College of General Dentistry Event

Raising quality in postgraduate dental skills training

Seminar, Thursday 28 January 2027, 3-5pm, London

The relationship between professional title and competence in dentistry is now much more obscure than it once was. We see a vital role for the College in guiding patients and the professional community in navigating this confusion.

This important event will set out a College perspective on the recent development of the postgraduate clinical dental skills market, and the College’s new initiatives to support practitioners in making their choice of courses and wider career development. We will invite discussion on the key questions for the professional community and the College’s own response.

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The UK market for postgraduate clinical dental skills has changed dramatically over the past two decades. In 2006, most structured postgraduate clinical development was concentrated in a relatively small number of university programmes and Royal College diplomas. By 2026, the market has become larger, more commercialised, more modular, and increasingly driven by private-sector providers and practitioner demand.

In short, there has been a decided shift away from qualification acquisition aligned to structured career pathways, toward a prioritisation of business enhancement, with skills for advanced and high-value treatment options.

The commercial opportunity for training through this era of rapid change – escalating particularly in the last ten years – has been obvious: attracting real innovation and vastly improved access for practitioners, but carrying with it a good measure of confusion and sometimes questionable quality.

Today, early career practitioners feel much greater pressure to invest substantial sums in upskilling than their predecessors ever faced. Delivering high value treatments risks becoming a measure of intrinsic value as a professional. The General Dental Council’s own statutory authority does not reach far into the oversight of that market.

The College of General Dentistry has engaged with this challenge since its independent establishment in 2021, and we are clear on our own direction, working in the interests of patients and our community.

We look forward to welcoming to this event, everyone with an interest in this subject: training providers, mentors and coaches, and practitioners with experience navigating this dizzying market for clinical skills training.

The following event(s) will also be taking place in and around the same location on the same day:

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College of General Dentistry Event

Composite Injection Moulding Technique course

Saturday 5 December 2026

Funded places on this course are reserved for successful candidates in the Tom Bereznicki Award for Tooth Wear Cases. It is not possible to register on this course separately.

GC UK training facility, Buckinghamshire

The Composite Injection Moulding Technique course, which combines theory, demonstrations and hands-on experience, has been designed by Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent and Dr Chris Leech FCGDent for early career dentists. It aims to provide participants with the knowledge and skills required to deliver successful composite restorations using the injection moulding technique.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

  • Select appropriate cases
    • Identify ideal indications and contraindications for composite injection moulding
    • Assess occlusion, wear patterns, and patient expectations
    • Apply a structured approach to case planning and consent
  • Plan & design predictable outcomes
    • Understand the role of diagnostic wax-ups and digital planning
    • Translate aesthetic principles into functional restorative designs
  • Fabricate accurate stents
    • Select appropriate materials for stent construction
    • Produce precise, well-fitting stents to ensure predictable composite flow
    • Avoid common errors that compromise outcomes
  • Execute the Injection Moulding Technique
    • Follow a step-by-step clinical workflow
    • Achieve predictable composite placement with minimal finishing required
    • Manage isolation, bonding protocols, and composite handling
  • Refine & finish restorations
    • Perform efficient finishing and polishing protocols
    • Optimise occlusion and surface anatomy
    • Achieve high-end aesthetic outcomes with longevity in mind
  • Deliver long-term success
    • Implement maintenance protocols and review strategies
    • Identify and manage complications or failures
    • Communicate effectively with patients regarding longevity and expectations

Approx 6 CPD hours. GDC Development Outcomes: C

Refreshments and lunch are provided. The course accommodates 20 participants.

Course leaders

Dr Chris Leech FCGDent
Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent

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 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.

Attending the course

The Composite Injection Moulding Technique course has been created solely for the Tom Bereznicki Award for Tooth Wear Cases, which is open to dentists who qualified between 2020 to 2024 and who practise in the UK. Successful candidates will each be awarded a fully funded place on the course, and hotel accommodation, travel and subsistence will also be covered.

To enter, eligible dentists must submit an tooth wear case they plan to treat, which involves at least four anterior teeth, and the use of composite applied by hand or by injection moulding.

further information

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College of General Dentistry Event

CGDent Scotland Annual Study Day

Friday 4 December 2026, 9am-5.30pm (registration from 8am, drinks reception until 7pm)

Glasgow Science Centre, 50 Pacific Quay, Glasgow G51 1EA

“Digital dentistry for the dental team: you say you want a revolution”

Dr Noland Naidoo
Dr Helen Kaney FCGDent
Prof. Dr. Murali Srinivasan
Professor Gerry McKenna FCGDent

Lecture programme

The CGDent Scotland Study Day 2026 lecture programme will be on the topic of digital dentistry for the dental team and features speakers:

  • Dr Noland Naidoo BChD, PgDipDent (Implantology), MDent (Pros); special interest in prosthodontics and endodontics
  • Dr Helen Kaney BDS, LLB, Dip LP, MBA, FCGDent; Head of Dental Division at the MDDUS
  • Prof Murali Srinivasan BDS, MDS (Pros), MBA, MAS (Reconstructive Dentistry), DrMedDent, PD; Director of General, Special Care and Geriatric Dentistry at the University of Zurich
  • Prof Gerry McKenna BDS, MFDS (RCS Ed), PhD, FDS (Rest Dent) (RCS Ed), FHEA, FCGDent; Consultant in Prosthodontics and Restorative Dentistry at Queen’s University Belfast

Format

The CGDent Scotland Study Day can be attended in person or virtually.

For in-person attendees, over five hours of CPDA lectures will be interspersed with two coffee breaks, a two-course lunch, and a drinks reception afterwards. Delegates can also visit the accompanying trade exhibition. Free parking is available.

Fees

The early bird rate ends on Tuesday 30 June 2026

Non-member dentist: £349 (current early bird rate: £249)

Odonto ticket (Glasgow Odontological Society & The Royal Odonto-Chirurgical Society of Scotland Members) : £319 (current early bird rate: £219)

CGDent member dentist: £249 (current early bird rate: £149)

Non-member retired, technician, hygienist, therapist, nurse or practice manager: £149

CGDent member retired, technician, hygienist, therapist, nurse or practice manager: £129

Recent graduate (graduated in or after 2023): £149

Foundation Trainee / Vocational Trainee: £95

find out more & book

Membership of the College of General Dentistry is open to all registered dental professionals. Membership is available from £135 for dentists, £45 for dental nurses and £91 for other registered dental professionals. The full list of CGDent membership rates is here  

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College of General Dentistry News

Certified Practitioner status in Endodontics / Implant Dentistry / Oral Surgery – register your interest now

The College is now accepting registrations of interest for the first three of its Certified Practitioner schemes.

Dentists interested in the Certified Practitioner in Endodontics, Certified Practitioner in Oral Surgery and/or Certified Practitioner in Implant Dentistry schemes can now register their interest online, and will be emailed once detailed eligibility criteria and application requirements for the relevant scheme have been finalised and applications opened.

The Certified Practitioner programme will enable general dental professionals to have their enhanced skills, knowledge and experience in particular fields of practice recognised. Created in close consultation with stakeholders, including NHS authorities, it will provide authoritative validation of enhanced capability for patients, colleagues and commissioners.

Intended to support recognition across both NHS and private practice, Certified Practitioner statuses will be open to both UK-based dental professionals and those practising elsewhere, and a range of schemes will be developed covering roles across the oral healthcare team.

The Certified Practitioner schemes for dentists are benchmarked against Level 2 case complexity and will align with the capabilities achieved following successful completion of a skills-based, university-awarded postgraduate diploma. The College is working with partners across the professional community to determine appropriate requirements for training and clinical cases, and these will be published discipline-by-discipline in due course.

The first scheme to open will be Certified Practitioner in Endodontics – CertPract(Endo) – the requirements for which now been developed in consultation with the British Endodontic Society. This will be followed by criteria for Oral Surgery – CertPract(OralSurg) – and Implant Dentistry – CertPract(ImpDent) – with further disciplines expected thereafter.

It is anticipated that applicants will be required to have at least five years’ post-registration experience, of which at least two years should be providing general dental treatment. They will need to present a CV, training log and logbook of cases which meet the required standard. They will also need to submit a detailed portfolio of some of these cases, which will form the basis of a peer-reviewed assessment.

Successful applicants will be entitled to use the ‘CertPract’ post-nominal for the relevant discipline. Their Certified Practitioner status will also be published on a Register of Certified Practitioners, and the designation will feature in the College’s Register of Members & Fellows.

Certified Practitioner dentists will be eligible for Associate Fellowship of the College, and deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of the Clinical & Technical domain of College Fellowship. College members will receive a fee discount.

To register your interest in the Certified Practitioner in Endodontics, Certified Practitioner in Oral Surgery and/or Certified Practitioner in Implant Dentistry schemes, click the button below:

REGISTER YOUR INTEREST HERE

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College of General Dentistry News

Celebrating contributions to implant dentistry: past, present and future

An event will be held in the new year to celebrate the historic and ongoing contributions of both the College and former Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP) to raising the quality of education and practice in implant dentistry.

Candidates awaiting conferral of awards by the former FGDP(UK) at a Diplomates’ Day

The event will take place 20 years after the publication by the FGDP of the first edition of Training Standards in Implant Dentistry. Recognised by the General Dental Council and now made available by the College, this document summarises the training that should be undertaken to carry out implant dentistry safely, and the standards which should be met by training courses.

Alongside the FGDP’s renowned Diploma in Implant Dentistry, which started in 2003, the Training Standards in Implant Dentistry have driven a significant improvement in the quality of postgraduate education in dental implantology in the UK over the last 20 years [i].

Led by Dr Abhi Pal FCGDent, the event will also highlight the College’s inheritance and continuation of this ambition through the publication of Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: good practice guidelines in 2022, the launch of the Register of Mentors in Implant Dentistry and publication of dedicated journal issues in 2024, development of an updated and amalgamated Training and Mentoring Standards in Implant Dentistry (due in 2026), and plans to introduce the validation of high-quality postgraduate courses.

Dr Pal will also outline the emerging Career Pathway for Implant Dentistry – a progression from new practitioner in the field to Associate Fellowship (by portfolio), Certified Practitioner in Implant Dentistry and ultimately Recognised Mentor – through which implant dentists can develop their careers and gain recognition for the skills, knowledge and experience acquired at each stage.

Dr Pal is Principal of The University Dental and Implant Centre in Birmingham, editor of Training Standards in Implant Dentistry, co-editor of Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines, Immediate Past President of the College and a member of its Career Pathways Reference Group.

The event, Driving quality in implant dentistry, will take place from 3pm-5pm on Thursday 5 February 2026 at Cutlers’ Hall in London.

Tickets cost £20 and are currently available to Members & Fellows of the College. Secure your place via the button below:

BOOK YOUR PLACE HERE

Booking will be opened to College Subscribers on Monday 8 December 2025. Registering as a College Subscriber is free of charge and ensures you’ll be kept up to date through our regular newsletter and gain viewing access to our Standards & Guidance publications. Register via the button below:

REGISTER AS A COLLEGE SUBSCRIBER HERE

Booking will then be opened to non-members/non-subscribers on Monday 5 January 2026.

Driving quality in implant dentistry will be followed in the same venue at 6pm by the College’s Fellows’ Winter Reception, including the Presentations of Associate Fellows and Fellows. This is a chargeable event with separate ticketing arrangements. It will be preceded in the same venue by the Lindsay Society’s Lilian Lindsay Memorial Lecture. This is a free event but prior booking is required.

[i] Kim, N.Y., Stagnell, S. Postgraduate education in dental implantology in the United Kingdom: a review. Int J Implant Dent 4,8 (2018). Available at https://journalimplantdent.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40729-017-0115-1

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College of General Dentistry News

Recognition of Indian postgraduate qualifications

The College has published an updated policy on its acceptance of Indian postgraduate dental qualifications when determining eligibility for its highest grades of membership.

Dentists who have been awarded the Master of Dental Surgery (MDS) or a PhD by a higher education institution recognised by the Dental Council of India (DCI) are now eligible by default for Associate Fellowship of the College. The MDS is also recognised as fulfilling the requirements of the Clinical & Technical domain of College Fellowship, and a PhD as fulfilling the requirements of the Publications & Research domain.

The MDS is a three-year, full-time postgraduate degree which combines a wide-ranging post-BDS curriculum with additional study and research in a chosen specialist area. It is the accepted qualification for specialist practice in India, and candidates are selected via a competitive, nationally-set entrance examination.

Equivalence for other India-awarded qualifications will continue to be determined on a case-by-case basis, with applicants required to provide a Statement of Comparability from the UK National Information Centre for the recognition and evaluation of international qualifications and skills (UK ENIC, formerly UK NARIC). This can be obtained for a small fee.

A searchable register of recognised institutions in India is available on the homepage of the DCI website. Applicants are advised to search the full list for their institution rather than filtering for MDS courses; if the institution’s name cannot be found, they should provide a letter from the DCI stating its recognition of their institution and MDS speciality branch.

College membership marks a dental practitioner’s commitment to professional development and career progression. While the College welcomes all qualified and licensed dental professionals around the world into Associate Membership, postgraduate qualifications are required to enter into Full Membership and are the primary route to admission into Associate Fellowship and for satisfying the Clinical & Technical and Research & Publications domains of College Fellowship.

The College already recognises relevant Postgraduate Certificates, Postgraduate Diplomas, Master’s-level qualifications and PhDs awarded by recognised higher education institutions or regulated awarding bodies in the UK and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Those awarded elsewhere, with the exception of an MDS or PhD from an institution recognised by the DCI, should be accompanied by a Statement of Comparability as above.

In all cases, Postgraduate Certificates, Postgraduate Diplomas and Master’s-level qualifications must provide, respectively, 60, 120 or 180 UK academic credits or their equivalent (60 UK credits is the equivalent to 30 ECTS or 15 US credits) at Level 7 (as defined by the relevant qualification frameworks in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or equivalent (e.g. Level 11 in Scotland).

The College also accepts a number of awards conferred by Royal Colleges and equivalent bodies in the UK and beyond.

Full details of eligibility for each type of membership are available here.

Members who practise wholly overseas and are not registered with the UK’s General Dental Council pay a concessionary membership fee which is one third of the standard rate.

Overseas members receive the same benefits as UK-practising members, including use of College postnominals and copies of the Primary Dental Journal by post.

Overseas-based Associate Fellows and Fellows are also eligible to attend the College’s biannual Fellows’ Receptions, which are usually held in London; those attending for the first time will also be ceremonially presented.

To apply to join the College, click the button below:

JOIN US

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College of General Dentistry News

Certified Practitioner scheme to recognise enhanced skills

The College has announced a new initiative enabling general dental professionals to have their enhanced skills, knowledge and experience in particular fields of practice recognised.

Created in close consultation with stakeholders, including NHS authorities, Certified Practitioner status will provide authoritative validation of enhanced capability for patients, colleagues and commissioners. Intended to support recognition across both NHS and private practice, they will be developed for all roles in the oral healthcare team and open to both UK-based dental professionals and those practising elsewhere.

Initially, a number of Certified Practitioner schemes will be opened to dentists. Benchmarked against Level 2 case complexity, they will also align with the capabilities achieved following successful completion of a skills-based, university-awarded postgraduate diploma. The College is working with partners across the professional community to determine appropriate requirements for training and clinical cases, and these will be published discipline-by-discipline in due course.

Applicants will be required to have at least five years’ post-registration experience, of which at least two years should be providing general dental treatment. They will need to present a CV, training log and logbook of cases which meet the required standard. They will also need to submit a detailed portfolio of some of these cases, which will form the basis of a peer-reviewed assessment.

Successful applicants will be entitled to use the ‘CertPract’ post-nominal for the relevant discipline. Their Certified Practitioner status will also be published on a Register of Certified Practitioners, and the designation will feature in the College’s Register of Members & Fellows.

Certified Practitioner dentists will be eligible for Associate Fellowship of the College, and deemed to have fulfilled the requirements of the Clinical & Technical domain of College Fellowship. College members will receive a discount on the credentialing fee.

Requirements for the first Certified Practitioner scheme, Certified Practitioner in Endodontics – CertPract(Endo) – have now been developed in close consultation with the British Endodontic Society, and will be published when applications open shortly. This will be followed by criteria for Oral Surgery and Implant Dentistry, with further disciplines expected thereafter.

Dr Roshni Karia MCGDent, President of the College, said:

“Getting a qualification is no longer enough to show your capability at a more advanced level, yet the dental profession has lacked a clear designation for those who have invested in high levels of skill development, beyond qualifications, for primary care practice. Our new Certified Practitioner scheme is the answer, enabling practitioners with an enhanced level of skill to demonstrate independent certification of their professional capabilities.”

Further details will be added to the Certified Practitioner page as they are announced.

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College of General Dentistry Event

Advanced orthodontics course (block 2)

Wednesday 2 December 2026 – Saturday 5 December 2026

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

Inaugural aesthetic award winners

The College of General Dentistry, Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and Dentsply Sirona would like to congratulate the successful candidates of the inaugural Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry.

The competition, which recognises aesthetic dentistry skills and patient care, was open to dentists who qualified in the UK or Ireland between 2019 and 2023, or who qualified overseas between 2019 to 2023 and had been practising in the UK for at least the two years.

The 19 winning entrants are:

Dr Cordelia AshbyDr Milton JustinsuthakaranDr Golasa Sheikh Akbari
Dr Alastair CampbellDr Nafeesa KhanDr Arav Soin
Dr Nathaniel-Edouard DavidsonDr Adam KingsleyDr Mojgan Talibi
Dr Farah ElnaqaDr Emily LawtonDr Nickhalas Tan Chun Khye
Dr Puyan HeydariDr Ronan LeeDr Jarmima Uddin
Dr Victoria HillsonDr Tendai Manangazira
Dr Abida IslamDr Parth Patel

To enter the award, participants each submitted an aesthetic case which involved more than one tooth, including at least one anterior tooth, and the use of composite to restore teeth. Cases also followed a mainly analogue workflow. Cases entered featured a range of restorative treatments including those for diastema, severe tooth wear, and peg shaped laterals. View all successful cases here.

A selection of the winning cases which illustrate a range of different types of cases entered in the competition. Cases submitted by (L-R): Dr Nafeesa Khan, Dr Mojgan Talibi, Dr Cordelia Ashby

The assessors scored each case based on a set of assessment criteria which allocated points to overall improvement in the patient’s oral health, the standard of aesthetic treatment, the complexity of the case and the quality of the entrant’s reflection.

The successful candidates will each receive a fully funded place on a bespoke, hands-on two-day digital dentistry course next month at the Dentsply Sirona Academy in Weybridge, Surrey. Travel costs, hotel accommodation and subsistence are included in the prize, which is worth around £2,000 per place.

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.

Dentsply Sirona is the world’s largest manufacturer of professional dental products and technologies.

Dr Bereznicki commented:

“I would like to thank everyone who entered our first competition for early career dentists, and congratulate the successful candidates. We were impressed by the high standard of entries we received as well as the interesting and wide variety of aesthetic cases. I am sure the winners, and their patients, will all benefit immensely from the intensive hands-on course on Digital Dentistry, which has been generously supported by Dentsply Sirona.”  

Further details about the award are available on the award web page. To register your interest in next year’s award and receive a notification as soon as the competition opens, sign up to our notification list.

The College also partners with the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation on the CGDent-GC Award for Foundation Trainees (which is currently open to applications) and the ‘Introduction to Occlusion’ series of symposia, the next of which takes place on Saturday 1 November 2025 in Edinburgh.

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College of General Dentistry News

College masterclass teaches leadership development skills

The College recently hosted a Leadership Development Masterclass for dental professionals.

Professor Sreenivas Koka FCGDent presenting to participants at the CGDent Leadership Development Masterclass

The masterclass taught 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 took place at the Royal Society of Medicine in London on Tuesday 14 October 2025, was restricted to Full Members, Associate Fellows and Fellows of the College and was attended by members from across the dental team.

The event was 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 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 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 paper ‘Oral health in the context of patient well-being: Implications for the general dentist’. Professor Carr is the author of ‘Effectively managing difficult conversations with patients and dental teams’. Both are co-authors of ‘Everyday leadership’.

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 were delighted to be able to host this masterclass, and privileged that it was 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.”

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