About Me

GDC Number:

57638

Qualifying in 1983 from the historic Edinburgh Dental Hospital and School, I had a year of training in the hospital specialties before starting research into the pathology, immunology and cytochemistry of oral keratosis.  I retain a strong interest in oral medicine and with the advancements of our knowledge over the last 35 years, stomatology in all its forms is even more relevant for our patients medical and dental health.

I started a small  practice in 1993, with a vision that good treatment planing, quality execution and materials would pay handsome dividends to my patients.  The evidence in my practice of patients retaining their teeth and restorations allows me to still believe my ethic was right both for periodontal and restorative care.

Over the last 15 years, I grew into implantology as single implant use for small spaces was significantly less destructive to the remaining natural  teeth.  As with many things, this lead to full arch restorations, immediate loading.   As the morphology of bone never really followed the best orientation of a single axis implant, I moved to placing the co-axis implant.  With choice of  sub-crestal  angle corrections of up to 36 degrees, my use of the external hex design suited many previously impossible implant  solutions.

In the world, the  most widely used implant remains the single axis design.  Due to the inherent weakness of the set angle abutment needed for this type of implant with full arch solutions,  I designed an adjustable abutment for the implant family with internal connections.  This abutment called the “Orbital Connector”, kindly manufactured by Southern Implants,  then offered  angular correction of up to 36 degrees for screw retention of prostheses.  The single axis implant could then be placed in an ideal position in bone, allowing the prosthetic angle of the retaining screw to be adjusted by the prosthodontist.

I now work as the clinical director in my three surgery Edinburgh practice with two dental colleagues, two hygienists, a great team of dedicated dental nurses and patient Co-ordinations.

I write this biography in the midst of  planning the changes necessary for our return to dentistry and supporting our patients.  We will need a common sense approach, using the fundamentals of our daily habits of decontamination and preventing cross contamination.  I cannot think of a better group than us in dental practice, to put together a  coherent set of protocols for clinical work to re-commence .   This brings me back to working in the dental hospital treating the first AIDS patients in 1987.  We were double gowning, double gloving and had masks.  Inconceivable how dental practice has changed in 35 years!

Experience

Education