The College of General Dentistry (CGDent) has announced the results of recent elections to six seats on its council, with five new members elected and one re-elected.

Charlotte Jeavons, head of the school of human sciences at the University of Greenwich, has been elected to the national seat, representing college members from across the UK. She began her career as a dental nurse before moving into oral health improvement with the Community Dental Service. She has also been a dental public health lead and dental services manager for two NHS primary care trusts. With 25 years’ experience of teaching and academic leadership, she was previously the programme lead for Greenwich’s BSc in Public Health and MSc in Global Public Health. She holds a Certificate in Oral Health Education, a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical and Dental Teaching and Learning and an MSc in Public Health (all from Queen Mary University of London), as well as a BSc in Health and Social Care from the Open University and a PhD in Dental Public Health Ethics from City University. A fellow of the college, Charlotte is also a senior fellow of the Higher Education Academy, an honorary member of the Faculty of Public Health, a past chair of the National Oral Health Promotion Group and current president of the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry.

She succeeds Helen Kaney, who is standing down after six years’ service on the council and its predecessor, the national board of the former Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP). Charlotte is the first dental care professional in the history of the college to be elected in a seat representing members in all dental team roles.

There are two other dental nurses on the college council, both in role-based seats – Jane Dalgarno, the elected dental nursing and orthodontic therapy representative, and Debbie Reed, chair of the college’s Faculty of Dental Nursing and Orthodontic Therapy.

Pejman Khaki, principal dentist at a private general practice in Crawley, has been elected to the South Thames seat. Having initially graduated with a BSc in Neuroscience from King’s College London (KCL), he qualified BDS from Bart’s and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry in 2004, before working in a corporate dental practice. He has since gained membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow (RCPS), both a postgraduate diploma and MSc in Dental Implantology from the University of Salford, and fellowship of both CGDent and the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS). Actively involved in dental education, he has been an educational supervisor for Dental Foundation Training, ITI study club director for West Sussex, an MJDF examiner, deputy lead for the MFDS Part 2 examination and an undergraduate teacher at KCL.

He succeeds Roshni Karia, who represented the seat on the FGDP board and council from 2017 until becoming president of the college last year.

Martin McKinstry, a general dental practitioner and owner of a mixed NHS-and-private practice in Glasgow, has been elected to represent West and North Scotland. A fellow, foundation member and certified membership facilitator of the college, he is also a committee member of CGDent Scotland, an MFDS tutor, a VT Trainer (Educational Supervisor) and VT Adviser (training programme director), and a committee member of Greater Glasgow and Clyde Local Dental Committee (LDC). He graduated BDS from Glasgow in 2006 and also holds certificates in orthodontics and dental sedation, the Diploma of Membership of the Joint Dental Faculties of the RCS, a master’s in Medical Education from the University of Sunderland, an MSc in Advanced Restorative Dentistry from the University of Manchester, and both the Diploma in Implant Dentistry and the Membership in Advanced General Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

He succeeds Patricia Thomson, who is standing down after completing the maximum nine years’ service, which included two terms as vice president of the college.

David Offord, CEO of a large referral-only dental practice with clinics in Edinburgh and Kelso, has been elected to the East of Scotland seat. Born and bred in Greenock, he was in the last year group to graduate from the University of Edinburgh Dental School in 1994 and is a specialist oral surgeon. In addition to working in general practice in Edinburgh, he has been a senior house officer in oral and maxillofacial surgery units, held staff grade roles in a district general hospital, spent two years working as a dentist in Australia and Singapore, and for five years combined oral surgery staff grade jobs with working in specialist practice. A fellow of CGDent, he holds a diploma in Conscious Sedation from the University of Newcastle and the Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the RCPS, and is currently working towards a PhD at the University of Ghent. For four years, he represented Scotland on the board of the Association of Dental Implantology.

He succeeds Yann Maidment, who has represented the region since 2016 and has served as the college’s (and former FGDP’s) research lead since 2017.

Laurie Powell, a GDP and partner in a three-surgery, mixed NHS-and-private practice in Bicester, has been elected to represent Wessex and Oxford. He qualified from Sheffield Dental School in 1993 and holds a postgraduate diploma in Restorative Dentistry from the University of Bristol, where he was also a part-time clinical lecturer for undergraduate dentists and dental therapists for five years. A keen advocate of clinical research, he has been principal investigator for three practice-based University of Dundee studies into treatments for toothache and deep tooth decay, and is the primary dental care research champion for Thames Valley and South Midlands. He is also currently an NIHR academic clinical fellow in Primary Care Dentistry, studying for a research-based master’s in Primary Care at the University of Manchester. He is a fellow of both the college and the Higher Education Academy, chair of Oxfordshire LDC and represents primary care on the NHS Integrated Care Board for Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West.

He succeeds Sami Stagnell, who has represented the seat since 2019 and is currently leading a revision of the college’s Training Standards in Implant Dentistry publication.

Eldo Koshy, a prosthodontist and implant dentist in Kerala, India, has been re-elected to the overseas seat. Eldo has represented the seat since the college opened, having previously held the same seat on the FGDP board from 2019 to 2021.

Other members

The other elected members of the council are Steve Campbell, Matthew Collins, Stuart Ellis, Nicola Gore, Fazeela Khan-Osborne, Dalip Kumar, Ewen McColl, Anoup Nandra, Susan Nelson MCGDent, Thomas Stapleton, Miranda Steeples and Janine Yazdi-Doughty.

Avijit Banerjee (chair of the Faculty of Dentists), Igor Blum (editor of the Primary Dental Journal), Maria Clark (patient representative) and Bill Sharpling (chair of the Faculty of Dental Technology and Clinical Dental Technology) also attend council meetings, as will the incoming chair of the Faculty of Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy, who will succeed Frances Robinson.

Those elected will be inaugurated at the next council meeting, taking place in Sheffield on June 13, 2025.

Roshni Karia, president of the college, said, “Many congratulations to Martin, Charlotte, Pejman, David and Laurie on their election to council, and to Eldo on his re-election. My sincere thanks on behalf of the whole college to Patricia, Yann, Helen and Sami, all of whom have served on the council since its establishment and on the FGDP board before that. They have all remained dedicated to the college and I am grateful to them all for their hard work and steadfast commitment. I look forward to working with our new representatives of our growing membership as we continue to build the college the general dental professions need and deserve.”

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