InDent
A newsletter for Dental Alumni of Guy’s, King’s COLLEGE, and the Royal Dental Hospitals | issue 11 | january 2012
The Institute welcomes Dean Rekow Providing surgery for children in Vietnam Remembering Sir John Tomes Understanding sensory cells
Institute news
Welcome to the 2012 issue of InDent, outlining the remarkable contributions the Dental Institute has made to science and the profession during the past year. As in previous issues, you will discover award-winning innovations, scientific breakthroughs and insights that strengthen clinical delivery. You will find stories about staff and students who are winning national and international awards, researchers working at the cellular level and alumni who are striving to make a better world. Sadly, this issue will be missing the greetings of Nairn Wilson, as he moves to the next chapter of his career. It is my sincere hope that we continue the strong relationship that has evolved between the Institute and its alumni. Your perspectives are critically important for our continuing success; particularly in light of the changes and uncertainties intrinsic in evolving national policies and economies. Now, more than ever, the Institute needs your support, generosity and loyalty to thrive and grow. Working together, we will continue to have a local, national and international impact, strengthening our position as a leading institute in the world. I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible and am particularly excited about the activities we’ll share at Alumni Weekend.
Top of the class in dental education
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he Dental Institute has been recognised as delivering outstanding dental education in not one, but two league tables. In May, The Guardian placed the Institute at the top of its 2012 university league table for dentistry. Following on from this success, June saw the Institute placed top for dentistry in the Complete University Guide 2012. Professor Nairn Wilson, then Dean and Head of the Dental
Young Dental Writer awarded Dr Rupert Austin, NIHR Clinical Lecturer and Specialty Registrar in Prosthodontics at the Dental Institute, was named the 2011 Young Dental Writer of the Year. The award, organised and presented by the British Dental Editors’ Forum, was sponsored by the British Dental Trade Association. Dr Austin received the award for his contribution to the paper ‘The effect of increasing sodium fluoride concentrations on erosion and attrition of enamel and dentine in vitro’, published in the Journal of Dentistry.
Inaugural Nairn Wilson Prize Dr Nigel Meakin, a clinical teacher at both the Dental Institute and the University of Portsmouth, was awarded the inaugural Nairn Wilson Prize for Innovation and Excellence
Institute and Deputy Vice-Principal for Health at King’s College London, commented: ‘This success is attributable to the great team effort in the Institute and its recognition of all the hard work that has gone into developing the educational processes and student experience. The Institute, however, will continue to strive to further develop its standing as a centre of excellence in dental workforce development.’
in Undergraduate Dental Education at the University of Portsmouth Dental Academy in August. Professor Wilson, former Dean of the Dental Institute, kindly donated the prize for innovation in teaching.
First oral bacteria database A team of researchers from King’s and the Forsyth Institute has received a US National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research grant to continue their work on compiling the first comprehensive list of oral bacterial species. The Human Oral Microbiome Database provides descriptions of each species together with tools for analysis of their DNA. The grant will enable the researchers to continue cataloguing the Human Oral Microbiome and describing the 1,000 different bacterial species found in the human mouth. Please visit www.homd.org for more information.
A brilliant start: update from the University of Portsmouth Dental Academy
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he University of Portsmouth Dental Academy celebrated its first anniversary in September 2011 – and what a great year it has been. The dental therapy and dental students have integrated exceptionally well, providing sharedcare dentistry for the patients of the City of Portsmouth and its environs. A joint venture between the Dental Institute and the University of Portsmouth, the Dental Academy serves a diverse population, including many local residents with pronounced dental care needs. A typical patient might be Miss A. C., aged 23, who had not attended the dentist for some time. Following an oral health assessment by the dental student, the patient required root treatment of an upper premolar using the Protaper system. A prescription to the therapy student in the same practice team included a brief intervention for smoking and alcohol, chlamydia screening signposting, periodontal and restorative care (two anterior composite restorations by the
The first cohort of students has moved on to foundation training
therapy student) together with prevention according to the ‘Developing Better Oral Health Toolkit’. A three-monthly recall has been recommended, following an overall risk assessment, and taking into account the NICE guidance. The patient is now much healthier
Institute wins innovation award
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n 2011 the Dental Institute celebrated a triple win at the prestigious Medical Futures Innovation Awards. Winning ‘Best Educational Innovation’ was hapTEL, a virtual reality, haptic (sense of touch) ‘dental chair’ system aimed to teach the next generation of dentists, which was developed by King’s academics Professor Margaret Cox, Dr Jonathan P. San
A student examining the mouth of a virtual patient and removing artificial caries on a haptic tooth
Diego and Dr Barry Quinn (Guy’s, Dentistry, 1987), and a team of clinicians, psychologists, sociologists and cyberneticists. Using a haptic dental drill and mirror to operate on virtual teeth shown on a 3D screen, this system allows trainee dentists to reflect what would be seen in real life. The hapTEL team also received the Special Award for the Best Educational Innovation, which recognises the demonstration of a novel initiative which has made a positive impact in healthcare learning. A third award, for ‘Best Translational Innovation’, went to the team behind ‘Preventing cavities the SMART way’, a topical gel placed around the teeth to prevent infection with the bacterium Streptococcus mutans, the main cause of dental decay. The gel was developed by Professors Charles Kelly, Thomas Lehner (Guy’s, Dentistry, 1968) and Raman Bedi, alongside Professor Julian Ma from St George’s, University of London.
and confident about her oral health and certainly her smile. The first cohort of students from the Dental Institute has moved on to foundation training. Seven of the 12 vocational dentists on the Portsmouth scheme were from the Dental Academy cohort.
Refurbishment at St Thomas’
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tudents and patients of the St Thomas’ Hospital Dental Centre, part of the Dental Institute, are benefiting from a £2 million refurbishment. The Centre has been modernised with 24 remodelled surgeries, an onsite laboratory and radiography facilities. The Centre – re-opened in June 2011 by Dr Barry Cockcroft CBE, Chief Dental Officer for England – allows students and dental care professionals to learn in an environment similar to a general dental practice.
Louise King
Dianne Rekow’s greeting
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Alumni news
Student news
Service honoured
Dental Alumni Weekend 2011
he prestigious Dental Alumni Awards took place during the Dental Dinner. The Alumnus Distinguished Service Award, which recognises a longserving member of staff who has made a significant contribution to the Dental Institute or one of its constituent schools, was presented to Dr Ron Wilson for his enormous contribution to the teaching and research of clinical studies and periodontal disease. His career working within Guy’s Hospital spans an amazing 51 years. Professor Edwina Kidd (Royal Dental, 1967), Emeritus Professor of Cariology at the Institute, accepted the Alumnus of the Year Award for her outstanding contributions to cariology, which have transformed the restorative field from maximal standard large restorations to minimally invasive surgery.
he 2011 Dental Alumni Weekend commenced with a series of specialist meetings, followed by the annual Dental Dinner with more than 150 guests. There was a fantastic turnout from reunion groups, including a Royal Dental Hospital group celebrating 50 years since qualification and 26 Guy’s graduates celebrating their 25-year reunion. Reunion tables for graduates from 1974 and 1985 and the Distance Learning Programme added to the celebrations. Saturday saw 226 attendees participate in the hugely popular Clinical Day. Professor Michael Fenlon (MA Clinical Pedagogy, 2011) gave the Herbert Memorial Lecture while Mr Eric Waites (Guy’s, Dentistry, 1978) gave an interactive Rod Cawson Lecture. The 2012 weekend will take place on 2-3 March.
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Good sports wanted
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he Dental Institute has a tradition of mixing hard work with sporting activities. This is still true and the Dental Society invites alumni to attend upcoming sporting functions, which in 2012 will include a special event related to the Olympics. In addition, the main health schools’ sporting teams, in which Guy’s, King’s and St Thomas’ medical students compete, would very much welcome alumni support at Honor Oak Park (rugby, hockey, soccer) and elsewhere. For more information, please contact Alexander Teckkam, President of the King’s College London Dental Society, at dental-society@kcl.ac.uk
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Students at the Dental Institute have a long history of participating in sporting activities
Louise King
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Smiles all around: alumni enjoy the 2011 Dental Dinner
New scale to measure dry mouth
excellence in the planning and execution of treatment.
Remembering Frank Ashley
September 2011 saw the launch of the Challacombe Scale, an easy-to-use tool for identifying and quantifying the severity of dry mouth. Developed by Professor Stephen Challacombe (Guy’s, Dentistry, 1968), the scale is based on the Clinical Oral Dryness Score; it lists 10 key features of dry mouth, accompanied by images, and allocates one point for each feature. The patient’s additive score indicates the level of the condition and suggests what action to take next. For more information or to receive a free Challacombe Scale poster, please visit www.challacombescale.co.uk
The Dodd Family Fund
Professor Frank Ashley, past Dean of Guy’s Dental School and of the Dental Institute, died 12 years ago after a long illness. In recognition of his achievements, friends and colleagues are seeking gifts to commission a portrait of Professor Ashley to hang in the Board Room of the Tower Wing at Guy’s. To learn more, contact Nigel Fisher, Secretary, King’s College London Dental Institute Alumni Association, at nigel.fisher@kcl.ac.uk
John McLean Award
A sense of timing
Two graduate students from the Class of 2010 were the winner and runner-up of the John McLean Award 2011 for the most outstanding submission of a case presentation by a final-year London dental school student. Rachael Gallen and Shimal Patel received their award from Dr McLean’s daughter at a ceremony in July. Dr McLean was the most inspirational figure in dentistry of his time and was keen to reward
Journey of the Senses was the theme for King’s Alumni Weekend in June. It was therefore apt that Professor Brian Millar, Director of Blended Learning at the Dental Institute, gave a spellbinding lecture on ‘Sensing Dentistry’. The lecture included the latest ‘silent’ dental handpiece for dental-phobic patients and the use of the sense of touch as part of the award-winning hapTEL project.
Dr Joan Dodd (Royal Dental, Dentistry, 1948) has made a generous gift of £30,000 to endow the Dodd Family Fund at the Dental Institute in memory of her late brother, Grahame Dodd (Royal Dental, 1946). Income from the fund will provide assistance to a final-year dental student facing financial hardship. Her gift is hugely important at this particular time due to the changing nature of education funding. Dr Dodd’s foresight and generosity will help to ensure that future generations of dental students will be able to complete their studies.
Case presentation success Raheel Malik, a 2010 graduate dental student and Senior House Officer in the Department of Oral Surgery and Restorative Dentistry at the Institute, received the 2011 London Deanery’s Ruby Austin Prize for the best case presentation by a vocational training student. This prestigious award is given to a graduate dentist completing his or her vocational training year within the London Deanery. Sona Bavishi, Sally El-boghdadly, Nick Cooper, Nadia Jubbawy, Beshandeep Sehra and Sunil Kaura, also former students of the Institute, graduating in 2010, were among the nine finalists, with Kaura taking third prize.
Class of 2011
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he graduation ceremony for the Class of 2011, including PhD, master’s and the Associate of King’s College graduates, was held at Southwark Cathedral in June. Dr Mark Woolford, Director of Education at the Dental Institute, announced prizes awarded to final-year BDS students. The Jelf Medal was presented to Kalpesh Patel; the Newland Pedley Scholarship and Saunders Prize went to David Green and Colum Durkham respectively; the Robert Woodhouse Prize was awarded to Helen Young; and Emily Tan and Rupal Shar were joint winners of the A.M. Clover Prize. The prizes, which are awarded annually by the Institute, are based on academic and clinical performance.
Clinical research fellow wins prize
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yan Olley, Clinical Research Fellow in the Department of Prosthodontics at the Dental Institute, received the Johnson and Johnson Clinical Research Prize at the 2011 British Society for Oral and Dental Research meeting held in Sheffield. The prize was for the
best poster presentation in clinical dental research by a UK dental research worker. Olley took the prize for his work on ‘An in-situ
study investigating dentine tubule occlusion’. The research is part of his PhD looking at dentine sensitivity and tooth wear under the supervision of Professor David Bartlett and Dr Rebecca Moazzez.
Clinical Research Fellow Ryan Olley
Award for master’s student
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r Andreas Artopoulos, a postgraduate student on the MSc in Maxillofacial & Craniofacial Technology, received the 2011 Rowland Fereday Scholarship, which honours young members of the European Prosthodontic Association who are willing to undertake collaborative research in another European country. The award will be used to fund a joint research project between the Institute’s Department of Prosthodontics and the Department of Biomedical Physics at the University of Antwerp. The study compares the accuracy of laser scanning, stereophotogrammetry and projection moiré profilometry for 3D surface imaging in maxillofacial prosthodontics. Laser scanning has been widely used for 3D surface imaging and is considered the standard among non-ionizing radiation techniques. Stereophotogrammetry has significantly evolved with the introduction of digital photography. Projection moiré profilometry is a structured light optical technique for 3D surface data acquisition. January 2012| InDent | 5
Warren Birnbaum, left, and Daniel Van Gijn discuss the benefits of the Dental Circle
The value of the Dental Circle The Circle provides the means for one generation to support the next
Warren Birnbaum studied dentistry at King’s College School of Medicine and Dentistry, graduating in 1971. He is Head of Acute Dental Care at the Dental Institute and has been a Dental Circle donor for four years. One of this year’s Dental Circle award recipients, Daniel Van Gijn, spent his elective studying at Miami’s Children’s Hospital. The two of them recently met to talk about the importance of electives and how the Dental Circle supports students. WB: Tell me about your elective. DVG: I spent two weeks in Miami.
WB: How important was the Circle’s support? DVG: It was important for helping
with expenses such as flights and accommodations for electives, and also for providing awards, which gives you something extra on your CV.
I chose Miami because I’m planning to do craniofacial surgery, from a max fac perspective, and the Miami Children’s Hospital has a very well known craniofacial surgeon named Dr Anthony Wolfe, who’s in his early 70s. He is the link to the start of craniofacial surgery – and still working. That was the original reason for choosing Miami because it has so much history behind it regarding craniofacial surgery.
WB: How do you think this elective can help with your future career? DVG: When it comes to applying
WB: How did your experience benefit from the support of Circle donors? DVG: The donation has made a big
for a long time – trained and studied here. I like the idea of a group that supports undergraduates, that supports activity, that supports initiatives that are prioritised by the Dean and the Circle. And rather than give support as an individual, channelling it through a group like the Dental Circle ensures that the donations go to the most worthy recipients, so it is very democratic. To learn more about the Dental Circle, please call +44 (0)20 7848 4701 or email giving@kcl.ac.uk
difference. One of the difficulties being a student is the finances. To have the elective award really helped support my travels.
WB: How will the project help with your studies? DVG: One of the things we are looking
at out there – going there and seeing the units – is the team and the surgeons’ approach to clinical care,
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which is very inspiring. It confirmed that this is what I want to do and that the last three and a half years of being a student were worthwhile.
for registrar posts in maxillofacial surgery, candidates look very similar on paper. When you have a bit extra, that really makes a difference to talk about in an interview.
DVG: What’s special about being in the Dental Circle? WB: I’ve been involved with King’s
A new chapter
When Dr Clive Debenham took over as President of the Dental Alumni Association in 2011, he became the first non-staff member to hold the position; here he talks about the Institute and his vision for the Association
In some ways, I think becoming President of the Association was inevitable. Stephen Challacombe and I were born on the same hospital ward in 1946, then again met over the same dissecting table as students at Guy’s in the late 60s. We were always going to end up working closely together. These are exciting times for the Dental Institute. With a strong focus on external strategy, we’re working hard to boost our international profile. The Institute has just appointed its first ever Dean from overseas, Professor Dianne Rekow, and I think that shows our commitment to taking our place on the world stage. In 2012, I’ll be going on a trip that takes in Hong Kong, Australia, the US and South America, with the aim of building stronger links with our partner universities. The Dental Institute is currently ranked first in The Guardian and The Complete University Guide league tables. That’s wonderful – but if we want to stay there, and build on that success, we need to think globally, and we need to tap into new reserves of support. I believe that everyone who has benefited from a university education should be prepared to give something back. At the moment, only 1.2 per cent of our dental alumni are giving. Compare that with Oxbridge, where 25 per cent of former students support their university, or of course with the US, where it’s unusual for alumni not to give back. My goal is to increase our levels of giving to 4 per cent. What’s important is not so much the amount each donor gives as the number of donors – if we can increase that, we can start to attract commercial donors too. I’ve maintained a close relationship with King’s throughout my career. Every year since we graduated in 1969, a group of us have met up on the Friday before Clinical Day – we
clive debenham: CV
Graduated from Guy’s in 1969 Studied at the Royal College of Surgeons in London and the Northwestern Dental School in Chicago Joined his father in private practice in Harley Street while teaching part-time at Guy’s Elected president of the American Dental Society of Europe, and honorary member of the American Dental Association Retired from general practice in 2008, and became Honorary Vice President of the Dental Alumni Association in the same year Appointed President of the Dental Alumni Association in 2011 Now runs a mobile dental implant surgery, Bicon, based in London Spends his spare time sailing and relaxing at his beach hut in Southwold, Suffolk. Michael Donald
Julian Anderson
Donations go to the most worthy recipients
Donations don’t have to be huge to make a big impact
call ourselves the 69 Club, for obvious reasons! I also sponsor the Debenham Elective: £500 per year pays for a student to do an elective that includes spending a day in practice with me. It’s a chance to really engage with a current student, and it shows that donations don’t have to be huge to make a big impact. There are lots of good reasons to support the Institute. From a selfish point of view, you could argue that the
greater the Institute’s reputation, the more opportunities that opens up for those of us who studied there. I also think we need to change our mindset. Times have changed, and a university education is no longer free as of right. It’s not unreasonable to expect people to put something back. Finally, I believe that giving is its own reward. It’s extremely satisfying to know that you’re helping to secure the future of the next generation of dentists. January 2012 | InDent | 7
Benchside to bedside to kerbside The Institute’s new Dean sees myriad opportunities for collaborative research
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Association of Dental Research. As Senior Vice Provost she facilitated the merger of NYU and Polytechnic University, an independent engineering and technology school, now known as Polytechnic Institute of NYU. Her portfolio also included building collaborative research projects that crossed school boundaries as well as participating in a team that created the engineering programme at NYU-Abu Dhabi. Dr Paul Horn, Senior Vice Provost for Research at NYU, worked with Professor Rekow on the integration of New York Polytechnic into NYU and termed her leadership as outstanding. ‘Her deep knowledge of the scientific and engineering programmes in both schools helped her guide collaborative projects that greatly facilitated the merger and started new streams of interdisciplinary work,’ he says. ‘Her ability to nurture interdisciplinary partnerships is one of her great strengths.’ No-nonsense problem-solving
Professor Rekow’s path to the Dental Institute has not followed an obvious route. She grew up on a farm in Minnesota, earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, spent 11 years in industry, then returned to university to earn a master’s in mechanical engineering, a doctorate in dental surgery and orthodontic certificate, a PhD in biomedical engineering ‘and along the way in this curious path of my career I got an MBA’. No-nonsense problem-solving has been essential at each stage, from tackling farm
Professor Dianne Rekow’s experience bridges the worlds of dentistry, engineering and management
Maria Spann
Bridges – the kind built by dentists, engineers and team leaders – have been at the centre of Dianne Rekow’s career. The Dental Institute’s new Dean, a mechanical engineer turned professor of orthodontics, is most enthusiastic about the bridges she has built between people. Throughout her varied career she has assembled and managed many types of teams, all with an aim to solve complex problems and to nurture young researchers and academics. ‘Almost all of my career has been about building teams, interdisciplinary teams, and integrating people and facilitating people to push through their own careers,’ says Professor Rekow. ‘The reality is that both engineering and dentistry are about problem-solving – you take the data and then you try to find solutions. The emphasis and the kind of thinking both groups do are very similar.’ Professor Rekow is settling into her new post this month, succeeding Professor Nairn Wilson, who has stepped down after a decade as Dean (see page 10). She comes to King’s from New York University (NYU), where she most recently served as Senior Vice Provost for Engineering and Technology. Previously, Professor Rekow was a professor of orthodontics and of basic science and craniofacial biology at the NYU College of Dentistry and practised orthodontics part-time since 1985. She is an internationally recognised authority on the behaviour of restorative materials, and is the current President of the International
chores to administering complex multidisciplinary, multi-university grant-funded research projects. She says her work as an engineer honed her problem-solving skills and continues to serve her well. She pointed to her recent involvement in a multidisciplinary team that was researching damage initiation and propagation in layered, brittle materials, funded through a $10 million grant from the US National Institute of Health. That project, she notes, resulted in as many publications in engineering literature as in dental journals. ‘The primary focus was to learn why posterior, all-ceramic crowns do not perform better than they do. The team involved seven institutions, material scientists, physicists, clinicians – a total of 40 people, along with industry partners,’ she recalls.
‘Having had the training in these various fields gave me an opportunity to be a translator between the different groups. We were often saying the same thing but using different words. For example, if you say the word “calculus” in a group of engineers they first think of mathematics, and with dentists they think of deposits on your teeth, and if you’re with cardiovascular physicians they think of deposits in your arteries.’ Multi-team partnerships
Professor Rekow says she is looking forward to building partnerships within King’s and beyond. She says the College, because of its breadth of research and academic expertise, is particularly well-positioned to address issues that link dental health with overall health. ‘There is a much better
understanding of the interrelationship between dental disease and systemic disease. There are all sorts of opportunities for collaborative research,’ she says. Professor Rekow says she hopes to work with the Schools of Medicine, Nursing & Midwifery, Law and Social Science & Public Policy to explore ways to improve health at the societal level. A powerful dental-public policy partnership led to a tremendous improvement in oral health more than half a century ago with the introduction of fluoride in public water supplies. Partnerships involving many groups are key to ongoing concerns such as periodontal disease and oral cancer. It is the pathway she calls ‘benchside to bedside to kerbside’ – the sometimes convoluted journey from basic research to delivering services to improve the
The Dental Institute has a tremendous reputation
health of individual patients and an entire community. ‘Many groups which have worked together on what are typically systemic diseases have not thought a lot about oral disease and how the oral pathologies could be addressed as part of this more comprehensive medical and social approach,’ says Professor Rekow. She adds that she is looking forward to working with alumni, to hear their ideas and constructive criticism. She says institutions such as the Dental Institute need to engage alumni not only because of their experience as students, but also to enhance the strengths and prestige of the school. ‘The Dental Institute has a tremendous reputation. There’s no question about that. I love its entrepreneurial spirit’. January 2012 | InDent | 9
Busy, challenging and most rewarding
Case Study: Josh Sharpling ‘I’ve been doing gymnastics since I was six years old. When I first came to university, I had actually given up. I didn’t think I’d be able to combine my sporting commitments with my studies. But I missed it too much. When something’s been part of your life for so long, it’s hard to get it out of your system. ‘When I’m gearing up for a competition, I train for up to four hours a day, six days a week. In between times, I can scale it back a bit. I do the vault, the parallel bars and floor, but my specialism is the pommel horse. I came fifth in the British Championships last year; now I’m focusing on qualifying for the World Student Games in 2013. If I can get there, that will probably be the high point of my sporting career. ‘Although sport is important to me, dentistry always comes first. I believe the training and studying actually complement each other. All the boys I used to train with at my club were top of the class as well as being great gymnasts. It teaches you great mental discipline and time management. Plus I think if you’re the kind of person that wants to push yourself to achieve, you’ll do that across every area of your life. ‘The support I get from the fund, and also from the Students’ Union, helps to pay for my travel, coaching fees and competition fees. Without it, I wouldn’t be able to train.’
Nairn Wilson looks back at his 10 years as the Institute’s Dean
Why are you moving on now?
My 10 years as Dean and Head of the College’s Dental Institute have been busy and challenging, but most rewarding. The Dental Institute is now ready, however, to move on to the next five- to 10-year phase of its development as the world’s leading dental clinical academic centre, and, as such, it is time for new leadership. How has the Dental Institute changed?
During my tenure as Dean the Institute has come together and grown both in terms of its range of activities and standing. A great deal has been achieved, but more is yet to come as the Institute remains focused on realising its full potential, across the spectrum of innovations in clinical practice, world-leading research and ground-breaking developments in learning and teaching. In short, the past 10 years have seen the Institute develop from a fledgling, clinical academic centre into a worldclass centre of excellence, with a tremendous reputation across the globe. What will you remember most from your time as Dean?
Teamwork and unswerving determination to pursue excellence. Much of what has been achieved would not have been possible without the constant support and encouragement of the Institute’s parent organisations – the College, 10 | InDent | January 2012
Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College Hospital Trusts and, in recent times, King’s Health Partners – not forgetting the ever-increasing support of friends, sponsors and, in particular, the illustrious alumni of the Institute. What have been the two or three most rewarding accomplishments?
Selecting two or three achievements from the long list of accolades won by the Institute is very difficult. That said, the following were very special: The outcome of the last Research Assessment Exercise, which confirmed that the Institute remained the most influential centre of excellence in the UK for oral and dental research, with 70 per cent of its research activity having been recognised as internationally excellent. This gave the Institute the highest ‘research power’ score for oral and dental research in the UK, with the score being more than twice that of its nearest rival. Major collaborative ventures, including the University of Portsmouth Dental Academy, a £9 million joint venture between the Dental Institute and the University of Portsmouth, and LonDEC, a £2 million collaborative development with the London Postgraduate Deanery. Leading the rankings for dentistry in the combined University and Guardian 2011
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league tables, following consistently high rankings in the most important league tables published over the past 10 years. Why do alumni care so fervently about the Institute?
The Institute is most fortunate to have such a large, illustrious and proud alumni population, which makes many important contributions to its ongoing success, as evidenced, for example, by the considerable generosity of the members of the Dental Circle. Loyalty is won and never taken for granted. Winning the loyalty of the alumni is achieved through maintaining their respect, engagement and opportunity for alumni individually and collectively to contribute and thereby share ownership of the success of the Institute.
Julian Anderson
Wrapping up a decade of expanding the Dental Institute’s research activities, academic leadership and international reputation, Professor Nairn Wilson stepped down as Dean at the end of 2011. Here he reflects on his 10 years at the helm of one of the world’s leading schools of dentistry.
In pursuit of excellence
A new fund is helping the Institute’s students stand out from the crowd
What will you miss the most?
I will miss being a member of one of the world’s most important, dynamic and dedicated teams of people committed to excellence across the spectrum of dental education, the clinical practice of dentistry and oral and dental research. What’s next for Nairn Wilson?
Apart from following through and finishing various existing projects, I will be looking for some new, possibly different leadership challenges, tempered by a greatly improved work-life balance.
The Dental Institute’s Extra-curricular Excellence Fund, made possible by the generosity of alumni, reflects the fact that what students do outside the lecture theatre can enrich their university experience – and go a long way towards raising King’s profile and enhancing its reputation. The focus is on supporting and encouraging excellence, as Dr Mark Woolford, who runs the fund, explains.
‘We wanted to provide extra support for those students who were playing sport to a high level,’ he says. ‘We see it as benefiting the university, and benefiting the students too. In today’s competitive
job market, anything that enhances their CVs and helps them to stand out from the crowd has to be a good thing. And of course sport, with the dedication and commitment it requires, is character-building in its own right.’ The fund is still in its infancy, but has already supported a member of the British rowing team and gymnast Josh Sharpling (see above). Grants can be used to subsidise the cost of travel, equipment and competition fees, and Dr Woolford emphasises that help is available to students participating in all forms of sport. ‘It could be athletics,
To find out more about how you can support the Extra-curricular Excellence Fund, please contact Alexa Hawkins-Bell on giving@kcl.ac.uk
it could be chess, it could be salsa – all we ask is that students are performing to a level that will raise King’s profile.’ Support for the fund often comes from alumni who excelled at sport themselves, either at school or during their time at university. ‘It’s carrying on a tradition of excellence,’ he says. ‘By showing that we support high performance in all fields, we’re encouraging students with those talents to choose King’s. That brings a real richness to the student body, and instils a sense of pride in all of us.’ January 2012 | InDent | 11
Facing theWorld Niall Kirkpatrick joined Guy’s Dental School in 1980 and followed that up with a medical degree, also from Guy’s, which eventually led him into a career as a craniofacial plastic surgeon. He remembers Harry Preiskel, Robin Stott and Mike Gleeson as particularly inspiring members of staff and notes that he caused Professor Gleeson ‘a bit of heartache’ by choosing plastic surgery as his career instead of ENT surgery. ‘But we are still friends,’ he says. In addition to leading the Craniofacial Unit at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and being part of the Head and Neck Team at the Royal Marsden Hospital, he is the Medical Director and a trustee for Facing the World, a charity providing craniofacial surgery for children around the globe. A member of the Dental Circle, he lives in Hampstead with his wife and three children. What is it you love so much about your job as a plastic surgeon?
The thing that made me want to do plastic surgery instantly was that it was the first time I had worked in a specialty where everybody had such a very high level of surgical skill. I hadn’t previously worked in a specialty that was quite so manually dexterous. I liked the people in it and I particularly loved the variety of surgery and the variety of patients. Broadly speaking you have the children born with congenital deformities, a slightly older trauma group, and then the older patients needing reconstruction following tumour resection. What is Facing the World?
It is a charity that I helped to set up nearly 10 years ago to treat children who are born with major facial deformities and can’t get access to any other health care locally. That is largely because craniofacial procedures are very complex and require a large multidisciplinary team, a lot of intensive care support after the surgery and a lot of difficult anaesthetic support during the surgery. Many of the operations are multiple procedures over time. 12 | InDent | January 2012
Those sorts of facilities in many parts of the world are not available to children with major craniofacial deformities. They are really confined to a miserable life because they often don’t have access to treatment at all and are frequently ostracised by their communities.
Opposite page, Niall Kirkpatrick leads a team operating in Da Nang, Vietnam
How does Facing the World operate?
We originally set up the charity with the view to bringing children to the UK for treatment. That was the embryonic start of it. Of course we knew that you can only do so much by bringing children to this country and that it costs a lot. In the long run what we really want to do is train units around the world to be craniofacial units. That’s a bit more of an undertaking than organisations like the excellent Smile Train and Operation Smile, which treat the confined problem of cleft lip and palate, where visiting surgeons can more easily train local surgeons and post-operative care is less complex. In craniofacial surgery you need a huge range of disciplines involved; there are many surgeons – plastic surgeons, neurosurgeons,
maxillofacial surgeons, ENT surgeons, ophthalmologists – only as the core, and anaesthetists and intensivists are absolutely vital. What we are trying to do at the moment, and we have started it in Vietnam, is establish a project to set up a craniofacial unit. Americans dropped a lot of Agent Orange on the country, and many people believe, although it’s not absolutely proven, that this has caused the Vietnamese to have the highest incidence of congenital childhood deformities in the world. We were getting a lot of patients referred to us from Vietnam; and various agencies there asked us to be involved in trying to set up the unit there. So that was our first starting point. For a number of years now we have been going over to Vietnam and we work with the surgeons over there and they also come to the UK for training. Some of the children who clearly can’t be treated there at present come back to the UK but it is wonderful to see the surgeons in Vietnam treating more and more complex problems. A real problem is that in many countries surgeons don’t work in teams, so they can’t bring the core skills that they have together, which is what’s needed. So what we’ve done now is introduce them to team working and that’s transformed what they are doing. The thing we noticed in Vietnam was that the moment they started working together they were doing very much more complicated cases. So our next project is to try and do the same thing in Ethiopia.
Michael Donald
A charity providing craniofacial surgery for the poorest children
What would you say your ambition is now for your career, or for the future?
I would love to set up more units around the world
I love training our own surgeons for the future and I think that one of the most interesting things at the moment is the charity work. I would like to be able to spend more time on it and I would love to be able to set up more craniofacial units around the world. At the moment I see my major role as trying to recruit more and more good surgeons for the charity so that we can provide as much training as possible. January 2012 | InDent | 13
Trailblazers Tomes was a man of high principles
Sir John Tomes FRS (1815-1894) He elevated dentistry to the status of profession 14 | InDent | January 2012
Physiology and Surgery’, published in a book in 1848. Tomes had a genius for invention, devising a new set of forceps at 26 and a ‘dentifractor’, or dental carving machine, for ‘producing a superior and more accurate manufacture of artificial teeth, gums and palates at comparatively small cost’. He took out a patent for this, for which he won a gold medal from the Royal Society of the Arts, presented by Prince Albert. He was also a pioneer in the use of ether as an anaesthetic. Powerful but benevolent
From 1849-56, he wrote a series of important research papers, dealing with the microscopic structure of bone and teeth, and he was the first person to be elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on the basis of dental research. His most famous paper was his last, proposing that dentine is sensitive because it has structures containing fibres connected to the pulp – the eponymous Tomes fibrils. In his later career Tomes used his considerable influence to elevate the hitherto unregulated dentistry trade to the status of profession. He helped found the Odontological Society and to persuade the Royal College of Surgeons to establish a specialist dental department and create
Understanding sensory cells
the award of a Licence in Dental Surgery. There was no provision for training, however, so Tomes and others founded the London School of Dental Surgery – the first such institution in the country – at the Dental Hospital in Soho Square. He became its first lecturer and introduced the first dental examinations in 1860. Tomes was also instrumental in pushing through the Dental Act of 1878, which created a dental register that limited the term ‘dentist’ to those properly qualified – fittingly, his was the first name on it. The following year he helped found the British Dental Association and became its first president. He received many honours, including honorary fellowship in the Royal College of Surgeons and a knighthood. He married in 1844, for 50 happy years, and his second child, Charles Sissmore Tomes, also became a famous dentist and FRS. ‘Tomes was a man of high principles, conscientious, perhaps sometimes a trifle severe, but yet always fairminded,’ wrote one distinguished Victorian observer. ‘His character was without reproach, his wisdom proverbial, his political sagacity remarkable, his influence always powerful but benevolent.’
Basic research at the Institute today may well benefit children with hearing disorders tomorrow
BDA Dental Museum
Often called the father of the British dental profession, Sir John Tomes FRS was born in 1815, three months before the battle of Waterloo, in a farmhouse near Stratford. He decided to become a doctor at 15 – the first of his family to adopt a profession – and after five years’ apprenticeship to a local apothecary ‘of the hard riding and hard living’ type, he came to London in 1836 to ‘walk the hospitals’. He entered the medical school at King’s and swiftly developed an interest in teeth, conducting research in parallel with his studies. He was just 23 when his first paper was read before the Royal Society by Thomas Bell. Teeth became his sole focus in 1840. ‘I have made up my mind to become a dentist,’ he wrote to a friend. ‘My fresh plan will carry me to great fortune or great poverty; the first I hope, the second I doubt.’ He was appointed Dental Surgeon first at King’s College Hospital, and three years later at Middlesex Hospital. He set up a successful private practice in Mortimer Street, Marylebone, and made notes of every dental case – including his own: he removed the decayed portion of two of his own wisdom teeth and filled them with amalgam – which proved a valuable base for his lectures on ‘Dental
Research news
Our sense of hearing is crucial to learn from the world around us, to develop speech and to establish and maintain social interactions. As part of a foetus’s overall craniofacial development, normal growth of the human embryonic ear is critical for a child’s hearing and balance. The sooner doctors can detect a hearing disorder in a child, the sooner steps can be taken to treat or compensate for the defect. Professor Andrea Streit of the Dental Institute, supported by a team of postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers, is carrying out basic research into the development of the inner ear at the cellular and molecular level. The results of this work, still years away, could allow physicians to screen for ear defects in children and design strategies to address hearing loss in adults. Professor Streit, a developmental neurobiologist, and her team are studying sensory stem cells – a type of progenitor – that generate the painsensing neurons in our face, the lining of our nostrils, the lens of the eye and the delicate structure of our inner ear. In her research, Professor Streit aims to determine how these progenitors become ears instead of eyes, or noses instead of ears – and what makes this happen. Communication between different cells is key in this process, as is how cells interpret the incoming signals. Rather than being a one-step process, the determination of ear cells happens sequentially and cells become more and more specialised as development proceeds. ‘No individual cell or structure develops in isolation. Cells always talk with one another,’ says Professor Streit. ‘We’re trying to figure out
A chick embryo with developing sensory cells
the signals through which cells communicate and what happens during their journey from naïve to specialised ear cells.’ Two strands of research
Professor Streit’s research into the embryonic development of the inner ear follows two tracks. First, her team recently identified new candidate genes that may play a role in ear specification, bringing the number of factors specific for the early ear to about 150. Using patented techniques provided by a company called NanoString Technologies, she is studying how these genes relate to one another and affect each others’ behaviour. She can, for instance, remove one gene and observe how the other 149 respond, with a sensitivity down to a single molecule. Second, her research is looking at what is going on inside the embryo,
No individual cell develops in isolation
which in this case is a chick embryo. By disabling the function of a specific gene, she and her team can observe how the inner ear then develops differently. While her network looks at the molecular relationship between many genes, the in vivo work allows her to link this to how cells behave – how they move, change their shape or arrangement to build a complex structure like the ear. ‘The chick is an ideal system,’ says Professor Streit, ‘It allows us to manipulate gene function and at the same time observe cell behaviour – and importantly it is similar to human development.’ By combining both approaches Professor Streit expects to identify ‘key players’ among the set of 150 genes as new candidate genes for human deafness. Understanding the genes that control normal ear development will help establish the means to determine if a foetus is likely to become a child with a hearing disorder, potentially one of the most important outcomes of this research. Hearing is an important component in a baby’s early development; however, parents often can’t tell if their children have a major hearing disorder until they are a year or more old. With genetic counselling to screen foetuses for deafness, parents and healthcare professionals would be able to put a plan of action in place to address a child’s hearing loss. Another possible outcome of this basic research is the ability to grow ear progenitor cells in the laboratory as a tool to study their differentiation into hair cells, the cells that perceive and transmit sound. More than 50 per cent of the population eventually lose some of their hearing, mainly due to the loss of hair cells. January 2012| InDent | 15
Events & Reunions
Events Badcock Dental Circle Lecture Date: 17 May 2012 Venue: Roben’s Suite, Guy’s Tower Details: The speaker for the 2012
Badcock Dental Circle Lecture will be Dr Michael Escudier, Lecturer in Human Disease and Deputy Director of Education at the Dental Institute. Dr Escudier is also Honorary Consultant in Oral Medicine at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. For more information, please call +44 (0)20 7848 4241.
Dental Alumni Weekend
at Guy’s Campus; Annual Dental Dinner at the Hilton Hotel, Tower Bridge; Clinical Day at New Hunt’s House, Guy’s Campus Details: Dental Alumni Weekend brings together professional development and social networking opportunities for alumni, staff, students and friends. Friday will feature continuing professional development sessions for our Specialist Sections, open to alumni. The Annual Dental Dinner on Friday evening will honour the reunion years of 1962 and 1987, as well as the winners of the 2012 Alumnus of the Year and Distinguished Service awards. Clinical Day will follow on Saturday, featuring Professor Brian Millar giving the Herbert Memorial Lecture and Professor Saman Warnakulasuriya delivering the Rod Cawson Lecture. The full programme can be found in the Dental Alumni Weekend brochure or online at www.alumni.kcl.ac.uk/dental2012 The weekend’s organising body is the Committee of the Dental Alumni Association. All alumni are warmly invited to attend the association’s AGM held at noon, 3 March, in Lecture Theatre 2, New Hunt’s House. For more information about the AGM, contact Mr Nigel Fisher, Secretary, c/o Alumni Office, Ground Floor, Strand Bridge House, 138-142 Strand, London WC2R 1HH, or e-mail nigel.fisher@kcl.ac.uk
Louise King
Date: 2-3 March 2012 Venue: Specialist afternoon sessions
Alumni Weekend 2012
Other Reunions in 2012
Date: 8-10 June 2012 Venue: Multiple locations Details: King’s ninth annual Alumni
KCSMD 50-Year Reunion Date: 24 March 2012 Venue: Burford Bridge Hotel, Dorking, Surrey Details: For more information, please contact the Alumni Office on alumoff@kcl.ac.uk or by calling +44 (0)20 7848 3053.
Weekend will feature a range of lectures, tours and entertainment open to alumni from all graduation years, schools and merged institutions. Come back to campus for an exciting and informative series of London-themed events. For more information, please visit www.alumni. kcl.ac.uk/events or contact the Alumni Office on alumoff@kcl.ac.uk
Reunions Annual Dental Dinner Reunions Date: 2 March 2012 Venue: Tower Hilton Hotel Details: Tickets for the dinner
are £50 per person. To book for any of these reunions, please contact alumoff@kcl.ac.uk or call +44 (0)20 7848 3053; be sure to note the reunion you will attend. Guy’s Class of ’62 Royal Dental Class of ’62-3 KCSMD Class of ’71 Guy’s Class of ’86 KCSMD Class of ’92 GKT Class of ’02
• • • • • •
Calling 2013 reunion leaders!
If you graduated in a year ending in a 3 or an 8, then 2013 is a special anniversary year for you. Now is the time to start planning your reunion celebration during Dental Alumni Weekend, scheduled for the first weekend of March 2013. The dinner provides the perfect setting to gather with classmates and reminisce about your student days. The Alumni Office will send a ‘save the date’ notice to your classmates in October on your behalf, followed by an official invitation in next year’s InDent. Your role will be to rally your classmates for the reunion to ensure that your group wins the coveted prize of the largest reunion. Interested? Contact reunions@kcl.ac.uk or call +44 (0)20 7848 2609.
InDent editorial team Louise King, Publications & Information Officer, Dental Institute, louise.king@kcl.ac.uk | Amanda Calberry, Communications Co-ordinator, amanda.calberry@kcl.ac.uk | James Bressor, Deputy Head, Print & Editorial, james.bressor@kcl.ac.uk Designed by Esterson Associates Tel +44 (0)20 7684 6500 | Cover image by Maria Spann
16 | InDent | January 2012