A charitable cause

Ellen Cummings talks to rugby star Laura Keates about her career and new role with Dentaid.

Dentaid recently announced England Women rugby star Laura Keates as its first patron. Laura has been playing rugby since she was 15, and has played at university, club and international level. She has more than 60 caps for England and was part of the team which won the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2014.

Despite playing a sport which is perhaps better known for knocking out teeth than caring for them, Laura is also a fourth-year dental student at the University of Birmingham. This may seem like an unusual choice – especially considering the dedication that sport and dentistry each require – but Laura explains, “After I graduated from my first degree in 2010, I was working at the sports centre at university so that I could focus on rugby. For the women rugby players back then, you couldn’t do it full time and there was no sign of it going professional. I was looking at lots of different careers and grad schemes. But then my mum was having a load of dental treatment at the time, and every time she’d have an appointment, she’d ring me after and say, ‘Oh, I really think you should be a dentist! You can do so many different things.’ So to please her I went to do some work experience, and I really enjoyed it!”