About Us

DOWNS PEER REVIEW GROUP

Of all the courses I’ve attended, the best ones have been small, informal groups. They come at a minimal cost and encourage maximum engagement. The best advice I can offer through this website to enhance your working life is to establish your own peer review group. A diverse mix of ages and interests creates the most productive atmosphere. If possible, allocate an hour or two after the event for smaller discussion groups at the pub with familiar and new colleagues. All you need is a few people to help set up your WhatsApp group.

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As a dental trainer, it’s important to maintain connections—both to offer support and to learn from those you mentor. Our group has evolved over the years into an informal and relaxed setting. Six years ago, we organised a larger conference due to the limited interest in scanning technology that has been developing elsewhere but is not promoted in the UK.

Currently, dental scanning is not a requirement in dental school training, as it is not included in the curriculum set by the GDC. Additionally, enhancing digital skills is not part of any courses organized by Health Education England (HEE). For innovation to succeed, we must recognize that some of the major barriers exist within our own governing bodies.

In medical training, there was a common saying: “See one, do one, teach one.” We all have different skill sets, and while the best clinicians may not always be great communicators, small group face-to-face learning in a relaxed atmosphere has proven to improve our skills and enhance our well-being. In the members’ section, you’ll find resources on making presentations, along with links to excellent free online support and slides from our meetings. The video library will allow you to download valuable content and potentially upload your own. You’ll find the most encouraging audience, as many have been in your shoes.

MY STORY

After nearly 40 years in general dentistry, I created this resource to emphasise the importance of prevention in dental health. By taking responsibility for our oral health, we can support one another and avoid costly, long-term treatments. Prevention is always more effective, more affordable, and longer-lasting than cure. We can all help reduce the burden on our NHS one tooth a time.

These two longer videos are aimed at all the dental team, to encourage diverse thinking and collaborate with small group learning that we all can develop from. But they may be of interest to anyone interesting in learning. The best way to learn, is to teach. And make your work interesting as rewarding is not all about money.

It does help though😅
This helps both.

This webinar, designed for my peer review group, presents my vision for promoting public health prevention in oral care. Initially, the vital link between general health and oral health was not clearly demonstrated.

By 2025, the role of dental teams could evolve to that of general health advocates, positively influencing community health through enhanced oral hygiene, better dietary choices, by explaining the Basic Periodontal Examination health screening (BPE) by your dentist, and self-monitoring techniques such as the Smiff test. These ideas are just the beginning—your advice will help us enhance the website and deepen our collective knowledge and care.

We can gain valuable insights from other fields and experiences. In children’s dentistry, two significant advancements have emerged: the Hall crown and Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF). Interestingly, Norma Hall’s technique was developed only after her retirement, much like Vincent van Gogh’s later recognition.

While SDF has yet to become the treatment of choice, it raises an important question for all parents: What would you prefer for your child? This crucial test for anyone we see is rooted in a simple philosophy: Start with prevention.

This discussion centers around my most valuable learning experiences and offers insights on how to establish your own Continuing Professional Development (CPD) through peer review, applicable across all professions.

One of the most effective forms of “peer review” can be found in the aviation industry’s black box. When we compare this to the impact of dental litigation on our overall well-being, it becomes clear that we must reclaim control of our profession, as advised by Johnston Sumption in his Reith Lectures.

However, this does not involve the General Dental Council, which seems to have lost sight of its core purpose and struggles to keep pace with the latest technology.

It’s essential to take charge of your career and find joy in your profession. As individuals, we may struggle to make significant progress, but by fostering a bottom-up learning environment, we can all benefit. This approach could also give our Local Dental Committees (LDCs) a renewed sense of purpose.

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This year, the keynote speaker at the BDA conference is Gary Neville, which is somewhat disappointing, as I can only assume Steven Gerrard was unavailable.

However, we can enhance the well-being of both our patients and ourselves by maintaining an open mindset and learning from one another, as well as from diverse sources. I have developed a range of online learning courses that will only improve through collective participation and iterative feedback, a process that has proven successful in many businesses.

If you can gain CPD by watching a Manchester United player, then you should certainly seek out verifiable CPD from your peers and their professional networks.

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The website is free for anyone to join. However, those wishing to promote their services that generate income or simply support the platform as a member will incur a small fee. This fee will be minimal for dental nurses providing oral hygiene instruction, Treatment Coordinators (TCOs), therapists, and hygienists. A higher fee will apply for those promoting scanning services.

For early adopters who pay an annual upfront fee, a fixed minimum monthly fee will be established for the duration of the proposed dental app.

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THE DOWNS PEER REVIEW GROUP COMMITTEE

Two founder members of the Downs peer review committee on one of their annual brainstorming cycling trips. Portugal.

Antony Smith BDS DPDS. https://www.teeth4life.org.uk/my-dental-history.html

Paul Martin BDS(Hons) Associate Specialist in Oral Surgery in London before moving to Bristol in 1995 to teach Oral Surgery to both undergraduates and postgraduates at the University Dental Hospital, until retirement in 2022.

The other members of the committee who are currently organising the meetings, who we trained, and we still learn from and help keep us engaged with current trends.

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Ceri has a particular interest in restorative dentistry and dental implants and is a fellow of the International Team of Implantologists. Ceri has completed a clinical masters in Restorative and Cosmetic dentistry.

Ceri is also involved in teaching dental implants to other dentists, Ceri is the course director at the Lodge training foundation in implant dentistry, a year long introduction course for dentists wishing to take up a career in implants. He is approved as a clinical mentor for the Straumann implant company and also teaches implant dentistry through private mentoring and other teaching/lecturing roles.

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Rick’s s ethos in dentistry has always centered on the preservation of the patient’s natural teeth using the latest technologies to ensure minimally invasive preparation.

In 2010, he decided focus on orthodontics and completed 2 years post graduate study. He can now carry out a full range of orthodontic treatments for selected cases, dealing with most malocclusions which present in general practice. He now lectures internationally for general dentists looking to expand their scope of practice in ‘invisible’ orthodontics. His other areas of interest in dentistry include endodontics and restorative work especially aesthetic composite fillings and minimally invasive inlay/onlay restorations.