"Consider yourself as one"

That was the message from the new chief dental officer (CDO) for England, Sara Hurley, when she addressed delegates at the British Association of Dental Therapists (BADT) national conference last week September 25-26.

Joining her predecessor, Barry Cockcroft, in delivering the event’s keynote speech, she advocated the policy of dental teams considering themselves as “one entity” when tackling dental health care.

She also promised to act on any ideas put forward by DCPs in order to successfully facilitate the necessary changes for future care.

Speaking after the conference, she said: ‘The conference was an outstanding success, testament to the talent and energy of an exceptional group of health care professionals. I was honoured to be present and to initiate a dialogue, which I am confident will endure and produce high value health dividends for our patients.’

BADT president, Fiona Sandom, said: “The fact the CDO Sara Hurley chose to address dental therapists in her first 100 days in post signifies how much she values DCPs and views us an integral part of delivering dental treatment. She spoke of the dental profession – and not of dentists and DCPs – which I thought interesting and demonstrated a mind-set.”