WHO’S WHO 2025-2026
Professor Aileen Bell
Aileen Bell is head of Glasgow Dental School. She graduated from Glasgow University as the Most Distinguished Graduate for 1998 with a BDS with Honours and was awarded the Dean Webster Prize and the Lord Provost’s Prize for the most marks obtained in Dental School examinations. In 1998, she embarked on a two-year General Professional Training Programme, with one year in General Dental Practice as a Vocational Dental Practitioner and one year as a GPT House Officer in Glasgow Dental Hospital and School. She obtained an MFDS from The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and was awarded the T.C. White Medal for outstanding performance in part C of the exam. From 2000-2002, she worked as a Senior House Officer in Glasgow Dental Hospital and School after which she took up the post of Specialist Registrar in Surgical Dentistry in Glasgow (2002- 2004). She then moved to an academic specialty training post as Clinical Lecturer/Honorary specialist registrar in Academic Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery with the University of Glasgow and took up a Clinical Senior Lecturer/Honorary Consultant role in Oral Surgery in Glasgow in 2009. She was Deputy Director (2009-2013) and Director (2013-2021) of the Undergraduate Dental programme before being awarded a Chair as Professor of Oral Surgery & Dental Education in 2021 and taking up the post as Head of Dental School the same year.
Gerard Boyle
Gerard Boyle was appointed by NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) as the Senior Dental Adviser in May 2022, as the clinical lead for the Dental Adviser team at Practitioner Services and the Dental Reference Officer team within the Scottish Dental Reference Service. He qualified from Glasgow Dental School in 1989 and has spent 30 years in general dental practice, including 20 years as a partner in a largely NHS practice in Glasgow. Gerard has 15 years’ experience as a dental practice inspector with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Education for Scotland and Healthcare Improvement Scotland; and was Dental Practice Adviser (DPA) for NHS Forth Valley before joining NSS. He was awarded a Fellowship by the Faculty of General Dental Practice in 2020 for his contribution to the faculty and the wider dental community.
Professor David Conway
David Conway graduated from Glasgow University BDS in 1996. Following brief periods in general dental practice, hospital dentistry in Bristol and Edinburgh, and SHO posts in oral and maxillofacial surgery at St John’s in Livingston, he attained FDS RCS (England) in 1999. He returned to Glasgow in 2000 for a clinical lectureship in dental public health combined with a specialist registrar training post based in NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Argyll & Clyde Health Boards. David completed the MPH at Glasgow in 2002 and specialist training in dental public health in 2005 (FDS DPH RCS, and FFPH). He was awarded a PhD in 2008 for research on the epidemiology of oral cancer from a socioeconomic perspective. Since 2005 he has held the position of Honorary Consultant in Dental Public Health, which has been with Public Health Scotland since its inception in April 2020 where he is currently the dental lead. David was appointed Professor of Dental Public Health in 2015 in the School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, where he is the current Director of Dental Research, and he also Co-Leads the Oral & Dental Specialty Group in NHS Research Scotland. the past year (2024-2025) he has been clinical head and neck cancer lead for NHS Scotland supporting the production of the Head and Neck Cancer Care Management Pathway. His research interests focus on health inequalities, head and neck cancer epidemiology, and child oral health including the ongoing evaluation of Childsmile – the national child oral health improvement programme for Scotland.
Dr Lisa Currie
Dr Lisa Currie is the Clinical Director of The Orthodontic Clinic, a multi-award winning specialist practice in Aberdeen. Lisa gained her BDS with honours at Dundee Dental School in 1996. After completion of her postgraduate training in Edinburgh, she became a Specialist Orthodontist in 2003 and during her training, carried out a research degree in sleep apnoea and was awarded her MSc in Orthodontics from the University of Edinburgh. Lisa undertook her consultant training in Birmingham Dental Hospital and Stoke-on-Trent, becoming a Consultant Orthodontist in 2006. Lisa became Consultant Orthodontist at Borders General Hospital/ Edinburgh Dental Institute in 2006. She then moved to specialist practice in Aberdeen in 2010 and was appointed as Honorary Senior Lecturer at Aberdeen Dental Hospital and School in 2015. In 2019, Lisa was elected as a Fellow of the Faculty of Dental Surgery in Orthodontics, FDS(Orth), from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and then again as Fellow of the College of General Dentistry in 2023, a real acknowledgement of her dedication to both the specialty of orthodontics and dentistry in her career.
Paul Cushley
Paul Cushley is NHS National Services Scotland’s (NSS) Dental Director. This role was created within NSS to ensure that dentistry and oral health is both considered and has a voice in the design, creation and delivery of health and social care services across the NHS in Scotland. Paul brings a range of clinical experience in dentistry to his NSS role, having had a long and varied career in the hospital service, general dental practice (as an associate, partner and principal), the prison service and latterly in the public dental service. This experience is augmented with an extensive academic portfolio with postgraduate qualifications in Forensic Medicine, Medical Law, and Education and several Royal College Fellowships. Paul worked as a Vocation Trainer then as a Vocational Training Advisor for 20 years with NES. Having also been an examiner of the DGDP, MFGDP, and FFGDP for the Royal College of Surgeons of England’s Faculty of General Dental Practitioners for more than 17 years and examined in a variety of locations including Hong Kong and Cairo, Paul is also one of the College of Dentistry’s Fellows. Along with the Ionising Radiation Medical Exposure Regulations regulator Paul published the first ever specific Dental Employers Procedures for dental practices in 2024. Paul’s remit includes a substantial involvement in the work that NSS delivers around the Sustainability agenda on behalf of the NHS in Scotland.
Dr Kevin Davey
Kevin Davey is interim dean of the University of Dundee’s School of Dentistry. He has more than twenty years teaching experience at undergraduate and post-graduate levels, particularly in relation to clinical periodontology and dental education. Since 2014, he has been the undergraduate academic lead for periodontology. In recent years, he has been principally involved in academic leadership activities, both within the school and the wider university, in the roles of Associate Dean for Learning & Teaching (ADL&T – 2021 onwards) and Associate Dean for Quality & Academic Standards (ADQAS – 2015 to 2021). He has also been the panel lead for enhancement reviews of various dental health-related programmes in Lithuania (2015 and 2020).
Robert Donald
Robert Donald is currently a Director of Independent Care Plans UK. Formerly a GDP and practice owner based in Nairn, he retired from clinical practice this year. Robert qualified from Edinburgh Dental School with honours in 1983, before spending 18 months in a training position at the Edinburgh Dental Hospital. He entered general practice in 1985, gaining the diploma in General Dental Practice in 1992. He is a past Chairman of Independent Care Plans UK and Director of Highland Dental Plan. Robert was previously a Chairman of the Scottish Dental Practice Committee, vice-Chairman of the Scottish Dental Vocational Training Committee and vice-chairman of the Scottish Association of Local Dental Committees. He served as a non-executive Director of MDDUS from 2010 until 2021 and was also a past Chairman of the UK Council of the BDA. Robert was presented with the British Dental Association Fellowship Medal in September 2022 to honour his distinguished service to the BDA and the dental profession. In July 2023, he was admitted as a Fellow of the College of General Dentistry. He recently stood down from the British Dental Association’s Scottish Council in March 2025 after serving seven years as Chairman.
Dr Philip Friel
Philip Friel is a renowned implant dentist, whose career has been built a long held passion for the study of dentistry and reconstructive surgical work. He has a particular interest in dental implantology, including bone grafting, immediate implant placement and loading together with soft tissue surgery. He has travelled globally, with years of focused implant training and ongoing personal development in the area to ensure he can offer the best possible standard of patient treatment and care. He has degrees in Dentistry and Anatomy and memberships to the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh, The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow and the College of General Dentistry. He is past President and Honorary life member of the Association of Dental Implantology. Phil is the Director of Dentistry at Scottish Dental Care and Advanced Dentistry Group. He is extensively involved in teaching and mentoring in implant dentistry, working with only a select number of dentists at any given time. Outside dentistry, he is an Ambassador for the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow, a married father of four, an enthusiastic sportsman and a happy traveller!
Professor John Gibson
John Gibson has enjoyed a career in academic Dentistry and has held various roles at various times, including Head of the Institute of Dentistry in the University of Aberdeen, Professor of Medicine in Relation to Dentistry in the University of Glasgow, Associate Postgraduate Dental Dean with NHS Education for Scotland, Chair of Dental Protection, Chair of the General Dental Council’s Fitness to Practise Panel and President of the British & Irish Society for Oral Medicine. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Oral Medicine in the University of Aberdeen, Chief Executive Officer of The Canmore Trust (SC051511) and a member of the Scottish Government’s Lived & Living Experience Suicide Steering Group, and the Suicide Bereavement Support Steering Group. John recently received an Honorary Life Fellowship from the British & Irish Society for Oral Medicine and has been awarded the President’s Award of the College of General Dentistry for 2024. On 20 October 2019, John’s youngest child, Cameron, died by suicide at 24-years-old and John’s world changed forever. John now works to prevent suicide, and offer support to individuals, families and communities affected by suicide, through the actions of The Canmore Trust (www.thecanmoretrust.co.uk) – a charity set up by the Gibson family.
Professor Khaled Khalaf
Khaled Khalaf was appointed Professor and Honorary Consultant in Orthodontics and the Director of the Institute of Dentistry, University of Aberdeen, in 2022. He has been working in clinical academia, in the field of Orthodontics, working in Higher Education Institutes and NHS Hospitals, over 25 years and has worked in several countries, but predominantly in the UK. He completed his PhD in 2002 from the University of Sheffield and a post-CCST clinical academic training programme in 2011 from Newcastle University & The James Cook Univer-sity Hospital, Middlesbrough & Newcastle Dental Hospital followed by the completion of the ISFE in Orthodontics and the attainment of a Fellowship in Orthodontics (FDS-Orth) of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He gained a Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) in 2009 and a Fellowship of the Faculty of Dental Trainers (FFDT) RCS Edin-burgh in 2017. He has been heavily involved at different levels of administration in higher education including, for example, Programme Director, Head of Department, internal and external accreditation lead and currently as the Director of the Institute of Dentistry, Univer-sity of Aberdeen. His main research interests include hypodontia; evidence-based orthodontics (RCTs, systematic reviews and meta-analyses) and medical/dental education research.
Gordon Matheson
Gordon Matheson CBE has been Head of Scottish Affairs at the General Dental Council (GDC) since January 2020. In this role, he leads on stakeholder engagement in Scotland and ensures that GDC policy developments are fully informed by the distinct Scottish context. Previously, he was Leader of Glasgow City Council from 2010-15, during which time the city hosted the acclaimed 2014 Commonwealth Games. In 2016, he was appointed Visiting Professor at Strathclyde University’s Institute for Future Cities and Honorary professor at Glasgow Caledonian University. He has also led the public affairs and policy functions in Scotland for two UK charities, RNIB and Cancer Research UK.
Professor Grant McIntyre
Grant McIntyre is an NHS Consultant and Honorary Professor in Orthodontics. He took over as Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery, The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd), in 2023 after stepping down as Joint Clinical Director at Dundee Dental Hospital & Research School. At the college, is responsible for overseeing the dental education, examination and internationalisation portfolios offered by RCSEd, as well as ensuring the college remains at the forefront of dentistry in the UK and globally. Within the college, he is an examiner for MFDS and MOrth and has been a Member of the Dental Council since 2014. His clinical work involves the orthodontic management of facial deformity, TMJ-orthognathic cases and cleft lip and palate along with being an educational supervisor and clinical supervisor for a number of core and specialty trainees.
Professor William McLean
William McLean is Professor of Endodontology and Honorary Consultant in Endodontics at the University of Glasgow Dental School. He graduated from the University of Wales College of Medicine (Dental School) with an intercalated BSc (Hons) in Dental Science and was awarded an Action Research Training Fellowship supporting his PhD research. He spent four years at Harvard Medical School (Department of Cell Biology) investigating craniofacial and skeletal development, then held a lectureship in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Manchester before returning to clinical practice and completing postgraduate training in Endodontology. At Glasgow, Professor McLean is Programme Director for the full-time and part-time postgraduate Endodontics programmes, academic lead for undergraduate endodontics, Head of the Section of Biological and Medical Sciences, and founder of the Glasgow Endodontology Group. His group focuses on endodontic microbiology and stem cell biology, advancing understanding of infection and regeneration. He has held several national and international roles: Past President of the Glasgow Odontological Society, Past President of the British Endodontic Society, and Conference Chair for the World Endodontic Congress 2024 in Glasgow. He currently serves as European Regent of the International Federation of Endodontic Associations. His work spans teaching, NHS and private clinical practice, research, and professional leadership, with an ongoing commitment to training the next generation of dentists and endodontic practitioners.
Gordon Morson
Gordon Morson has worked in general practice since qualifying from the University of Glasgow in 1998. He works in Alloa and has been a partner in a large, mainly NHS, prac-tice there since 2004. He is currently Chair of Forth Valley Local Dental Committee and a member of the Area Dental Committee and Performance Review Group. He has been in-volved in dental politics for more than 25 years. Gordon also has a significant interest in dental education, having organised Forth Valley’s educational programme for dentists and DCPs for more than 15 years. He is a VT trainer and regularly contributes to the train-ing programme, speaking about communication and dental politics. In 2022/23, he was a member of the Advisory Group on the changes to Determination 1 of the SDR. He is a member of the upcoming CPI working group.
Dr Eimear O’Connell
As the first female to hold the office of ADI President, Eimear O’Connell is working hard to promote and support women in dentistry. She received her degree from Edinburgh University and went on to get her MFGDP and FFGDP from the Royal College of Surgeons London and her Diploma of Implant Dentistry from RCSEd. Eimear attained her PGCert in sedation from Newcastle University. Bite Dentistry in central Edinburgh has been owned and run by her for more than 25 years. It is a private preventatively based practice using digital tools to allow a team-based approach to delivering streamlined dentistry and at the same time educating patients about their own dental health to maximise their preventative efforts to best effect. She recently sold the practice but continues to work there. Eimear is a Key Opinion Leader for Dentsply Sirona in the fields of implant and digital dentistry and has been appointed President of Dentsply Sirona’s PEERS UK and Ireland board. She has recently been featured in the exocad Dental Heroes campaign and is using a combination of orthodontic alignment and restorative dentistry to simplify treatments and deliver more effective long term outcomes for patients needing implant therapies.
David Offord
Dr David Offord is a specialist in oral surgery and practice principal at Vermilion – The Smile Experts. Vermilion is a private referral-only dental practice with clinics in Edinburgh and Kelso. David leads a team of 50 clinicians, nurses, managers and administrative staff across both sites. His clinical practice is now entirely implant surgery, working in close collaboration with colleagues within the multi-disciplinary team. Born and bred in Greenock, David was in the last year group to graduate from the University of Edinburgh Dental School in 1994. His varied career has included spells in general practice in Edinburgh, Australia and Singapore and oral and maxillofacial roles in Wales, London, Falkirk and Fife. For five years he combined oral surgery staff grade jobs with working in specialist practice, before he opened Vermilion in 2011. A Fellow of the College of General Dentistry, David holds a Diploma in Conscious Sedation from the University of Newcastle and the Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and is currently working towards a PhD at the University of Ghent. For four years, he was the Scotland representative on the board of the Association of Dental Implantology, and in 2025 he was elected as the regional representative for East Scotland on the College Council.
Andrew Paterson
Andrew Paterson graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1987 and practised in a specialist referral-based restorative practice in Glasgow for 22 years. He has previously been an NHS Consultant at Glasgow Dental Hospital, Crosshouse Hospital, near Kilmarnock, and Leeds Dental Institute and a Clinical Senior Lecturer/Honorary Consultant at Dundee Dental School/NHS Tayside. He is a volunteer with the UK dental development charity Bridge2Aid, which is involved in oral health training in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. Andrew is part of a ‘flying faculty’ that supports the Dental School at the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in Malawi. He currently works as a Clinical Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at the University of Glasgow where he is Education Lead for Restorative Dentistry. Andrew is the examination board chair for the restorative specialty membership examinations of RCS(Eng) and RCPS.
Lee Savarrio
Lee Savarrio, BDS, FDS, RCPSG, FDS (Rest Dent) RCPSG, MSc (Med Sci) was appointed the new Dental Director and Postgraduate Dean of NHS Education for Scotland (NES) on 1 January and following a handover period, he took over from the previous post holder, Professor David Felix, who retired in April. Lee joined NES from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde where he was employed as Chief of Dentistry and brings a wealth of experi-ence in advancing NES’s vision to support better rights-based quality care and outcomes through a skilled, capable and resilient health and social care workforce. He has held positions in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, both on the education committee as lead for the Clinical Anatomical Simulation Centre, as well as Director of Membership Services. He has also served on the Specialty Training Committee and Specialist Advisory Committee for restorative dentistry and is the cur-rent Chair of the Strategic Board for Glasgow Caledonian University’s dental therapy programme.
Charlotte Waite
Charlotte Waite has been the British Dental Association (BDA) Scotland Director since November 2022. Graduating from the University of Dundee in 2001, she completed general professional training in the East of Scotland, locumed in Australia and then worked for the Community Dental Service. She was an elected representative on a number of BDA committees and Chair and Vice Chair of the BDA England Community Dental Services Committee, where she advocated for the profession and spoke up for vulnerable patient groups. In 2019, she secured a Westminster inquiry on NHS penalty charges. A change in policy followed, with the Department of Health abandoning its ‘fines first’ policy. She also represented the BDA as part of a project to promote the use of Makaton in the dental setting, to help break down barriers to communication for patients with learning disabilities. As BDA Scotland Director, a key role for Charlotte is to support BDA representatives in negotiations with the Scottish Government, to ensure the BDA influences policy across a range of stakeholders and to oversee outreach to the Scottish Parliament, officials, the press and wider stakeholders. She supported the BDA Scottish Dental Practice Committee in their negotiations with the Scottish Government in relation to Payment Reform, which was implemented in November 2023. Last year she gave evidence on behalf of BDA Scotland to the Scottish COVID Inquiry on the impact of the pandemic on dentistry in Scotland.