Representing therapists

Debbie Hemmington looks back over the 60-year history of the BADT.

As a leading representative of dental therapists in the UK, the British Association of Dental Therapists (BADT) has become synonymous with excellence. Today, the association is a mouthpiece for change, campaigning for numerous advancements within the industry and supporting its members to ensure that they are receiving the encouragement they need to truly take flight in their careers.

But how did the BADT begin? It was back in 1962 that the association came to fruition, formed by the first graduates of the School of Dental Auxiliaries in New Cross, London. This school had formed only two years previously and was the first institute of its type in the northern hemisphere.

Since this time, the association has only gone from strength to strength and the BADT is now the longest running dental therapy association in the whole of Europe.

Ushering in a new era of dental hygiene and therapy
Throughout the last 60 years, the BADT has been instrumental in driving forward real change within the profession and has remained central to all of the biggest decisions that have helped shape dental therapy into the vital role that it is today.