The dental and oral and maxillofacial surgery trainee experience during COVID-19

Aliya graduated from The University of Birmingham in 2016 and completed her Dental Foundation Training in Essex. Since then, she has gone on to complete various dental core training roles including oral surgery and dental public health at Kings College London as well as completing a post in paediatric dentistry at Great Ormond Street Hospital. During her time at Great Ormond Street Hospital, Aliya completed a quality improvement project with two medical teams, leading to her winning the prestigious Health Education England DCT Regional Presentation Day Prize for London, Kent, Surrey and Sussex.

Aliya is a keen presenter, having presented at regional, national and international level.  She is an active member of the dental community and is currently on the board of the charity Dental Trauma UK, helping to advise the public and dental professionals on the management of dental trauma.

Aliya is a Clinical Fellow in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at The Royal London Hospital with various clinical duties including day and night on call commitments, theatre sessions and outpatient maxillofacial clinics. She strongly believes in supporting dental trainees through the early years of their careers, helping to improve their skills and knowledge.

Declan Hughes graduated from Cardiff University Dental school with Honours in 2017 and obtained Membership of Faculty of Dental Surgeons with Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh in 2019. Following graduation, he spent a year practising general dentistry in East London.

After finding a passion for surgical dentistry he entered dental core training working in Oral and Maxillofacial surgery units across London including Queen Mary Hospital Sidcup, Kings College Hospital, Whipps Cross Hospital and the Royal London Hospital.

Following Dental Core training, he has been accepted to the accelerated medical degree at Queen Mary University of London to pursue a career in Oral and Maxillofacial surgery.

Jen is currently training as an OMFS specialist registrar in the North Thames region. She graduated from St John’s College, Cambridge before obtaining her medical degree from University of Edinburgh in 2009. During her post-graduate medical training in various hospitals across London and Essex, she discovered OMFS and has never looked back. She returned to university for a shortened dental degree at King’s College London, followed by a year in dental practice. Ultimately, Jen would like to be involved with improving surgical access and outcomes in the developing world. To that end, she has been awarded a scholarship to undertake a Master’s degree in Public Health at Harvard University next year.

Andrew Dickenson is Regional Postgraduate Dean of Dental Education at Health Education England (Midlands & East) and an accredited Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon. Andrew has a broad experience within postgraduate medical and dental education, with an interest in the quality assurance of educational programmes, simulated learning, widening participation and career development. On a national level he is Vice Chair of COPDEND, Lead Dean for Dental Core Training and HEE Lead on children and young people’s programmes. Currently Deputy Chair of the ISFE in Oral Surgery and member of the Board of Examiners at the Royal College of Surgeons, he regularly examines at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. At a regional level Andrew has an interest in rural and coastal health and has been closely involved in the development of the National Centre for Rural Health & Care.

He works closely with NHSE&I to deliver unique training programmes within remote communities, including developing a PGCert course in rural health for University of Lincoln. As a core member of the national Children’s Oral Health Improvement Programme Board and the Oral Health Promotion Board at Leicester City Council he represents HEE in developing public health strategies and educational programmes aimed at improving understanding in inequality, vulnerability and social exclusion.

Rosemarie is a first year Dental Core Trainee in the Restorative department at the Eastman Dental Hospital. Rosemarie graduated from the University of Birmingham with Honours in 2018 and completed her Foundation Training Program in Cheltenham in 2019. Her main interests are prosthodontics and endodontics.

After graduating from Barts in 2017, Lucy completed both her vocational training and dental core training (DCT) in Oxfordshire. Her most recent DCT post has been split into 6 months within Maxillofacial Department at Northampton General Hospital and 6 months within Special Care Dentistry. It was during her special care rotation that she had the opportunity to gain an understanding of palliative care through her redeployment to a local hospice called Cynthia Spencer.

Josh graduated from Cardiff University Dental school with Honours in 2017. Following graduation, he completed his foundation training year as part of the Bristol scheme. Josh then went on to complete a dental core training role back in Cardiff, split between Oral Surgery and Restorative Dentistry. He then moved to London to commence his current role at the Eastman, during which he obtained Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgeons with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow. He has an interest in restorative dentistry and has produced both posters and oral presentation for national conferences within the subject, being highly commended for the latter.

Alex graduated from King’s College London with Honours in 2019 and represented his university at the University of London Gold Medal for Dentistry. He is currently undertaking his Dental Foundation Training in Essex and will be starting a OMFS post as a Dental Core Trainee in September at Broomfield Hospital.