Chief Dental Officer appointed

Sara will serve as principal dental adviser and the professional head of dental staff in England. As a senior member of the Medical Directorate, Sara will work in partnership with other directorates, domain leads and other clinical leaders in regional and local area teams to improve outcomes for patients, and champion the role of dentists and dentistry within the health system.

Sara Hurley qualified from the University of Bristol Dental School in 1988. Commissioned into the Royal Army Dental Corps, she has continued to broaden her clinical dentistry portfolio gaining Membership of General Dental Practitioners (UK) in 2003, a Masters in Dental Public Health at University College London 2004, and a King’s College MA in Defence Studies 2007. Her career has flexed across the domains of dental public health, wider healthcare policy and healthcare commissioning as well as undertaking operational healthcare management and strategic leadership assignments in a range of UK and overseas locations.