The new president of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) is Sondos Albadri, professor and honorary consultant in paediatric dentistry in Liverpool and one of the most respected names in paediatric dentistry. Her inauguration will take place on October 5, at BSPD’s annual conference organised by our Merseyside branch.
It’s tradition that the president tours all BSPD’s branches during their year in office and delivers a lecture reflecting on their career and academic interests. Professor Albadri ‘s topic is ‘2021 vision: A new perspective on hindsight’ and she will reflect on her career, on the management of childhood trauma and on the lessons learned from the pandemic.
She said, “We now live with the threat of a pandemic and prevention has never been so important. The hindsight we have acquired post pandemic should underpin our work going forward and as president I want to build on what that means for us and for our patients.”
One of the impacts of the pandemic has been to highlight the degree to which children from deprived areas are disadvantaged by poor oral health. Another priority for Professor Albadri will be to support initiatives which help reduce growing inequalities in children’s oral health.
Professor Albadri is, among many other roles, clinical lead for the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences (ILCaMS). She has become involved in research exploring the link between oral health and chronic inflammatory conditions in children. She said, “This is about collaborating to understand the science behind inflammatory diseases and understanding that the mouth is gateway to the body.”
Since her young days in Baghdad, Professor Albadri knew she wanted to be an academic, but she did not believe she could ever become a professor. How wrong she was! She rose rapidly to the top of the academic ladder in paediatric dentistry in the UK, becoming a professor at the age of 43.
In the year ahead, she looks forward to inspiring younger paediatric dentists, making sure that they know that they can succeed, as she has done.