Moving forward in 2018

On behalf of the Faculty Board and staff I would like to wish you a very happy and successful 2018. We hope that you enjoyed a restful break and have begun the New Year refreshed and committed to your important work and professional development.

I am sure that many of you saw the start of the New Year with a list of resolutions to accomplish in your professional and personal lives.

At the Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS), we are approaching 2018 committed to strengthening our community of more than 5,500 fellows and members in the UK and across the globe. Our members continue to be at the centre of everything that we do, and we look forward to working with you to achieve and maintain excellence in practice and patient care.

We are excited to continue to bring you an exclusive range of benefits and services, including our world-class education and training programmes, award winning publications, pioneering research and our policy and advocacy initiatives.

Last year was a milestone year for the FDS, with celebrations marking our 70th anniversary in June. Our membership numbers continued to grow and the Faculty was one of the most quoted dental organisations in the dental sector, cementing our position as an influential voice in the media, with government and other key stakeholders.

2018 promises to be another exciting year for the FDS.

In the policy and advocacy sphere, we continue to make strides to advocate for the improvement of the state of children’s oral health. The campaign has been successful, gaining considerable traction in the media and in parliament from MPs across the political spectrum, and debates about child tooth decay took place in both the House of Commons and House of Lords towards the end of last year. In addition, we launched a new report on Improving Older People’s Oral Health in August, and both of these areas this will remain important policy priorities for us in 2018. The Faculty will also continue to advise the Advancing Dental Care: Education and Training Review. The initiative, led by Health Education England (HEE) and the Office of the Chief Dental Officer (OCDO), aims to consider how best to educate and train the future dental team.

There is still more work to do across these important initiatives and we look forward to sharing updates with you as we progress.

Our education and training offering will continue to support members and future members of the Faculty on their career journey. Our curriculum is developed by dental surgeons for dental surgeons and we offer a range of postgraduate courses, practical exam revision sessions, as well as a complimentary suite of e-learning modules for members. I encourage you to take charge of your professional development for the year ahead and check our website regularly for course updates.

Help shape the future of the FDS

We are committed to supporting you at every stage of your career. To continue to do this we will conduct a review of our member benefits and the work we do for you in 2018. We will be calling on you later in the year to help shape the future of the FDS and participate in a series of focus groups. However, in the meantime, if you wish to get in touch with any immediate suggestions or comments, please email Dean@rcseng.ac.uk.

Thank you for your support. We look forward to working with you in the year ahead to continue to strengthen our shared purpose and commitment to the profession.