Onkar Dhanoya, principal dentist at the Newcastle based Osborne Dental Group, was presented with a fellowship from the Faculty of General Dental Practice (FFGDP) at a Diplomates ceremony in London, and has also been appointed as a member of the FFGDP board.
He was joined at the ceremony by Morpeth born Professor Richard Welbury, Professor of Paediatric Dentistry at Glasgow University’s Dental School, who was presented with an Honorary Fellowship.
Fellowships mark the pinnacle of membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of The Royal College of Surgeons of England. They merit the diversity of an individual’s expertise encompassing their achievements in delivering excellence in primary dental care, their ongoing commitment to professional development and reflective practice, and diligence in upholding the highest clinical and/or non-clinical standards.
Onkar graduated as a dental surgeon from Newcastle University in 1985 and is celebrating 30 years of working in dentistry. He has been a principal dentist at Stanley Dental in Country Durham since 1986 and at Osborne Dental in Jesmond since 2000. Last month, he opened Ponteland Dental – the Osborne Dental Group’s third dental care and wellbeing practice.
Additionally, Onka is a trainer for the Northern Deanery. Newly qualified dentists are guided and mentored through their first year in general dental practice at Stanley Dental and Osborne Dental, and many newly qualified dentists who have spent their foundation year at the Osborne Dental Group then join the practices as associates.
Onka said: “I feel very honoured that this esteemed body has acknowledged my commitment to my career in dentistry. It’s a wonderful way to mark 30 years since graduating from Newcastle University, which was a hugely supportive place to study and is still a renowned launch pad for aspiring dentists.”
Professor Richard Welbury qualified in Dentistry (1978) and Medicine (1984) from Newcastle University. He was appointed as MRC research associate in the Department of Child Dental Health in Newcastle in 1985 and gained his PhD in 1989. Between 1978 and 1991 he also worked part-time in practice for Oggy Wright in Acorn Road, Jesmond, and Alan Beddis in Grainger Park Road.
In 1991, he was appointed regional consultant/senior clinical lecturer in Newcastle before moving to Glasgow in 2001, as Professor of Paediatric Dentistry. He is currently Dean of the Dental Faculty of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and has authored five textbooks and over 140 scientific publications.
Professor Welbury said: “It is a huge honour to be recognised in this way by my colleagues in general dental practice. Like Onkar, I feel my training at Newcastle University was key to my future professional development.”
For more information about the Osborne Dental Group, visit www.osbornedental.com and follow @osbornedental on Twitter.