiatives for early career dentists and is working in conjunction with the College, and other collaborators, to provide a range of developmental opportunities for this cohort. Alongside the Introduction to Occlusion and the Perio-Occlusion Symposia, the Foundation funds the CGDent and GC Award for Foundation Trainees, which offers the chance to win fully-funded composite layering training in Belgium. An advanced aesthetic dentistry competition, which will provide each successful candidate with a fully-funded place on a hands-on digital dentistry course, is launching soon and other projects are also planned.

Subscribe to the College for free to receive our monthly newsletter and stay informed about all upcoming opportunities with the College and the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation.

Perio-occlusion symposium for early career dental professionals

SAVE THE DATE:
Saturday 20 September 2025, 9am-5pm
£75 per delegate

Places at this event are limited – sign-up to receive a notification as soon as registration opens.

To sign-up, subscribe to the College for free, or sign-in to your existing account, then navigate back to this page, or refresh it, to see the ‘register your interest’ button below.

Don’t miss out – put Saturday 20 September 2025 in your diary!

Dr Reena Wadia MCGDent will deliver the morning session on Pink Aesthetics and in the afternoon session, Dr Raman Aulakh FCGDent will ask ‘Does Occlusion Matter Before and After Aligner Therapy?’. The programme is currently being finalised – check this page again for further updates.

Expert speakers

Our renowned speakers are both experts in their fields and have a wealth of experience of delivering high-quality education.

Dr Reena Wadia MCGDent is a Specialist Periodontist and founder and principal of RW Perio, a four-surgery clinic surgery in London. She is the founder of Perio School, a leading teaching academy for periodontal courses.

Dr Raman Aulakh FCGDent is a Specialist Orthodontist, co-founder of Aligner Dental Academy and an Invisalign Platinum Elite Doctor. He is a clinical speaker and a post-graduate tutor at King’s College Dental Institute London.

Network with speakers in the lunch break and learn about the courses they offer to further hone and develop your knowledge around periodontics and aligner orthodontics.

Symposium fee

To ensure the Symposium is accessible to early career dentists, we will keep the fee at an affordable rate.

Verifiable CPD: approx 7 hours

About the Symposium

The aim of the Symposium is to update your knowledge and understanding on important areas of practice to support your professional development. If you are interested in enhancing your knowledge further in these topic areas, you are invited to visit our education stands in the breaks to find out more about high-quality postgraduate courses available to you.

The Symposium has been organised by the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation in conjunction with the College of General Dentistry. The Foundation supports educational opportunities for early career dental professionals in the UK.

You will gain approx 7 hours verifiable CPD.

Lunch and refreshments

Lunch is not provided in the venue. You are welcome to visit the restaurants, cafes and shops on the doorstep.

Tea, coffee and biscuits are provided throughout the event.

Getting there

The venue address is: Kensington Conference and Events Centre, Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W8

Kensington Conference and Events Centre is easy to access on public transport and a car park is also available onsite.

London Underground – the nearest London Underground station is High Street Kensington on the Circle or District Line.

Bus – busses 9, 10, 27, 28, 49, 52, 70, 328, C1 stop near the venue. Exit the bus at the Kensington High Street/Wrights Lane junction. Alternatively, busses 52 or 70 stop at nearby Kensington Church Street.

Car Parking – there is a public car park below the Kensington Conference and Events Centre. To access it, enter Campden Hill Road from Kensington High Street, turn first right into Phillimore Walk and turn immediately left down the entrance ramp to the car park.

Kensington Conference and Events Centre is fully accessible for anyone with mobility issues.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Register your interest

To sign up to receive a notification when tickets go on sale, subscribe to the College for free, or sign in to your existing account, then refresh this page to see the ‘register your interest’ button below.

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CGDent Midlands Annual Symposium

Conference Aston, Birmingham, B4 7ET

**Save the date**

Oral Cancer: Diagnosis, Treatment and Management 

This year’s Symposium is targeted at the core CPD topic of diagnosing and managing oral cancer. Including three sessions delivered by expert speakers, the day is targeted at early career dentists, but all are welcome.

Speakers:

  • Dr Ana Poveda, Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Oral Medicine, University of Birmingham School of Dentistry
  • Professor StJohn Crean, Pro Vice-Chancellor Research and Enterprise, University of Central Lancashire
  • Dr Sadiq Mawji, Specialty Registrar in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Hospitals Birmingham

Speaker: Dr Ana Poveda

Session aims:

Introduce intraoral soft tissue pathology and pre-malignant lesions

Session objectives:

  • Run through a systematic approach to assessing for intraoral soft tissue lesions
  • Revise the nomenclature used when describing soft tissue pathology when referring to secondary care
  • Provide differential diagnoses for potentially malignant lesions and be able to describe what features make them concerning

Speaker: Professor StJohn Crean

Session aims:

Diagnosis and treatment of Oral Cancer

Session objectives:

  • Epidemiology, presentation and prognosis of oral cancer (including HPV positive SCC)
  • Pathology of cancer, TMN staging
  • Treatment modalities for Oral Cancer, radiotherapy vs surgery and their implications

Speaker: Dr Sadiq Mawji

Session aims:

Equip DFTs with some skills for managing patients on the ward

Session objectives:

  • Provide personal experience of career journey and the Maxillofacial Surgery Pathway
  • Considerations for patient management immediately following surgery, eg tracheostomies, flaps, ITU, fluid maintenance
  • Tips and tricks for managing a cancer patient as a new DCT

6 hours verifiable CPD

GDC development outcomes: A, C, D

Delegates receive a three course lunch and morning and afternoon tea and coffee is provided.

Full venue details including facilities and how to get there, are available here.

A car park is available and you must book and pay for your place in advance – pre-book your space here.

Fee:

  • Current member of the College of General Dentistry – £100
  • Non-member – £125

Booking opens soon.

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Inaugural College lecture (by Martin Kelleher)

Friday 13 June 2025, 2pm-4.30pm

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

The Inaugural College of General Dentistry Lecture will be delivered by Martin Kelleher FCGDent.

‘Satisficing’ standards in dentistry: Who decides? Who benefits? will challenge the notion of the ‘ideal treatment plan’ and contend that subconscious bias and possible self-interests can lead some supposed experts to confuse their version of a questionable ‘gold standard’ with what is really in a patient’s overall best interests and with what the law expects.

Intended to stimulate and provoke healthy debate, the lecture will build on the rich legacy of the Malcolm Pendlebury Lectures hosted by the College’s predecessor organisation, the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP).

Martin Kelleher has been a Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at King’s College Hospital, London since 1984 and has well- known interests in solving seemingly complex dental problems with various minimally destructive approaches. He is on the GDC specialist lists for Restorative Dentistry and Prosthodontics and owned his own practice in Bromley, Kent for nearly 40 years.

He is a Fellow of the Faculties of Dental Surgery at the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of Edinburgh and England, as well as the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. He is also a Fellow of the College of General Dentistry, a Fellow and former President of the British Society for Restorative Dentistry, and a former Chairman of the Southern Counties Branch of the British Dental Association. 

Mr Kelleher graduated from University College Dublin in 1971, holds a Master’s degree in Conservative Dentistry and is the author or co-author of very numerous peer-reviewed articles on a wide variety of topics, as well as chapters in dental textbooks and a book on dental bleaching. He served on the board of Dental Protection for a decade, including three years as Chair of its Advisory Committee for Dental Claims. He is a renowned speaker, having lectured to many national dental associations and specialist societies as well as internationally for over 40 years.

CPD approx. 2 hours

Registration for the inaugural College of General Dentistry Lecture will start at 2pm, with the lecture and Q&A taking place from 2.30pm-4.30pm. This will be followed by the College Summer Reception from 5pm-8pm, including the ceremonial admission of Associate Fellows and new Fellows of the College.

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). 

All dental professionals, and others with professional interests in contemporary dental practice, are eligible to attend both the Inaugural College Lecture and Summer Reception.

Tickets are priced as follows:

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

To secure your place at the above ‘Early Bird’ rates, click the button below:

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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New register of implant dentistry mentors

The College has launched an online register of qualified mentors in implant dentistry.

Developed in conjunction with the Association of Dental Implantology (ADI) and the International Team for Implantology (ITI), the new Register of Mentors in Implant Dentistry will support high standards of training and practice in implant dentistry by providing recognition to those who have met specific standards in their clinical and mentoring practice. Freely accessible and searchable by the profession at large, it will also enable those undertaking training in implant dentistry to identify and contact appropriately experienced and qualified mentors.

Mentoring is recognised as a critical element of a practitioner’s training in implant dentistry, and is among the requirements of the College’s Training Standards in Implant Dentistry document, which sets the minimum standards for training which those practising implant dentistry in the UK must have undertaken.

The specific experience, skills and qualities required of a mentor are articulated in the College’s Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines and are the basis for the eligibility criteria for inclusion the new register, all of which must be met:

  1. Postgraduate degree or qualification in implant dentistry, or documentary evidence of completion of a structured implant training course with at least 70 hours of verifiable contact learning and meeting, or (for those who commenced implant dentistry before 2005) demonstrably equivalent training and experience.
  1. Placed and/or restored at least 250 implants in a variety of clinical situations, depending on which aspects of care are being mentored. (Suitability can also be demonstrated from a lower number of cases with appropriate insight and reflection).
  1. Five years’ experience in the specific prosthetic or surgical technique that the mentee is being trained in. This should be in the form of a description of the mentor’s overall post-qualification experience and specifically their implant training, courses attended and clinical experience.
  1. Successful completion of an accredited medical education or mentoring course, or two years in a substantive implant-related teaching post which includes clinical supervision.

Applications to join the register are reviewed by a panel comprising representatives of CGDent, the ADI and the ITI. Once admitted, mentors will be subject to a Code of Conduct to ensure that any mentoring provided is in accordance with the guidelines, and they will also need to provide an annual declaration that they are still undertaking implant dentistry and that they are maintaining their expertise in both clinical and mentoring skills.

There is currently no application fee, however those admitted to the register will pay an annual fee for inclusion. The introductory annual fee is £500, but Full Members, Associate Fellows or Fellows of the College pay only £250. Members of the ADI and ITI also benefit from a reduced rate of £400, and those who are members of both the College and either the ADI or ITI pay just £160 per annum. The effective cost of the fee can be significantly reduced through tax relief.

For further information, visit the Register of Mentors in Implant Dentistry

Progressing your career in implant dentistry

Saturday 17 May 2025, 3.45pm-4.30pm, Birmingham

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

This lecture will describe a progression which the College is developing, from new practitioner in the field to recognised mentor, through which implant dentists can develop their careers and gain recognition for the skills, knowledge and experience acquired at each stage.

It will be delivered by Dr Abhi Pal FCGDent, Principal of The University Dental and Implant Centre in Birmingham, editor of the College’s Training Standards in Implant Dentistry, co-editor of its Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines, and formerly President of the College and member of its Career Pathways Reference Group.

Free to attend for both members and non-members of the College, it is one of four College sessions at the British Dental Conference and Dentistry Show 2025 (BDCDS25), a two-day conference hosting over 200 CPD lectures, 400 exhibitors and 10,000 dental professionals.

College representatives will be available throughout the conference at Stand Q01 to talk to delegates about our vision for the profession, the benefits of membership and fellowship, and to answer questions.

It is not possible to register for specific lectures in advance, but those wishing to attend need to register for BDCDS25 either in advance or on the day. Registration is free for all dental professionals.

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