A world of difference

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Grant McIntyre: Dean, Faculty of Dental Surgery

This is my first article as Dean of the Dental Faculty and I would like to commend the team generating the content, editing and publishing Surgeons’ News. I never appreciated how many steps are involved producing each edition. This is another aspect of being Dean – I have had to learn very quickly.

Each edition is a triumph and key to keeping me up to date with developments across our illustrious College. I noted Roger Currie’s kind welcome to me in the September issue. Time has flashed by since Roger and I met in the early phases of our careers, and through the College we have maintained our friendship ever since.

My first contact with the College will resonate with most Members and Fellows – as an exam candidate 24 years ago. The firm but friendly atmosphere I experienced not only put me at ease, but ensured I wanted to connect with and work for the College across my career.

I have had various roles across the College since being a rather nervous exam candidate, and for the last nine years I have sat on Dental Council. Our College stands out to me as not only the friendly College, but the College that is constantly evolving and growing.

Impostor syndrome

I would like to pay tribute to the previous FDS Deans. I have been suffering from imposter syndrome over the last few months as I reflect on the achievements of former Deans and my immediate predecessor and friend, Philip Taylor, who had the unenviable job of steering us through what has been the most difficult period of all of our careers.

Nevertheless, he was not daunted by the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and rose to the challenge of helping dentistry recover with education and examination at the heart of the Faculty. We are very grateful to him.

Key objectives

The Faculty of Dental Surgery’s key objective is to improve global oral health, and many of the diseases treated by surgeons across the College Faculties are increasingly being shown to be caused by or linked to poor oral health. It is my intention to link the Faculty of Dental Surgery with all that we do across the College. We have ambitious plans for the next three years. Much of these involve continuing our mission of improving global oral health.

The Faculty of Dental Surgery will be developing our impressive educational offerings under the direction of our Convener of Dental Education, Lochana Nanayakkara; the stewardship of our extensive dental examinations portfolio by our Convener of Dental Examinations, Tim O’Brien; and our international work through our very knowledgeable Vice-Dean, Will McLaughlin.

Stewart Barclay is a key member of Dental Executive as Honorary Secretary and quietly but judiciously ensures our business is conducted in an orderly manner. One of Stewart’s key roles is running the Membership and Fellowship without Examination process. If you have held a Specialty Membership for some time, have you thought about upgrading and becoming a Fellow without Examination? Please let colleagues know about this.

Global reach

I look forward to working with and meeting as many of our 8,000 Faculty of Dental Surgery Members as possible over the next three years and continuing to ensure our Faculty remains at the forefront of improving oral health across the globe.

Bringing the world to the College and taking the College out to the world is important to me, so I would be delighted to meet you either at the College or in your country. We have lots of work to do, and through your contribution to the work of the Faculty of Dental Surgery and our College we can all make a significant difference to the lives of people around the world.