 RCSEd’s Faculty of Dental Surgery newly appointed Dean, Richard Ibbetson welcomes his new role and shares his vision and goals for the times ahead
This is my first Dean’s column and I wish first of all to pay tribute to the Immediate Past Dean, David Felix and his Vice- Dean, Ann Shearer for the stewardship of the Dental Faculty over the past three years. David summarised many of the achievements of the last three years in his column in the last Surgeons’ News (August 2011). He and Ann have led the Faculty with distinction and all Fellows, Members and Affiliates owe them a considerable debt of gratitude.
It is an honour to represent the Faculty as your Dean and it is pleasure to welcome Rob Chate as Vice-Dean and I hope that - together with Michael Manogue as Dental Faculty Secretary and all the Members of Dental Council - we can serve your needs. We have a richly talented Dental Council and we welcome following the recent elections - Peter Douglas, Brian Nattress and Bill Saunders - the latter making a welcome return.
“There are a number of important issues facing the Faculty at this time, not least is the need to build on our previous work towards the establishment of the UK Tri-Collegiate Membership examinations”
Dental Council is the body that you have elected to represent you and I hope as Dean to give full support to them and in so doing for the Faculty as a whole to reap the benefits of their expertise. I also thank and acknowledge the achievements of our Advisory Boards and their Chairs; without their unstinting work - and that of the Examinations Convenor, Peter Durning - the reputation of the Faculty both at home and overseas would not be as strong as it is.
There are a number of important issues facing the Faculty at this time, not least is the need to build on our previous work towards the establishment of the UK Tri- Collegiate Membership examinations in Oral Surgery, Paediatric Dentistry and Special Care Dentistry. We must establish these as soon as is feasible, particularly to meet the needs of the prospective candidates for these examinations, whilst maintaining and developing our conjoint examinations both within the United Kingdom and overseas. I applaud the progress made by the respective Advisory Boards, the Examinations Convenor and the Immediate Past Dean.
It is a priority that we continue to strongly support our Fellows and Members, not only in the UK, but also overseas. We value you highly and I hope that any of you will feel able to contact me directly if you feel that the Faculty can be of assistance, or if there are things that you believe we could do better. I also hope that there will be an opportunity during my term as Dean to meet as many of you as possible.
The world of dentistry continues to change at great speed. I wish the Faculty to be representative of its Fellows, Members and Affiliates in the ongoing discussions about changes in dentistry, both in the primary and secondary sectors at local and national levels in the UK. The Faculty has a voice and it has a Council with a wealth of expertise and experience. I hope that together we can use these skills and attributes to develop and maintain a strong voice in all areas of dentistry.
They say that whilst the term of the Dental Dean is three years, if the plans are not agreed and in place and actions taken during the first year, it is frequently too late for anything useful to be achieved. So if you will forgive me, I shall draw this first column to a close and return to the task in hand! May I take this opportunity to send my personal best wishes to all Fellows, Members and Affiliates wherever in the world you live and work.
Richard Ibbetson, Dean, Faculty of Dental Surgery
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The CV
- Graduated from Guy’s Hospital Dental School in 1974
- Masters Degree in Conservative Dentistry at the Eastman Dental Institute in 1978, where he then worked for over 20 years
- Appointed Professor of Primary Dental Care at the University of Edinburgh and Director of the Edinburgh Postgraduate Dental Institute in 1999
- RCSEd FDS Council since 2000: elected Member since 2008
- Hon. Consultant in Restorative Dentistry, Barts and The London NHS Trust
- In 2011, appointed Professor of Restorative Dentistry, Institute of Dentistry, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary, University of London
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