Author: Gary Mendham

Charles Tomes Lecture

Post author By Gary Mendham
Post date 24th January 2017

The prestigious Charles Tomes Lecture, this year given by Prof Helen Rodd (BDS UBrist 1988),will take place at the Royal College of Surgeons in London on Thursday 23 March 2017 from 5.00–6.15pm. Helen is Professor/Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry, University of Sheffield.

Those wishing to attend should email jdonald@rcseng.ac.uk

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New report received; Root’76 Reunion

Post author By Gary Mendham
Post date 11th January 2017

We have received a report of the reunion held by the Class of ’76, held in November 2016

You may read the report by clicking here

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New report received: Class of ’81 Reunion

Post author By Gary Mendham
Post date 3rd January 2017

1981 Reunion, 12 November 2016
Gordon Shovlin

The 35^th reunion for the Class of ‘81 was held on the 12^th November 2016 at the Glass Boat on the historic Bristol floating harbour. We had 35 guests attending with 21 of the original year-group and a very enjoyable evening was had by all.

This year, rather than bore you with a blow-by-blow account of the occasion, we are giving you the chance to immerse yourself in the evening’s events by clicking here

Thanks to all of you who made the effort to attend and especially to the volunteer speakers who entertained us so royally.

It appears that none of us have changed at all!

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Merry Christmas!

Post author By Gary Mendham
Post date 22nd December 2016

The Chairman and Secretary, on behalf of the BDAA Committee, would like to wish all its members a very

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’66 Soc 50th Anniversary Reunion

Post author By Gary Mendham
Post date 6th December 2016

Organiser Bob Binnersley reports that the ’66 Soc celebrated the milestone of holding their 50th anniversary reunion on Saturday 3rd December.

They are to be congratulated on this achievement which is even more impressive when you consider they have held a reunion every single year since qualification!

You may read a report of the evening by clicking here.

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New Student Elective Reports received:

Post author By Gary Mendham
Post date 17th October 2016

“Oral Surgery in Thailand: The WHO Checklist and Consent”

You can read the report in full by clicking here

Oonagh McSwiney and Kathleen Villanueva

“Community-Based Education in Bristol and Boston”

You can read the report in full by clicking here

Dara Murphy and Rachel Suffern

“Assessing the aspects of dental care delivered by a non-profit organisation to a disadvantaged community in Phnom Penh, Cambodia”

You can read the report in full by clicking here

Mary-Jane Thompson and Anjali Vasudev

“The patient journey through oral cancer: A comparison between Bristol Dental Hospital and Karapitiya Hospital, Sri Lanka “

You can read the report in full by clicking here

Christopher Burt and Connie Hardwick

“An assessment of orthodontic treatment need and its provision in Kathmandu, Nepal”

You can read the report in full by clicking here

Lola Woolley and Dylan Rakhra

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Chris Stephens has written another book!

Post author By Gary Mendham
Post date 7th October 2016

Chris Stephens has written another fascinating book entitled, Bishop’s Knoll – Bristol’s Lost Hospital.

You can read an article about it and also find out how to purchase a copy by clicking here

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News from the School

All Change in Lower Maudlin St.

Post author By Gary Mendham
Post date 2nd September 2016

Chris Stephens has just written a fascinating article regarding the current works happening in Lower Maudlin Street.

You can read about it by clicking here

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Sister Davison 1915-2016

Post author By Gary Mendham
Post date 27th August 2016

It is with much regret we have to report the death of Sybil Moores, Sister Davison who passed away peacefully on the morning of her 101st birthday. She had been in the BRI for a short time following a fall which had resulted in a broken neck of femur.

Vicki Townsend has sent us the following information:

A funeral service will be held on Tuesday 20th September at 11.00am at Canford Crematorium, Canford Lane, Westbury on Trym, followed by light refreshments at the Aztec Hotel, Aztec West, Bristol BS32 4TS. A Thanksgiving Service will be held on Sunday 25th September at 3.00pm at St Paul’s Church, St Paul’s Road, Clifton BS8 2BJ.

Flowers from family only, but donations may be made to St Peter’s Hospice, Charlton Road, Brentry, Bristol BS10 6NL

Sister was rarely seen wearing black, so would prefer her friends to wear the bright colours she loved wearing herself.

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News from the School

News from The School

Post author By Gary Mendham
Post date 20th July 2016

Professor Peter Robinson took up the post as Head of School on 4th January 2016 so we prompted him to look back on his first six months at Bristol:

His first thought was to acknowledge how welcoming everybody had been. “I spent the first few weeks going to speak to colleagues across the School and was really impressed with their openness and dedication. I feel very lucky to be working as part of such an excellent team.

The School is in an excellent position, with a glowing GDC inspection report for the BDS programme and world leading and internationally excellent research highlighted in REF2014.

There are some important challenges ahead though. We are a number of clinical academics short in Restorative Dentistry and unfortunately there is an international shortage in that discipline, so we’re going to have to think creatively about that. Nicola West has taken on leadership responsibilities for the academic side of Restorative Dentistry, which will be a real help as she is creative, super-organised and knows everyone in the field.

Another thing we’ve started on is maximising students’ opportunities at South Bristol. We’d like their experience there to mimic working in primary care as much as possible, finding the optimal blend between clinical excellence, patient-centred care and efficiency. We’ve revised the booking system to allow this and are reviewing the patients on the recall list. We’re hoping to make a number of clinical teaching fellow appointments at the dental hospital so that we can also move some of the learning from the tutorials at South Bristol up to the main building.

We’re also reflecting on the existing curriculum. Rebecca John, Andrea Waylen, Nigel Robb and Dave Dymock are doing that at the moment. They held a hugely successful launch event earlier this month, which gave the process considerable momentum. The existing curriculum is ten years old by now and we all know how much dentistry and oral health in general have changed in that time. We need to know whether the existing curriculum is fit for purpose, whether it needs some tweaks or whether we need to revise it more substantially. The group are due to report in September, which will be very interesting. If there is more work to be done we will instigate a system to manage any changes, which James Tubman will lead with his usual thoroughness and imagination.

On top of all that, we’re introducing a new suite of postgraduate programmes this autumn, with a certificate in oral surgery, an MSc in Sedation, and with luck an MSc in Oral Medicine and Pathology by the new year. A lot of people are working hard on this, guided by Tony Ireland and Dave Dymock.

We were very lucky to have Andy Ness to succeed Howard Jenkinson as Director of Research. I think Howard had been in the role for 12 years, but Andy is raring to go. He’s been exchanging ideas with all the School’s researchers over the last few months and will propose a new strategy in the coming months. That strategy will need to fit in with our new PVC’s (John Iredale) approach to co-ordinate research across our faculty as well as Biomedical Science. The intention is to focus on a small number of key areas for critical mass and strength. This should suit us well as SORDS’ research maps directly onto these areas already.

We’ve had some real research endeavour and success. Andy Ness collaborated with others across the faculty to submit a huge bid for a Biomedical Research Centre, which could position us very well for years to come. Michelle Barbour’s spin-out company (Pertinax) has received £900k investment and is looking at introducing Chlorhexidine into dental restorations to reduce the incidence of secondary caries. Given the distribution of caries this could be a much needed intervention.

We’ve also strengthened our ties with the Dental Hospital as there is much we can do for mutual benefit. As the new lead doctor, Becky Davies has proved to be an open and committed colleague. Our work together is not easy as we represent different organisations with sometimes competing priorities. Yet we work well together. One result has been the allocation of the £450k capital budget, which has funded new equipment and upgraded facilities to the benefit of patients, students and staff.

It’s been a busy six months! But I’d like to finish in the same way that I started, by thanking everyone for their welcome, their kindness and their hard work. I look forward to working with everyone in the years to come.”

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