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All of the main articles in this latest issue of Dental Update have been written by Fellows and Members of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. The topics covered include evidence-based dentistry, child protection, oral cancer detection, treatment of peri-implant disease, interceptive orthodontics, special care dentistry, restoration of incisal tips and edges, indicators of sedation needs and reducing white spot lesion incidence. This wonderful mix of topics is an excellent reflection of the vast range of expertise, knowledge and experience of our Faculty in the realms of dental healthcare.
The Faculty of Dental Surgery is dynamic. Our voice in shaping the future of patient care has never been stronger. In the past three years we have helped to drive forward the development of tri-collegiate membership examinations in Oral Surgery, Special Care Dentistry and Paediatric Dentistry, all of which were launched in the UK last year. Our hope is to take these examinations to international centres in the next few years and we are currently working hard to ensure that the highest standards are maintained in the bi-collegiate examinations in Orthodontics and Restorative Dentistry.
We remain focused on serving our membership and ensuring that the best support, services and opportunities are available to dental professionals at every stage of their careers. This ranges from interview skills for undergraduates and educational events for dental care professionals to mentorship programmes for practising dentists and specialists. We are absolutely committed to delivering the highest standards of training combined with a mix of benefits to support our members' needs, including awards and scholarships, local points of contact, educational resources (which includes a complimentary subscription to this journal) and social activities.
We are currently developing a programme of e-learning for the whole dental team with a launch anticipated in 2014. Our new e-learning service will provide a range of modules and offer some flexibility to busy practitioners to gain CPD at a time that suits them.
We also expect to commence training for dental professionals in the state of the art Clinical Anatomy Skills Centre (CASC) soon, which is the newest high specification cadaveric training centre in the UK. It has the potential to raise standards and expertise in clinical procedures still further.
Recognizing the significant financial pressures faced by new graduates as they work towards membership examinations during their foundation training, in 2012 we launched a pioneering MFDS Trainee Package, which offers both significant discounts on revision course and membership fees, and spreads the cost over 12, 18 or 24 months. This has proved to be extremely beneficial for young dentists, as it enables them to secure their place in revision courses and examinations early and plan financially. The MFDS examination itself continues to be internationally recognized as a benchmark qualification for dental professionals and is taken by dentists all over the world. We currently run the MFDS Part 1 examination in 12 centres, five of which are outside the UK. The MFDS Part 2 examination was run in both Glasgow and Manchester in 2013.
The Faculty continues to ensure that a premium range of benefits is available to its members and that the highest standards of education, training and examinations are achieved. We pride ourselves on the calibre of our membership. Dental professionals with post nominals from our College are internationally recognized as being of the highest professional standard. It is a stamp of excellence.
My own role as Dean of this Faculty and Vice-President (Dental) of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow will come to an end in October this year on completion of my three year term of office. I am very proud to be the first female Vice-President of a Royal Surgical College and I hope my passion and position will in some way inspire other women to strive to reach the top of their profession. The role has been challenging but extremely rewarding. I wish my successor, Professor Richard Welbury, much success when he takes over as Dean and Vice-President (Dental) in October.