Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry

The 2026 award is open to entries until Monday 8 June 2026

The Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry, developed by the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation in conjunction with CGDent and Dentsply Sirona, is open to Dentists who qualified between 2020 to 2024, and who practise in the UK or EU.

The Award recognises your clinical skills, reflective skills and patient care and has been carefully designed to offer all eligible dentists the opportunity to enhance their skills in restorative and digital dentistry in order to provide the best care for their patients.

View the successful cases from the 2025 competition.

It is essential that you read the award entry guidance and watch our clinical photography support video before entering your pre-op photos.

The prize

Up to 23 successful candidates will each receive a fully funded place on an exclusive two-day, hands-on digital dentistry course at the Dentsply Sirona Academy in Weybridge, Surrey. The prize includes UK travel, hotel accommodation and subsistence and is worth around £2,000. Successful candidates who practise outside the UK will be expected to fund their own travel to the UK. Watch interviews with award winners.

“An incredible introduction into the future of dentistry; how the digital world can transform not only the quality of your work but also predictably and efficiency.”

The course has been designed solely for the Award by Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent and Dr Chris Leech FCGDent for dentists who are currently operating within a mainly analogue workflow or with limited experience of digital dentistry – it is not available commercially.

• Dr Tom Bereznicki BDS (Edin), FDS RCS (Ed), MFDTEd, FCGDent, MFDSEng
• Dr Chris Leech BDS, MAGDS RCS (Ed), MFDS RCPS (Glasg), Dip Imp Dent RCS (Ed), FDS RCS (Ed), FCGDent

The bespoke hands-on course will guide you step-by-step through the complete process of creating a digitally produced crown, from scanning to cementation, including the science behind material choice. Click for more course details.

How to enter

To enter, submit pre-op photos of an aesthetic case you are about to start treating, which mainly follows an analogue workflow. The case must involve more than one tooth, including at least one anterior tooth, and the use of composite to restore teeth. When treatment is complete, submit your final case report. Read our award entry guidance for the full details.

4 steps:

1. register a free College subscriber account on our website or sign in to your existing account
2. complete both parts of our online entry form and attach 9 pre-op photos of your case
3. carry out your treatment
4. submit your final case
   

We are accepting a maximum of 100 entries, including up to 20 entries from dentists practising in the EU. Eligible entries will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis so we recommend entering as soon as you can to avoid disappointment.

Before selecting your case and entering the award, it is essential that you read the full entry guidance, which details types of eligible cases and how to present your case.

The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation has produced a training video with hints and tips to support the development of your clinical photography skills. We strongly recommend that you watch the video to aid your entry.

If you have any queries about the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry, please email us at [email protected]

Successful candidates

Entries will be assessed and scored based on the clinical skills and reflective skills demonstrated in each case. If your case isn’t perfect, we recommend that you still enter it as we allocate a large number of points to your reflection on how the treatment went and any lessons you have learnt from mistakes made.

The highest scoring entrants will each receive a fully funded place on the two-day digital dentistry course. Entries are assessed by a panel of judges which comprises Trustees of the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and suitably qualified members of the College.

Introduction to Digital Dentistry course

“I would highly recommended the Introduction to Digital Dentistry course to early career dentists… I now feel more confident in integrating digital workflows into my daily work.”

The award winners each receive a fully-funded place on an exclusive two-day, hands-on digital dentistry course at the Dentsply Sirona Academy in Weybridge, Surrey. UK travel costs, hotel accommodation, and subsistence are included in the prize, which is worth around £2,000. Successful candidates who practise outside the UK will be expected to fund their own travel to the UK.

This unique course, which combines theory, demonstrations and hands-on experience, has been designed by Dr Tom Bereznicki and Dr Chris Leech specifically for 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.

To supplement the two-day course, additional material science modules will be delivered through pre-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 includes:

• Presentations on digital dentistry and digital dentures

• Demonstrations followed by 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

The course is repeated on two dates, with 12 places allocated to each course date.

What successful candidates say

“A comprehensive course on digital dentistry, NHS and private work flow and treatment planning.”

“I’ve picked up tips on improving my workflows for digital dentistry but also feel inspired to continue to strive towards clinical excellence!”

“The whole course was fantastic and has really helped me to understand how to elevate my dentistry and where to look for further teaching.”

“The speakers were great, super engaging, inspiring and relatable.”

Course leaders

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

Dr Chris Leech is a partner in a private dental practice, Scientific Director of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and a trustee of the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation. A graduate of Newcastle Dental School, he also 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.

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Dr Bal Sohal
BDS (Kings) Hons

Dr Bal 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 in 2018 from King’s College London, 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.

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.

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Award organisers

For updates about the Tom Bereznicki Award for Advanced Aesthetic Dentistry follow us on Instagram @CGDentYoungDental and @bereznicki_dentaleducation

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