College of General Dentistry News

New portfolio route to Associate Fellowship and Fellowship

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

APPLY BY CLINICAL PORTFOLIO

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

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College of General Dentistry Event

Introduction to Occlusion Symposium 2026

SAVE-THE-DATE

Saturday 24 October 2026, 9am-5pm, Manchester

To hear when registration opens, become a free College Subscriber and follow us on social media.

“I thoroughly enjoyed it, very important topic that’s not always fully understood!  All the speakers spoke about occlusion in a comprehensive manner that I understood.”

The secrets of successful, long-term restorations

A solid understanding of the principles of occlusion is crucial for the provision of successful, long-term restorative treatments for tooth wear and other conditions. This one-day symposium on the fundamentals of occlusion, first hosted in London and Edinburgh last year, aims to enhance your knowledge in this field. You will leave the day with a deeper knowledge of the basic principles of occlusion and an introduction to a range of postgraduate courses you may wish to consider undertaking in order to extend your knowledge further.

Delegates tell us what they learnt from the symposium

Symposium fee

We aim to set the fee at an affordable rate for early career dental professionals. The fees will be published soon.

Dental students may attend the symposium free of charge. Select the ‘Student’ option on the registration page.

Verifiable CPD: approx 6 hours

Topics not of interest to you? Please share details of the symposium with other members of your team

Dr Nathaniel-Edouard Davidson attended the first Introduction to Occlusion Symposium in London and reflects on what he learnt – read more>

Expert speakers – click for bios

Dr Tom Bereznicki
Prof Paul Tipton

Dr Ken Harris
Dr Tif Qureshi
Dr Shiraz Khan
Dr Foray Koran

Programme

08:15-08:50 – Registration – refreshments

09:00-09:30 – Dr Tom Bereznicki > Welcome and introduction

09:30-11:00 – Prof Paul Tipton > Occlusal Disease and Treatment

11:00-11:30 – Refreshment break

11:30-13:00 – Dr Ken Harris > Deprogrammers and Analysis

13:00-14:00 – Lunch

14:00-15:15 – Dr Tif Qureshi & Dr Shiraz Khan > Anterior Restorations and Occlusion

15:15-15:45 – Refreshment break

15:45-16:45 – Dr Koray Feran > Dynamic Occlusion, Working and Non-Working

16:45-17:00 – Dr Tom Bereznicki > Occlusion and Implant Therapy

“The best day course I have been on – such big names all presenting in one venue. Learned loads and it has inspired me to learn more about occlusion.”

Trade exhibition

You are invited to visit our trade exhibition and education stands in the breaks to find out more about high-quality postgraduate courses available to you.

Lunch and refreshments

Lunch will be provided and refreshments are available throughout the event.

Prayer rooms

Separate male and female prayer rooms will be available. Please bring your own prayer mat.

Getting there

The symposium will take place at the Manchester Dental Education Centre (MANDEC), in the University Dental Hospital, which is in the heart of the University of Manchester campus.

MANDEC, 3rd Floor, University Dental Hospital, Higher Cambridge Street, Manchester, M15 6FH

By train: Oxford Road is 17 minutes walk from the venue and is the closest train station. Trains run between Manchester Piccadilly station and Oxford Road station every few minutes. Manchester Piccadilly train station is 28 minutes walk from the venue.

Car park: Booth Street West car park is the closest to the venue. Public parking tariffs apply.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Cancellation and refund policy

A full refund will be provided up to 14 days before the date of the symposium. No refund will be issued within 14 days of the event. If you would like to cancel your place and request a refund, please email us at [email protected]

No refund will be made for non-attendance.

Places are non-transferable to other events.

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College of General Dentistry News

New opportunity in coaching & mentoring for Dental Care Professionals

Foundation Nakao – CGDent Award in Coaching and Mentoring

A special opportunity for a funded three day short course: strictly limited places available

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.

Now, thanks to sponsorship by Foundation Nakao, generously donated through Prof Avijit Banerjee FCGDent, we can offer a very special opportunity for a three day training course in mentoring and coaching.

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*.

Course dates

  • Day 1. Friday 21st November 2025
  • Day 2. Saturday 22nd November 2025
  • Day 3 Friday 16th January 2026 (or Friday 23rd January)

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].

Foundation Nakao – CGDent Award application v1.3Download

The deadline for applications is 5pm Monday 22nd September 2025.

Successful applicants will be informed by email by Monday 6th October 2025.

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.

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College of General Dentistry News

Introduction to Occlusion Symposium travels to Edinburgh

Following the success of the Introduction to Occlusion Symposium on 5 April in London, the symposium is travelling north and will take place on Saturday 1 November in Edinburgh.

Introduction to Occlusion Symposium, London

The comprehensive programme will remain the same and will be delivered by the panel of six renowned speakers who impressed delegates at the inaugural symposium in April. It is designed for early career dental professionals but all dental professionals are welcome to attend.

Members of the College are asked to share details of the symposium with friends and colleagues who may wish to attend.

book your place

The aim of the event, which has been organised by the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation in conjunction with the College, is 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.

Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent, Chair of Trustees, Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation, explains the move to Scotland:

“We were delighted by the enthusiastic feedback we received from the London symposium which showed that many delegates had left the day with a much clearer understanding of occlusion and the treatment options available, and felt inspired to incorporate what they’d learnt into their practice. We wanted to ensure that colleagues in other parts of the country had the same opportunity to expand their knowledge of this important topic and the decision was made to repeat the symposium in Edinburgh with exactly the same programme and the same inspiring speakers.”

The opening lecture will be delivered by Dr Bereznicki, who will use real failure cases to illustrate what can happen if a patient’s occlusion is not assessed and treated.

Further lectures will then be delivered by Professor Paul Tipton, Dr Ken Harris, Dr Tif Qureshi, Dr Shiraz Khan and Dr Koray Feran.

Dr Tom Bereznicki
Prof Paul Tipton
Dr Ken Harris
Dr Tif Qureshi
Dr Shiraz Khan
Dr Koray Feran

Describing the programme, Dr Bereznicki said: “We will be focussing on the basic fundamental principles involved in occlusion, particularly the intraoral occlusal examination which is crucial in treatment planning.”

Alongside the programme of lectures, delegates who wish to develop their knowledge of occlusion further can visit a hand-picked selection of education stands to learn more about leading postgraduate courses available in this field.

To ensure the symposium is accessible to all, the fees have been set at £90 for early career practitioners who qualified between 2020 and 2025, and £110 for all other dental professionals. These fees include lunch.

You can find further information and secure your place by clicking the button below.

book your place

The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation, in collaboration with the College, is also hosting a symposium on 20 September 2025 in London. Dr Reena Wadia will deliver the morning session on the topic of pink aesthetics and in the afternoon, Dr Andy Toy will discuss the importance of occlusion in the successful provision of aligner therapy. You can find out more and book your place here.

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College of General Dentistry Blog

Building the right bite: occlusion and the successful delivery of aligner therapy

Dr Andy Toy FCGDent, a general dental practitioner and educator with a special interest in occlusion, highlights the fundamental link between occlusion and the long-term stability of aligner therapy.

Simply aligning a few anterior teeth can significantly alter a patient’s occlusion.  Whilst many patients seem to cope with their ‘new bite’, there are others who suffer from TMD, chronic pain or mobile teeth because of their aligner therapy.  There are also patients presenting with challenging occlusal problems that could be resolved with the right type of aligner orthodontics.  Every aligner case requires the dentist to understand how to diagnose, plan and finish their patients with a healthy functional occlusion.

I will be delivering a half-day lecture at the Perio-Occlusion Symposium on Saturday 20 September, to address issues like these. My presentation will provide a clear and simple approach to occlusion and clear aligner therapy based on over 40 years of learning and teaching. My aim is to help you:

  • Differentiate between easy and challenging aligner cases
  • Assess the patient’s TM Joint and occlusion and create a treatment plan to deliver a healthy, functional bite
  • Know how to finish and retain your aligner cases

Why is Cassie easier to treat than Jim?

Cassie
Jim

If Cassie and Jim walked into your practice, in my experience most novice orthodontists would steer clear of Cassie and see Jim as an easy win.  Jim has mild crowding with some wear that’s crying out for your best bonding technique.  What a great Align-Bleach-Bond case!  Ker-ching!!  Cassie has more crowding and, even worse, an anterior open bite?  What a nightmare!

In fact, once you do a thorough assessment of TMJ function and occlusion, combined with discovering the patient’s wishes, you would find that Cassie is much easier to treat than Jim. 

Why is this?  Jim has an edge-to-edge occlusion on a class III base – these cases are often much more difficult than they first appear.  The challenge is creating enough overjet to give you space for your bonding and create a healthy envelope of function.  You will need to: a) create lots of space in the lower arch with inter-proximal reduction; and b) control the anchorage to maximise the lower anterior retraction. 

Case photos: Jim

Cassie simply wants to align her teeth and isn’t bothered by her anterior open bite.  Comprehensive assessment of her TMJ and functional occlusion indicates that her bite is healthy.  She just needs some levelling and aligning.  Simple!

Case photos: Cassie

Correct biomechanics ensures successful aligner therapy  

Jeff is another class III case.  I used Invisalign Go™ (that is moving 5-5 only and up to 25 aligners) combined with class III elastics to support anchorage and we finished with a great looking result and healthy occlusion.  In fact, Jeff is easier to treat than Jim.  Can you see why?  It’s all down to how you assess a cross-bite.   Once you know how, it’s much easier to choose your winners and avoid creating an occlusal cripple.

Case photos: Jeff

Aligner therapy can eliminate occlusal dysfunction

Brenda is not too concerned about her appearance, but she is very worried about the pain she is experiencing and the possibility of losing her teeth.  She’s also in her 70s and not overly keen on dental treatment.

Brenda has multiple crossbites, tilted teeth and missing molars.  Where do you start?  My approach is: thorough assessment and diagnosis of her TMJ function and dynamic occlusion; careful planning of her Invisalign Comprehensive™ treatment; and a patient-centred consent process.  That way Brenda knows what the problem is, how we may treat it and what benefits and risks she may encounter as a result.  This gives Brenda the confidence to go ahead with the plan and enjoy a healthy, comfortable bite for the rest of her life.  Come along to the Symposium and I’ll show you how I used aligner biomechanics on Brenda’s case so that you can apply them on your own patients.

Case photos: Brenda

If you are able to attend the symposium, you’ll be better placed to avoid cases that are beyond your experience level; feel confident that the cases you do treat will have a healthy, functional bite; and sleep better at night. You can find out more and book your place here.

The Perio-Occlusion Symposium takes place on Saturday 20 September in London.

Click here for further details and to secure your place

Read our blog on Pink Aesthetics to find out more about the topics included in the morning lecture, delivered by Dr Reena Wadia.

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College of General Dentistry News

College to host Leadership Development Masterclass

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

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

The masterclass will teach some of the most critical elements needed to be an effective team leader, with carefully curated content offering appropriate breadth and depth for early-career leaders, including:

  • Giving and receiving feedback as a leader
  • Learning one’s motivations for leadership (and adapting accordingly)
  • Measuring your leadership effectiveness

The one-day programme, which will take place at the Royal Society of Medicine in London from 10am to 4pm on Tuesday 14 October 2025, will be led by Professor Sreenivas Koka DDS MS PhD MBA MAS FACD FCGDent and Professor Elizabeth Carr MAADH DHA FACD(Hon) FCGDent.

Professor Koka is co-founder of Executive Leadership Enterprises and the Future Leaders in Prosthodontics (FLiP) programme, and founder of both the Shaping the Future of Implant Dentistry (SHIFT) leadership workshop series and the non-profit Career Design in Dentistry organisation. He is also a former Chair of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management Alumni Board. Dean of the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry from 2021-2024, he has been a lecturer at the University of Michigan and University of California Los Angeles, and a professor at Loma Linda University, the University of Nebraska and the Mayo Clinic. In addition to qualifying as a Doctor of Dental Surgery, he holds a Master’s in Prosthodontics from the University of Michigan, an MBA from MIT, a Master’s in Applied Sciences from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD from the University of Nebraska. He was the founder and owner of Premium Dental Editing in Rochester, Minnesota, and of Koka Dental Clinic in San Diego, and is the author/co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed articles and nine book chapters. A Fellow of CGDent, he was brought up in Romford, emigrated to the United States at the age of 19 and is one of 16 dentists in his family.

Professor Koka is also the guest editor of the next issue of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ), which will be published later this year on the theme of leadership, and co-author of its papers on ‘Everyday leadership’ and ‘Oral health in the context of patient well-being: Implications for the general dentist’.

Professor Carr is Chair of the Department of Dental Hygiene, Professor of Dental Hygiene and Director of the Mississippi Population Oral Health Collaborative at the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry, where she has worked for over 20 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Dental Hygiene and a Doctorate in Health Administration from the University of Mississippi and a Master’s in Dental Hygiene from the University of Tennessee. She has also completed the MIT Sloan School of Management’s Executive Certificate programme in Leadership and Management. A Fellow of the CGDent, she is also an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Dentists, a past President of the Mississippi Dental Hygienists’ Association, and a member of the American Dental Hygienists’ Association and the American Academy of Dental Hygiene. Her peer-reviewed articles on leadership and dental education have been published in the Journal of the American College of Dentists, the Journal of International Oral Health, the Journal of Prosthodontic Research, the Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, the Journal of Dental Hygiene and the Journal of Dental Education.

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

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

Simon Thornton-Wood PhD, Chief Executive of the College, said:

“To practise dentistry requires years of education, yet people can take on leadership roles with little or no training at all. First-time and second-time dental leaders are challenged because other people’s actions now define them; the potential to fail in a leadership role is high and the consequences can be significant.

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

“Leadership can be taught and learned, so we are delighted to be able to host this masterclass, and privileged that it will delivered by two College Fellows who are world-leading scholars in the art and science of practising leadership in the context of oral healthcare delivery.”

For further information, and to book your place at the Leadership Development Masterclass, click the button below.

FIND OUT MORE AND BOOK YOUR PLACE

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College of General Dentistry News

Education partnership with Dentistry Show London 2025

The College will once again be an education partner at Dentistry Show London this year.

CGDent speakers at Dentistry Show London 2025: Preetee Hylton RDN (left) and Helen Kaney FCGDent (right). Centre: College representatives at the CGDent stand

The College will be a partner in two CPD theatres, delivering one lecture in each; the Dental Care Professionals Hub, which has a programme created specifically with dental hygienists, therapists, nurses and the wider team in mind; and the new Keynote Theatre, which brings together the latest policy updates with advances in technology and technique. Both lectures will be free of charge for members and non-members of the College alike:

AI in dentistry – an indemnity perspective*

Friday 3 October 2025, 9.15am-10.00am

Helen Kaney FCGDent, Senior Dento-legal Advisor with the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, will deliver this lecture in the Keynote Theatre. A dually qualified dentist and solicitor, Helen graduated BDS from Glasgow University in 1987 and spent many years in general dental practice as well as working as a clinical assistant in conservative dentistry and prosthodontics at Glasgow Dental Hospital and at Guy’s Hospital in London. She developed an interest in law and ethics early in her career and studied law, obtaining an LLB, and then trained and worked as a solicitor for several years, acting for doctors and dentists in clinical negligence claims, regulatory matters and Fatal Accident Inquiries (Coroner’s Inquests) on the instructions of UK indemnity providers. She has significant experience in advising and assisting dentists in the UK and Ireland and in several international jurisdictions, and spent 14 years at Dental Protection as a Dentolegal and Senior Dentolegal Adviser and latterly as Medico and Dentolegal Services Team Lead and Head of Dental Services, Scotland. She completed an MBA at Strathclyde Business School, is a Fellow of the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine of the Royal College of Physicians, and served as an elected National Representative on the College Council from 2019-2025.

From disclosure to action: domestic abuse and the dental professional’s duty

Saturday 4 October 2025, 3.15pm-4.00pm

Preetee Hylton RDN, President of the British Association of Dental Nurses, will deliver this lecture in the Dental Care Professionals Hub. A full-time dental nurse and safeguarding lead at a private dental practice in London, Preetee is an Associate Examiner for the National Examining Board for Dental Nurses and delivers the NCFE CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Principles and Practice in Dental Nursing. A former receptionist, practice manager, lead dental nurse and clinical mentor to student dental nurses, she holds the NEBDN National Certificate in Dental Nursing, BDA Education Certificates in Oral Health and in Dental Radiography, a Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector qualification and a Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement, and in 2021 completed the DDS Treatment Coordinator Programme. A founding member and the former Study Club Co-Director of the ITI UK & Ireland Dental Nurses community, she is an honorary ambassador for the Mouth Cancer Foundation, a member of the editorial board of Dental Nursing, an Associate Member of the College and a past contributor to the Primary Dental Journal.

College representatives will also be available throughout the show at the College’s exhibition stand (B29) to talk to attendees about all aspects of membership, fellowship and the College’s vision for the profession.

It is not possible to register for any specific lecture in advance, however those wishing to attend will need to register for Dentistry Show London 2025, which is free for all dental professionals. Conference attendees will have access to up to 100 CPD lectures, as well as 180 exhibiting suppliers, and the opportunity to network with 4,000 dentists, practice managers, hygienists and therapists, dental nurses, technicians and laboratory owners.

REGISTER HERE FOR FREE

*This title was updated on 22 August 2025; it was originally titled ‘AI and social media in dentistry – an indemnity perspective’

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College of General Dentistry News

MoU signed with RCS Edinburgh

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

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

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

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

Several RCS Edinburgh awards are already recognised towards CGDent membership:

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

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

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

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College of General Dentistry News

Booking opens for Perio-Occlusion Symposium

Dental professionals are invited to book their place at the Perio-Occlusion Symposium, which has been organised by the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation in conjunction with the College. Members of the College are urged to share the details of the symposium with early career colleagues.

Lecture by Prof Paul Tipton at the Introduction to Occlusion Symposium, April 2025

The symposium will take place on Saturday 20 September 2025 at the Kensington Conference and Events Centre in London and will focus on two aspects of aesthetic dentistry: ‘pink aesthetics’ and the role of occlusion in clear aligner therapy. In a change to previous announcements, lectures will be delivered by Dr Reena Wadia MCGDent and Dr Andy Toy FCGDent. Click for full speaker profiles.

Dr Reena Wadia

Dr Andy Toy

Dr Reena Wadia will present a range of clinical cases and examine the indications and steps of crown lengthening and gum recession surgery, reviewing the procedures currently available. Dr Andy Toy will focus on the steps involved in carrying out an occlusal examination and assessment to arrive at a suitable orthodontic treatment plan using aligner therapy, so as to ensure a healthy, functional occlusion and long-term stability of the treatment provided.

The symposium is designed for early career dental professionals and all dental professionals are welcome to attend. An accessible fee of £70 is available for those who qualified between 2020 to 2025*. For other dental professionals, the fee is £90. Delegates will receive 6 hours of verifiable CPD.

To increase awareness of this educational opportunity, members of the College are encouraged to pass on the details of the symposium to early career members in their team.

Further information & register

Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent, Founder of the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation, said:

“Our new symposium in September highlights two aspects of aesthetic dentistry which are both equally fundamental in the provision of successful treatment but which tend to be less understood by early career dental professionals, due to lack of training or experience.“

“An increasing number of younger colleagues are becoming involved in digital smile design and the provision of relevant restorations and the aesthetics and positioning of a patient’s gingival tissues are a vital part of that delivery. The provision of clear aligner therapy has also become very popular with early career dentists but less well understood is that to ensure successful delivery of treatment, an initial occlusal examination should be carried out. For long-term stability of the desired aesthetics, the occlusion on completion should be refined – if this is not carried out, retention such as splinting is likely to fail, followed by relapse. The symposium programme is designed to address these issues and support the ongoing professional development of early career colleagues.“

The Perio-Occlusion Symposium is the second in a series of symposia organised by the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation, in collaboration with the College. The Introduction to Occlusion Symposium took place in April this year, and received positive feedback from those who attended. One delegate described the day as “brilliant” and explained it covered treatments that “weren’t taught in university”.  Another said, “All the speakers spoke about occlusion in a comprehensive manner that I understood.”

Following the success of the Introduction to Occlusion Symposium, plans have been made to repeat the event in another part of the country to allow a greater number of early career colleagues to attend. The symposium will take place in Edinburgh and registration will be open soon.

The College is also delighted to collaborate with the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation to host the CGDent-GC Award for Foundation Trainees, and the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry, which provide successful candidates with fully-funded clinical training. Anyone wishing to keep up-to-date with these opportunities and other College activities, are encouraged to create a free online account to become a College Subscriber.

*dental professionals who qualify in 2025 but are not yet registered with the GDC may book a place at the symposium and provide their registration details once they have them.

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College of General Dentistry News

Ian Dunn and Jim McCaul to lead study day

The College has announced Dr Ian Dunn FCGDent and Professor Jim McCaul as the speakers at its next annual study day in Glasgow.

l-r: Dr Ian Dunn FCGDent and Professor Jim McCaul

Dr Dunn will deliver Passionate Perio for the Dental Team, a series of sessions covering all aspects of contemporary periodontal management from the latest concepts of aetiology to assessment, diagnosis and treatment planning, including the S3 Treatment Guidelines and minimally invasive periodontics such as non-surgical regeneration and MINST.

Professor McCaul will then deliver the annual Caldwell Memorial Lecture, entitled Oral Cancer: What you need to know, what you need to do!

The annual study day, organised by CGDent Scotland, takes place at Glasgow Science Centre on the first Friday in December – 5 December this year. With six hours of CPD, the day is attended by up to 400 dental professionals from across the UK, and finishes with a drinks reception which marks the start of the festive season for its many regular attendees.

Ian Dunn is a specialist periodontist working in private practice in the North West of England, taking referrals for all aspects of periodontology. A Fellow of the College, he qualified BDS from the University of Leeds in 1998, was awarded Membership of the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK in 2001, gained an MSc in Periodontology in 2010 and completed specialty training in 2013. He runs the Short Course in Periodontics of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and has recently been appointed Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer in Periodontics at the University of Central Lancashire.

He was on the teaching staff in the Periodontology Department at Liverpool Dental Hospital for sixteen years, including as Undergraduate Teaching Lead and five years as a Senior Clinical Teacher. He was elected to the Faculty of the British Society of Periodontology in 2014, serves on the organisation’s Council as Honorary Treasurer and is its regional representative for Merseyside and Cheshire. He was the Deputy of the European Federation of Periodontology Communications Committee and is on the editorial board of Dental Update.

Jim McCaul is an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, Professor Emeritus at the University of Bradford Institute for Cancer Therapeutics and Assistant Editor of the International Journal of Surgery and IJS Case Reports. Dual-qualified in medicine and dentistry, he was previously a Consultant Surgeon in Yorkshire and at the Royal Marsden and Northwick Park hospitals in London, and completed a PhD in Cancer Science at the Cancer Research UK Scotland Institute. His private practice encompasses all aspects of facial surgery including removal of facial lesions, skin cancer surgery, facial plastic surgery, salivary gland surgery and dentoalveolar surgery. He is a former Associate Editor of the British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, reviews for 14 other international medical research journals, and is author of the book Face to Face as well as five book chapters, 105 peer-reviewed research papers and over 160 abstracts.

With 13 national and international awards for research, he is currently Chief Investigator of the Lugol’s iodine in head and neck cancer surgery and Lugol’s Iodine in Surgical Treatment of Epithelial Dysplasia in the Oral Cavity and Oropharynx trials with the aim of minimising impacts and optimising outcomes from head and neck cancer surgery and effectively treating after-effects such as osteoradionecrosis. He is also investigating dysbiosis in the microbiota in the gut, circulation and oral cavity in oral cancer patients. He is a past winner of the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons’ President’s Award, Surgery Prize and Norman Rowe Clinical Research Prize.

The Caldwell Memorial Lecture is held in memory of Robert Craig Caldwell, who graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1950 and became a much-loved Dean of the School of Dentistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, before he died of leukaemia at the age of just 44.

The study day is open to all dental professionals, and can be attended in person or virtually.

Fee discounts are available to College members as follows: College dentist members can buy their tickets for just £149 (£249 once ‘early bird’ places are sold out), compared to the full rate for non-member dentists of £349. The concessionary rate for dental technicians, dental hygienists, dental therapists, dental nurses, practice managers and retired practitioners is £149, but for College members in these categories it is just £129.

Breakfast rolls, a two-course lunch, refreshments throughout the day and evening drinks are all included in the attendance fee, and there is an accompanying trade exhibition to visit.

Attendees at the CGDent Scotland Study Day 2024

Other discounts to the full rate are available to Foundation Dentists / Vocational Trainees and their trainers, as well as members of the Glasgow Odontological Society and the Royal Odonto-Chirurgical Society of Scotland.

For further information, visit our events pages.

SECURE YOUR PLACE HERE

A review of the CGDent Scotland 2024 Study Day is available here

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