Dental Protection has appointed four new members to its Board. Rubina Fur, Ryan Hennessy, Jigar Patel and Shaam Shamsi bring with them a wealth of experience and expertise in the profession.
The dental board provides advice on developments within dentistry and shares experience which may impact on the medical protection society (MPS) and its dental members. The board also advises the MPS council on understanding the needs of Dental Protection members and the issues they face.
Rubina Fur Rubina is a general dental practitioner and has experience of working in one of the first pilot sites for NHS dental contract reform.
She has been involved in dental foundation training for many years; she was appointed a trainee support tutor in the London Deanery (now Health Education England) in 2014, a post she held for five years.
This role involved working with foundation dentists to support their professional development and being available as a mentor. It was during this time that she developed her interest in law and ethics and has undertaken postgraduate studies in dental law and ethics at Bedford University.
Ryan Hennessy
Ryan Hennessy was first appointed to Dental Protection’s Irish Dental Advisory Committee in 2012, serving as its chair, and joined the wider dental board in June 2021.
Ryan is a founding member of Inspire Dental, a group that provides CPD, compliance support and advice to general dentists. Prior to this, he has held numerous roles within the Irish Dental Association (IDA), including that of director, council member, GP group chairperson, and honorary membership secretary. Through this work, he has led panel discussions on independent practice and the business of dentistry, delivered CPD at IDA national conferences, and represented the IDA at the Practitioner Health Matters programme.
Jigar Patel Jigar undertakes clinical work in primary care general practice and within the secondary care sector, and thus appreciates and recognises the challenges facing the profession in both settings.
He was appointed as a consultant orthodontist and the clinical lead for orthodontics for East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust in 2014. Jigar has been an examiner for the Royal College of Surgeons for the MFDS examination and is actively involved in teaching and training. He is a member of the British Dental Association (BDA) and the British Orthodontic Society (BOS).
Shaam Shamsi
A former examiner for the faculty’s MJDF examination, Shaam has an interest in cosmetic and implant dentistry. He currently examines for Overseas Registration Examination in London, Royal College of Surgeon's LDS examination and the MFDS in Edinburgh.
After acquiring a postgraduate diploma in medical ethics and law, he has worked as a clinical panelist for the General Dental Council’s (GDC) dental complaints service. In 2020, Shaam completed his 10-year appointment sitting as a panelist for the GDC’s Fitness to Practice procedures adjudicating matters on clinical and professional misconduct. He now mentors general dental practitioners who are subject to fitness to practice investigations.
Shaam lectures for many professional organisations, including Health Education England and Dental Protection where he has presented a number of risk management workshops. In the last five years, Shaam has been well known for his lecture on ‘Raising Medico-Legal Awareness in Implant Dentistry’. He is also a specialist advisor to the Care Quality Commission and has undertaken practice inspections for the CQC.
Raj Rattan, dental director at Dental Protection, said, “I’m delighted to welcome our new board members. Their combined knowledge and experience give them a deep understanding of the challenges faced by dentists and dental care professionals, which will prove an invaluable resource to further support our members throughout their careers.
“Over the past couple of years, dentists and the wider dental team have faced extraordinary challenges in an already demanding professional landscape.
“They have however, remained committed to providing high quality dental care to their patients. We look forward to continuing our work with the dental board to support our hardworking members going forwards.”