Ian, who works in general dental practice in North Devon, has now been sworn in following his election in February, and succeeds Mick Horton as dean. Qualifying as a dentist from Glasgow University in 1987, he spent the early part of his career working in maxillofacial surgery. After moving into general practice, he joined FGDP in 1994, completing its Diploma in Implant Dentistry, representing the South West region on the board and becoming a vice-dean in 2016. He has been an elected member of the BDA General Dental Practice Committee (GDPC), a member of Devon LDC, and on the Professional Executive Committee of North Devon Primary Care Trust, and is also a fellow of FGDP(UK), the Higher Education Academy and the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. In addition to his clinical practice, he works at Peninsula Dental School as a clinical supervisor, group facilitator and honorary lecturer.
Onkar has been principal dentist at Honour Health (formerly Osborne Dental Group) since 1986, providing treatments including dental implants, facial aesthetics and orthodontics at its three practices across the North East. Graduating from Newcastle University in 1985, he represents the Yorkshire and Northern region on the FGDP(UK) board, and holds Fellowships both of the FGDP(UK) and the International College of Dentists. Chair of North Tyne LDC, and president of the BDA’s Northern Counties branch, he has been a clinical teacher at Newcastle Dental Hospital since 1995.
After graduating from Dundee University in 1988, Mark joined the RAF, of which he is now a group captain and the chief dental officer. He is also the Armed Forces clinical adviser on paedodontic dentistry, in which he holds an MSc, and has completed an MSc in medical education and attained MGDS RCS. In 2007 he became an examiner for the MFGDP, in 2013 a Core Group MJDF examiner, and he is also a facilitator for FGDP(UK) Fellowship. He is a fellow of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, a CQC specialist adviser, and has been the FGDP board member for the Wessex and Oxford region since 2016.
Ian Mills commented, “On behalf of all members of the Faculty, I congratulate Onkar and Mark on their election as vice-deans, and offer our wholehearted thanks and appreciation to Mick for his hard work and strong leadership over the last three years. Under his Deanship, FGDP has increased its influence, strengthened its world class education and re-vitalised its Fellowship programme, fit for the future ahead of us.
“It is a great responsibility to lead the UK’s only professional body dedicated to general dental practice, and a huge privilege to be able to draw upon the immense talents, knowledge and expertise of our members as we move forward together to establish a new College of General Dentistry as the academic home of GDPs.”