FDS Board

Orthodontics

Dr Eckhardt is a highly experienced Consultant Orthodontist and Aesthetic Practitioner. Her particular orthodontic interest is in the management of facial deformity working with maxillofacial surgeons and is the lead orthodontist for cleft lip and palate in Wales. She has an interest in facial aesthetics and also has a master's degree in aesthetic medicine with distinction from Queen Mary University of London. She is a clinical senior lecturer on the aesthetic medicine master's degree at Queen Mary University of London. Dr Eckhardt lectures nationally and internationally in the fields of orthodontics and aesthetic medicine. She also has a particular interest in postgraduate training and assessment and was appointed as an MOrth examiner in 2008, following this she was elected as the Chair of the panel of MOrth examiners and is currently the Chair of the Board of MOrth examiners for RCS England and RCPS Glasgow. In this role she has established overseas MOrth examinations in Kuala Lumpur, Chennai and Cairo. In addition, she is the director of assessments for the Aesthetic Medicine MSc at Queen Mary University of London. She was appointed Dean of the Faculty in June 2023.

Professor Sondos Albadri holds the position of Professor and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry and is the Vice Dean for Research and Postgraduate Studies at the University of Liverpool. After graduation she moved to the UK to continue her studies. She completed her PhD at Queen's University Belfast and her specialist training in Manchester before joining the University of Liverpool as a clinical lecturer in 2008. She works clinically as a consultant at both the Liverpool University Dental Hospital and Alder Hey Children's Hospital. Sondos' research focuses on improving the quality of clinical outcomes, enhancing patient experience, and optimising care pathways, with a special interest in dental trauma and children with complex health conditions. She leads the NIHR dental integrated academic training in Liverpool and holds various leadership roles, including her current position as Lead Examiner of the Tri-collegiate Membership in Paediatric Dentistry. She served as the President of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry in 2021/2022 and has been a member of the society's executive board since 2015. Sondos is the UK Councillor for the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry and member of their educational committee. Sondos was elected a member of the Board in 2023.

Orthodontics

Andrew DiBiase is a hospital consultant based in Kent. He undertook his undergraduate training at Kings College, London and his postgraduate training at the Royal London Hospital and the Charles Clifford Dental School, Sheffield. Since his appointment, he has developed an extensive research portfolio, is part of the UK Orthodontic National Clinic Trials Network and has received numerous awards and grants, including the Helen E. Dewel award from the American Association of Orthodontists, which he has won twice. His research interests include the clinical effectiveness of appliances and the psychosocial impact of malocclusion. Andrew also runs a successful private practice and has published and lectured internationally. Andrew has published over 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals and co-authored three textbooks. He is the current secretary of the British Orthodontic Society, an active member of the Angle Society of Europe and is undertaking a PhD in psychology.

Orthodontics

Martyn Cobourne is Professor and Academic Head of Orthodontics at King’s College London and Honorary Consultant in Orthodontics at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. He graduated from King’s College School of Medicine and Dentistry in 1990 and after a series of junior hospital posts in Bristol and London undertook specialty training in orthodontics at King’s College Hospital, obtaining his Membership in Orthodontics in 1997. He was awarded a Medical Research Council Clinical Training Fellowship in 1998 and completed a PhD at the United Medical and Dental Schools, University of London in 2002. Martyn was appointed as a Senior Lecturer and Hon Consultant in Orthodontics at King’s College London Dental Institute in 2004. His research is primarily focused on investigating the role of molecular signaling pathways during the early development of the head and face. However, he is also interested in the effectiveness of contemporary orthodontic treatment and has led a number of clinical trials investigating treatment efficiency. He has published over 115 peer-reviewed articles and is the author of two successful orthodontic textbooks. He was Director of Research at the British Orthodontic Society from 2012-2016 and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Orthodontics. He was elected to the Faculty Board in 2017and is the Chair of the Faculty's Examinations committee.

Restorative dentistry

Mr Robert Crawford is Consultant in Restorative Dentistry, Joint Clinical Lead of the Endodontic Department and an Academic Educational Supervisor to Specialty Registrars in Restorative Dentistry at the Royal National ENT & Eastman Dental Hospitals, UCLH NHS Foundation Trust, London. During training, he attained a distinction in the MSc in Conservative Dentistry, Eastman Dental Institute and was awarded his FDSRCS in Restorative Dentistry. In 2010, he was appointed Consultant in Restorative Dentistry and Clinical Lead of the Endodontic Department at the Eastman Dental Hospital. Since this time, the department has undergone significant expansion and service development. He is actively involved in postgraduate dental education, in particular specialist level clinical training in the restorative disciplines. He enjoys lecturing internationally and his academic interests include multidisciplinary management for tooth preservation, smile aesthetics and dental implants. He has served as an examiner for MRD RCS and MEndo RCS examinations since 2018 and contributes to the ongoing development of the restorative examinations for the Faculty. He was elected to the Faculty Board in 2020 and serves on the Faculty’s Postgraduate Education and Fellowship & Awards committees.

Special Care Dentistry

Mrs Charlotte Curl qualified from the University of London in 1992, attained her FDSRCS England in1995, a Diploma in Special Care Dentistry RCS England in 2006 and Diploma in Clinical Education, King’s College London in 2019. After working in Special Care Dentistry in a Community and Hospital Setting, she was admitted to the Specialist List in Special Care Dentistry in 2009 and was appointed as Consultant in Special Care Dentistry at Kent Community NHS Foundation Trust in 2014 and King’s College Hospital in 2015. She has been actively involved in both Undergraduate and Postgraduate teaching, having been an Educational Supervisor and Training Programme Director and has run several Postgraduate training courses. She has also been an examiner for the both the Diploma in Special Care Dentistry and the Tricollegiate Exam in Special Care Dentistry. Charlotte has served on the Executive Committee of the British Society of Disability and Oral Health since 2012 and is currently the Honorary Secretary. Her clinical interests include the dental management of patients living with dementia and those requiring dental treatment prior to undergoing cardiac valve surgery. Her research interests include the identification and management of dental pain in older people living with dementia.

Staff and Associate Specialist Grades Representative

Hesham Emam qualified as a dentist from Cairo University in 1998. He arrived in the UK as an international dental graduate in 2001 and has since been working in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, as a trainee and SAS grade. He is currently a Specialist Grade Doctor in OMFS at Morriston Hospital, Swansea. He became a member of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2004 and a Fellow of the Faculty of Dentistry of the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland in 2015. He has a special interest in Dental Implantology, which he practices privately, and in Medical and Dental Education. He obtained a MSc with distinction in Implantology and a PG Diploma in medical education from Cardiff University. He is the named clinical supervisor and facilitator of oral surgery and conscious sedation courses for the dental core trainees in South Wales. Hesham was invited to FDS Board in 2008 as the SAS Grade Representative. He was then co-opted to the AoMRC SAS committee, the RCS England SAS Forum and the BDA Central Committee of Hospital Dental Services. He was appointed on the RCS Global Oral Health Committee and became the Chair of the newly founded FDS SAS Education Committee in 2022. He has a long and broad experience in supporting and representing SAS grade doctors and dentists, and he contributed to numerous initiatives and events promoting the acknowledgment, career progression and aspirations of the grade, leading to the introduction of RCS SAS Strategy.

Dental Public Health

Professor Jennifer E Gallagher MBE is the Newland-Pedley Professor of Oral Health Strategy and Honorary Consultant in Dental Public Health in the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences at King’s College London. Jenny has worked in international affairs for the University since 2017 and is currently an Ambassador for International, Engagement & Service. Graduating from Queen’s University Belfast, she worked in hospital, community, and general dental services before pursuing clinical academic training in Dental Public Health at King’s. Her research interests focus on strengthening the oral health healthcare workforce and health systems to meet the needs of the population. Her work nationally and internationally contributes to the global agenda for oral health. Professor Gallagher was awarded an MBE in the 2015 Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for her services to oral health. She is currently Vice-President of IADR, the global organisation for dental, oral, and craniofacial research, and will take up her Presidency in June 2026.

Oral Surgery

Sarah Howells qualified from UCH in 1982 and gained her FDS in 1999. She additionally gained a DDPH and a MSc in Dental Public Health. She has worked in the Head and Neck Unit Royal Marsden Hospital for over 20 years as an Associate Specialist. During this time, she has also worked in primary, secondary and community care with her practice limited to oral surgery. She has been involved in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at the Eastman Dental Institute and King’s College London. She is keen to provide appropriate care to oncology patients within the Head and Neck Unit and other units at the Royal Marsden Hospital. She is involved in the provision of oral surgery services at Charing Cross Hospital. She is an OSCE lead on the core group of MJDF and is an examiner for medical emergencies component of the Overseas Registration Examination. She was elected to the Faculty Board in 2017 and is Chair of the Faculty's Clinical Standards committee.

Oral surgery

Dr Rachel Leeson is an Associate Professor in Oral Surgery at University College London, (UCL) Eastman Dental Institute (EDI) and an Honorary Consultant in Oral Surgery for UCLH NHS Foundation Trust. Rachel qualified from UCH, University of London in 1990 and attained her FDS RCS (Eng) in 1994, before completing a MSc, a PhD and becoming a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Rachel has significant experience in the clinical practice and education of Oral Surgery and allied subjects. Currently this includes her roles as external examiner for both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, Programme Director for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at UCL, EDI which has led to many taught and research postgraduates achieving higher degrees, successfully passing RCS England examinations and securing senior positions around the globe. Rachel has a proactive role in research by virtue of leadership of many clinical trials of novel therapies and as Graduate Tutor and Head of the Eastman Centre for Postgraduate Research. Rachel was elected to the Faculty Board in 2019.

Miss Sana Luqmani is a Consultant Orthodontist in South West London. As well as her MSc and Fellowship in Orthodontics, she also holds an MSc in Primary Dental Care. She is committed to promoting effective collaboration between GDPs and Specialists within the dental profession. Miss Luqmani has been a valued member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England since 2014, and successfully completed the RCS Lady Estelle Wolfson Emerging Leaders Fellowship programme in 2023. She has subsequently been actively involved in selecting and shortlisting candidates for future cohorts of this prestigious leadership programme. She is passionate about Equality and Diversity and advocates fair representation and equal opportunities for all within dentistry and healthcare, regardless of their background or circumstances – Ultimately, with the goal to provide the best possible care for our diverse patient population.

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS)

Patrick Magennis is a consultant in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) who works in the Regional OMFS Unit at Aintree Hospital in Liverpool. Originally from Belfast, he has been training and working in Liverpool for 30 years. He qualified in dentistry in Belfast in 1984 and passed his FFD RCS (Ire), FDS RCPS (Glasgow) and FDS RCS (Edinburgh) whilst a Senior House Officer in Chester with John Cawood. After completing his MB BCh BAO (Queen’s Belfast), he passed his FRCS CSiG whilst a registrar in The London Hospital and moved to complete his OMFS training in Liverpool. His first OMFS consultant post was in Burton-on-Trent/Derby starting in 2001. He moved back to Liverpool in 2003 where he leads Trauma in what GIRFT agrees is the busiest OMFS unit in England. After receiving FDS RCS England ad eundum in 2019 he was elected to the FDS Board. His other roles include Trustee of the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (he will be BAOMS President July 2025-July 2026), President of the OMFS Section of the Union of European Medical Specialists (UEMS), and Deputy Chair of Trustees of Saving Faces (Facial Surgery Research Foundation). Patrick’s focus has always been supporting trainees, especially trainees in OMFS. He has published over 100 peer review papers, mostly on topics related to OMFS training. Patrick is married to a consultant OMFS surgeon, Anne, who is better than him by almost every professional measure and their two off-spring are Catherine (medical student) and Tom (history teacher).

Vinod is a consultant oral surgeon at Guys & St Thomas' Hospital. In addition to hospital oral surgery services, he works as part of a multi-disciplinary dental and medical team to provide clinical dental care for oncology patients prior, during and after their cancer treatment. Vinod's research and teaching is focused around dental oncology particularly around prevention and management of osteonecrosis of the jaw.

Dr Jadbinder Seehra is a consultant orthodontist based at both Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He is currently the Deputy Lead for the Orthodontic Masters (MSc) programme at King's College London and Director of Orthodontic Therapy, King's Health Partners. In these positions, he provides academic and clinical training to orthodontic postgraduate students and therapists. He is actively involved in clinical research and has published extensively in the scientific literature. He has held numerous positions of leadership and responsibility within both the British Orthodontic Society and the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Dr Helen Rogers

Helen is a Senior Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry at Newcastle University. Since graduating in 2011, Helen was awarded a Master in Clinical Research degree (2017) and her PhD (2021), which were both funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research. She undertook specialty training in paediatric dentistry in Sheffield and Newcastle, completing her membership and fellowship examinations respectively. She was granted a position on the prestigious RCS England Lady Estelle Wolfson Emerging Leaders Fellowship Programme in 2019. Helen is an active researcher with around £2 million in personal awards, and has received numerous prizes including the President’s Prize from the British Society of Oral and Dental Research in 2023. Helen has a passion for clinical academia; she founded the award-winning CONNECT trainee-led research group and is the Past Chair of the Teachers’ Branch of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry. Her interests include child-centred caries research and oral health economics.

Dr Nadia Ahmed

Nadia is a Consultant Orthodontist at Rotherham General Hospital, alongside working in specialist private practice. Following graduation from the University of Sheffield in 2007, she gained experience in OMFS, Oral Medicine, Radiology and Paediatric Dentistry then carried out her specialist training in Leeds and gained the MOrth from RCS England in 2016. She carried out research in autotransplantation of teeth and completed her MSc with Merit from the University of Leeds. Further training in Birmingham Dental Hospital to become a Consultant in 2018-2020 led to the FDS in Orthodontics. Nadia has completed a PG Cert in Dental Education and has a passion for teaching. She has been involved in a number of Orthodontic books for postgraduate exams and is actively involved in teaching Orthodontics to GDPs, DFTs and StRs. She has been part of the Overseas Plastic Surgery Appeal (OPSA) team and visited the Cleft Hosital, Gujrat, Pakistan in 2023 to deliver Orthodontic and Dental care to patients as part of the MDT cleft camp. Nadia is Honorary Secretary to the British Orthodontic Society Orthodontic Specialists Group and has worked with the Clinical Governance group to provide a number of resources for patients and colleagues. She was appointed Chair of the BDA Central Committee for Hospital Dental Services in 2022 and served in this role until 2024. She was awarded the ‘Certificate of Merit for Services to the Profession’ at the 2024 BDA Honours and Awards ceremony. She certified as a life coach in 2021 and has been invited to speak on this topic at local and national meetings to dental professionals as well as writing articles regularly for ‘Dentistry’ and BDJ in practice. She also runs coaching workshops for dental and medical professionals. Nadia is a student of the international dance academy, ‘Shiamak Bollywood Dance,’ and enjoys hiking, spending time in her kitchen (she successfully reached the interview stage of the ‘Great British Bake Off’ in 2021 and 2022) and regularly attends art classes.

Professor Martin Ashley

I have been a consultant in Restorative Dentistry for 23 years in Manchester, with a strong clinical interest in MDT work, as one of the lead clinicians in both our regional cleft and hypodontia services. I am currently the Medical Director for the University Dental Hospital of Manchester and the Manchester NHS Trust’s Associate Medical Director for Informatics 2020-23, leading our Epic EPR implementation. I have been a national specialty lead for the GIRFT Head and Neck Cancer review. I was RD-UK chair from 2018-2023. I have a long association with the Faculty at RCS England, as Training Grades rep to the FDS Board, 1999-01, MRD examiner and then chair of MRD examinations 2004-16 and am currently a national speciality advisor. I have strong interests in education, curriculum, governance, clinical informatics, clinical standards, ethics and coding.

Representing Staff and Associate Specialist Grades

Anna Dargue is an associate specialist in oral surgery working at Bristol Dental Hospital. She is an invited member of the FDS Board, representing SAS dentists through her role as Chair of the FDS SAS Education Committee since August 2023. As part of this role, she is an invited member of the SAS Doctors' Committee of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) and a co-opted member of the RCS England SAS Forum. In addition, she is a co-opted member of the Central Committee of Hospital Dental Services (CCHDS) of the BDA. As part of her job, Anna Dargue is an honorary senior lecturer for Bristol Dental School and is the lead for the Year 4 Oral Surgery course as well as the local anaesthetic lead for the school. She also teaches on postgraduate courses run by the University. She is a clinical supervisor for undergraduate dental students, dental core trainees and specialty trainees in oral surgery, and an educational supervisor for dental core trainees. She represents the University of Bristol on the education committee for the Association of British Academic Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (ABAOMS). She has a PG Diploma in Sedation and a MSc in Medical Education and is a fellow of the Faculty of Dental Trainers. Anna Dargue was previously SAS chair for her hospital trust, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston, as well as a Council member of the British Association of Oral Surgeons (BAOS). She also participates in the southwest Managed Clinical Network (MCN) for oral surgery. She is driven to ensure SAS are given education and training opportunities to develop their skills and fulfil their career potential in every aspect of their working lives.

Early Careers Representative

Orthodontic National Group

Early Careers Representative

Trainee Representative

Trainee Representative