Salvador Dalí used clocks and timepieces frequently in his exceptional, eccentric, and enduring art. Over his lifetime, the Spanish artist created a remarkable portfolio spanning cubism, futurism, and surrealism. Reflecting on the achievements of 2024 for the Faculty of Dental Surgery, Dalí’s use of time and change as irrefutable, consistent elements of the human experience resonates with the ongoing work of our Faculty. It has been a busy year, as you will see below.
Our education activity is led by Lochana Nanayakkara, Convener of Dental Education. In addition to the steady stream of accreditation applications for specialty training programmes, short courses, and CPD courses, a new product, portfolio accreditation, became available this year for education providers delivering a basket of programmes. The team of accreditation reviewers is committed and greatly appreciated. If you would like to join the team, please get in touch at accreditation@rcsed.ac.uk. A range of webinars has been provided throughout the year, some in collaboration with the British Society of Gerontology, with an even larger series of webinars planned for 2025, including those run jointly with the British Association of Oral Surgeons. Work continues on a dental version of the International Postgraduate Deanery programme. Having formally submitted our proposal to the UK General Dental Council later in 2024, we await the outcome. If approved, it will provide an additional route for international dentists in training to come to the UK to develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities before returning home. The educational highlight of the year was a Dental Symposium in September, run by the QMUL Hypodontia Unit, which was a tour de force by the expert team. In 2025, the Faculty will increase its educational offerings for Members and Fellows, with access to an online Dental CPD platform in addition to ongoing bespoke exam information sessions, the annual symposium, and other activities. The first Foundations in Dental Leadership course proved successful and will run again, hopefully in 2025.
As Dental Examinations Convener, Tim O’Brien led the team in delivering 47 examination diets, hosting 1,700 candidates across 27 centres worldwide in 2024 - quite an achievement. Several diets were extensive, with 100 candidates now becoming routine for some specialties. This year, as the Dental Specialty Fellowship Examinations work got underway in earnest, the Faculty participated in multiple meetings with our sister colleges, all fruitful and energetic, to deliver the new specialty-level exams, which will go live in September 2026. Throughout 2024, we marked the silver jubilee of the MFDS examination. Towards the end of the year, we began engaging with the new tri-collegiate MFDS examination, which will take shape over the next 12 months. The Dental Diploma Examinations, under development for some time, went live, with the first examinations scheduled for spring 2025. Work has also begun on a new LDS qualification, with further information to follow in 2025.
Our international activity is led by Will McLaughlin, Vice-Dean. We now have 24 international ambassadors in 16 countries, along with a strong UK team of ambassadors. Their enthusiasm and willingness to promote the College have been remarkable, particularly evident at the Dental Ambassador Conference in September, which was a triumph. Faculty visits were undertaken in Egypt, the UAE, Sri Lanka, India, and Malaysia. Our UK Dental Clinical Skills Competition was held in a grand final format this year and complemented by international competitions in Malaysia and Egypt, both key countries for Faculty growth. The Faculty participated in President’s forums in Cairo, Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, London, Kuala Lumpur, and Oxford, with dental faculty engagement events in Colombo, Delhi, and Chennai. We signed several MoUs with universities, governments, and professional bodies worldwide, with several more in progress. The Faculty also engaged with ministries of health and regulators globally, demonstrating our support for the wider international community. A highlight was our President, Rowan Parks, signing a Memorandum of Agreement with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Egypt, the culmination of significant work across the College.
This year, we welcomed two new members of Dental Council, Ahmed El-Shanawany and Nigel Robb, along with our new trainee member, Don Jayawardena. We bid farewell to Barry Quinn and Ferranti Wong. Stewart Barclay completes his term as Dental Honorary Secretary at the end of 2024, with his successor, Ivor Chestnutt, already immersed in the responsibilities of this role. The Dental Honorary Secretary oversees many matters related to the running and governance of the Faculty. While much of this work occurs in the background, it is crucial to our overall effectiveness and efficiency. Similarly, our Advisory Boards and Specialty Advisory Boards provide invaluable contributions, even if their work remains behind the scenes.
During the year, we held four meetings of the Dental Council, celebrating 70 years of its achievements, along with four meetings of the Dental Executive and the Advisory Board for Dental Education, and three meetings of the Dental Examinations Committee. Additionally, we held 18 Advisory Board and Specialist Advisory Board meetings, interspersed with various ad hoc and short-life working group meetings. The Dental Executive serves as a conduit between the Faculty of Dental Surgery and the College, with members attending College Council, the Awards Committee, the Shadow Trustee Board, the International Committee, the Professional Standards Committee, the Heritage and Museums Committee, the Hill Square Educational Trust, the Office Bearers group, the Surgeons Quarter Board, the Staff and Associate Specialist Liaison Committee, the Academy of Medical Colleges’ Research Committee, and numerous one-off meetings throughout the year. The Dental Executive also meets the General Dental Council quarterly.
The first Membership without Examination candidates joined the Faculty in 2024, and the conversion of the existing Diploma in Implant Dentistry to the new Membership in Implant Dentistry was completed. The Faculty’s manifesto for the 2024 UK general election focused on improving population oral health, supplemented by advocacy for a smoke-free generation and other dedicated campaigns in local, regional, and national publications.
The Faculty participated in 12 College diploma ceremonies, including events in Kuala Lumpur and Egypt. It was an enormous pleasure to award Brian Nattress the Dental Faculty Medal for his unwavering support throughout his career and Dr Robert Love, a Scot who has worked predominantly in New Zealand, the first Honorary Fellowship in Dental Surgery awarded in many years. Diploma ceremonies are a highlight of the year, both in the UK and abroad, celebrating the immense achievements of so many diplomates. In 2025, we will increase the number of diploma ceremonies further, so keep an eye on the College media channels.
Catherine Thwaites (Faculty Development Manager), Gill Mitchell (Head of Faculties), Cire Grimmer (Senior Faculty Administrator), and Noa Gelb (Faculty Administrator) quietly guide the Dental Executive, Dental Council, our Advisory Boards, and the team of volunteers in delivering Faculty business. Through this report, I would like to thank this team, as well as the staff in examinations, education, and across the College, for driving our Faculty forward.
2025 will begin with numerous meetings already scheduled. With the wider governance changes across the College, including new Dental Faculty Regulations, there is much work to do in both the Faculty’s operations and its outward-facing activities. The Faculty of Dental Surgery will reflect Dalí’s themes of time and change in 2025, as we continue to make an impact for the profession, patients, and the public. I hope you can take time to relax as 2024 draws to a close and feel re-energised as 2025 begins.
Written by Grant McIntyre, Dental Dean