Welcome to Faculty of Dentistry Homepage

February, 2009                                                        

DEANS MESSAGE                                                                                                                                                    

On behalf of the Faculty of Dentistry RCSI may I wish you a very happy and successful year in 2009.

The years ahead will be challenging, as significant change is likely in areas of the Dental Profession during the next few years. My focus during my term as Dean will be on Postgraduate Education at especially at home here in Ireland and abroad.

I would like to thank my Fellow Board Members for their support and advice both in the past and especially so in the future. It is very reassuring to have such a significant level of knowledge, experience and wisdom available to me in order to help guide the Faculty in its work, especially in Postgraduate Training and Education. I would like to congratulate Mr. Sean Sheridan on his appointment as Chairman of the Faculty's Inspections, Recognitions and Overseas Committee.

Dr. Peter Cowan continues as our part time CEO, his experience in all aspects of the work of this Faculty, his commitment to organisation of Examinations at home and abroad and the many other roles he manages for us, has been of significant value.

The Chairpersons of the Committees of the Faculty work tirelessly on behalf of the Faculty in undertaking its various roles. In particular the Education Committee continues to be extremely busy under its new Chairperson Mr. Ken Halpenny. This committee guides the Faculty with regard to educational policy and the various Membership and Fellowship Examinations, which are run by the Faculty, in Ireland and abroad. Congratulations to Dr. Marielle Blake on her appointment as the Chairperson of the Examinations Committee. The Faculty continues to run its MFD examination (now in two parts, Parts 1 and 2) in Dublin, Kuwait, Jordan, Ajman in the UAE and has just opened a new examinations Centre in the RCSI, Medical University of Bahrain. The support of the Examinations Office in assisting the Faculty to run these examinations is much appreciated. My goal in creating a 'Road Map for Training in Dentistry' is almost complete and I hope to have this on our website over the next few months.

Our Finance and General Purposes committee is chaired by Dr. Seamus Napier out Treasurer.  Dr. John Walsh is welcomed as our new Honorary Secretary. Our New Scientific Committee will be chaired by Professor Gerry Kearns. Our new Honorary Editor is Dr. Declan Corcoran. We are very appreciative of the tireless work and organisation of our Faculty Secretariat, under Ms. Sue Mc Donald and her colleague Ms Sarah Carne, who undertake a very heavy workload in managing the day to day activities of the faculty including, examinations, meetings and annual scientific meetings, in the Faculty.

The work of the Irish Committee for Specialist Training in Dentistry, under its Chairperson, Dr. Therese Garvey is ongoing in guiding the Dental Council and the profession in relation to specialist training in Dentistry in Ireland, now and into the future. The contribution of The Director of Specialist Training, Mr. David Ryan is greatly appreciated.

The Faculty is pleased to announce that it has formed a new standing Committee, The Irish Committee for Primary Dental Care. I will keep you updated on the progress of this committee in the development of career pathways in the Primary Dental Care Sector.

The Faculty of Dentistry, RCSI and the College of Dentistry, New York University have recently signed a prestigious agreement to provide accredited training in Oral Surgery with Oral Medicine for Overseas students at the College of Dentistry, NYU. The superb facilities at the College of Dentistry have been the subject of a visitation by the inspections and recognition committee of the Faculty of Dentistry and the 3 year curriculum now fulfils the criteria for entry to the Fellowship examination in Oral Surgery with Oral Medicine  FFD RCSI(OSOM). In addition, those trainees entering on to the programme at NYU will have an opportunity to prepare for and sit the Membership of the Faculty of Dentistry qualification (MFD RCSI) during their training period.

This is the first time a significant collaboration has taken place between one of the Royal Colleges and a major US University, to provide a training programme in the specialty of Oral Surgery. The College of Dentistry, NYU is the largest dental school in the USA whose Dean, Prof. Charles Bertolami, is one of the foremost Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons and Dental Educators in America. It is hoped that further training programmes in other disciplines will emerge in time.   

I value the close association between our Faculty and the College (RCSI), and the close relationship enjoyed with our sister Colleges in England and Scotland. I have always admired the role of the Irish Dental Association and am proud of the excellent working relationship we enjoy with the IDA.

Our MFD and MGDS programmes continue in Kuwait and I appreciate the foresight and courage of Dr. Yousef Al-Duwairi, Assistant Undersecretary, Ministry of Health, State of Kuwait, for making this huge project such a success. I admire the very significant input and energy of the Programmes Director in Kuwait Dr. Essam Zaatar, who works tirelessly in association with the Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialisation (K.I.M.S.),  Dr. Taleb Al'Sarraf, Superintendent for Training & Planning, and the efforts of all the team in Kuwait, in organising and running this programme in association with the Faculty's International Dental Advisor, Professor Denis O'Mullane. I also greatly appreciate the dedication, commitment and expertise of our lecturing teams who go to Kuwait on a regular basis, to present at our MFD RCSI KU preparation courses with the Faculty.

The Theme for our Scientific Meeting 2009 is Dentistry Today The Current Status. The meeting will Take Place here Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, St Stephens Green, Dublin 2  on Thursday 29^th  & Friday 30^th  October 2009.  The Faculty of Dentistry will present a review of the current evidence based status in all areas of dentistry today, delivered by leading academics and clinicians, in each field of dentistry. The current trends, latest clinical developments and techniques will also be presented by world leading clinicians. Thus the current status of the art and science of dentistry today, and how it will be practiced in the future, will be delivered by an international panel of speakers.

This will represent the cutting edge of oral care for your patients today. The meeting will be of particular interest to all Oral Healthcare Professionals aspiring to provide the most enlightened, up to date and comprehensive oral care available in 2009 and beyond.

The future holds many challenges and the next few years will see the development of a new Dental Act. The Faculty will continue to pursue the highest standards in training in cooperation with the The Department of Health and Children, The HSE METR Group, The Dental Council of Ireland, The Universities Dental Schools in Dublin and Cork, The Irish Dental Association, the various Specialist Societies and our sister Colleges abroad. The Faculty will endeavour to support Continuing Professional Development for the Profession. I am grateful as Dean for the opportunity to contribute to the goals of the Faculty of Dentistry here in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

Dr. Patrick J. Byrne

Dean, Faculty of Dentistry