 | This biographical article is written like a résumé .(January 2025) |
Raman Bedi is Professor of Transcultural Oral Health at King's College London and was the Chief Dental Officer of England from 2002 to 2005. He is Chairman of the Global Child Dental Fund, having established the Global Child Dental Health Taskforce, and continues to practise.
Bedi served as the Chief Dental Officer of England from 1 October 2002 to 1 October 2005. [1] Notable developments towards which Bedi contributed in this period include the passage of the Health and Social Care Act (dental clauses) 2004, Water Act (Fluoridation) 2004 and the Section 60 (2005) order reforming the General Dental Council. [2]
Bedi also chaired the English Dental Workforce Review (2004) and completed its implementation targets in October 2005 (namely increasing the primary care workforce by 5% net and generating a 25% increase in dental undergraduate training). Other focuses of Bedi's term included reform of the prison dental service and of the Salaried Dental Service.
In September 2005 he chaired the UK European Union Presidency dental programme.
Bedi held the Foundational Chair in Transcultural Oral Health at the Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, and was Director of the National Centre for Transcultural Oral Health from 1996–2002. From 1998–2008 he was the co-director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre at the Eastman Dental Institute.
Bedi is currently Professor of Transcultural Oral Health at King's College London and holds an honorary chair at University College London. [3] He also has an honorary "Extraordinary Professorship" in Paediatric Dentistry at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa (2007–2010), and chairs at I.T.S. Centre for Dental Studies & Research, India and Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences, New Delhi.
He was President of the British Society for Disability and Oral Health (2002), President of the Education Research Group of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) (2002–2004) and chair of the IADR Regional Development Programme Committee (2002–2004).
Bedi's research is focused on the management and prevention of early childhood caries. He has published extensively, with an output of over 180 scientific papers and serves on several editorial boards and as a referee for a number of academic journals. His teaching activities include lecturing and examining in the UK and internationally, as well as supervising graduate students.
Bedi is an active clinician focusing exclusively on the full mouth rehabilitation of young children. He was an NHS consultant in paediatric dentistry from 1991–2005 and is on the General Dental Council specialist list in paediatric dentistry and dental public health. He is a WHO consultant in curriculum development in the area of patient safety and dentistry and co-chair of the Global Expert Committee on dental caries management and prevention.
Bedi is Director of the Global Child Dental Health Taskforce. The taskforce supports governments in their efforts to improve children's oral health. [4] As of 2010, the Taskforce was working in 13 countries. Bedi is also Chairman of the Global Child Dental Fund, a charity established to further the work of the Taskforce. [5]
Bedi was an elected member of the General Synod of the Church of England from 1995 to 2005 and chaired the Archbishop's Council (Church of England) Urban and Community Affairs Committee (1996–2001). He was a founding Board member of the Higher Education Leadership Foundation, a member of the HE National Mentoring Scheme for senior staff (2003–07) and a member of the HEFCE Strategic committee for Wider Participation (2003–09). [6] He has also served as Chairman of the British association of Physicians of Indian Origin (2006–09 and as a Trustee of the Children's Society (2006–2009). He is presently the pro bono Clinical Director of the charity Dentaid. He is also the chair of the Oral health working group of the World Federation of Public Health Associations.
In 2003 Bedi received the Asian Guild award and, in 2004, the Asian Jewel award. [7] In 2005 he was awarded the USA Public Health service medal.
Begh RA, Aveyard P, Upton P, Bhopal RS, White M, Amos A, Prescott RJ, Bedi R, Barton P, Fletcher M, Gill P, Zaidi Q, Sheikh A. Promoting smoking cessation in Bangladeshi and Pakistani male adults: design of a pilot cluster randomised controlled trial of trained community smoking cessation workers. Trials. 2009 Aug 14;10:71.
Bedi R, Scully C. Tobacco control—debate on harm reduction enters new phase as India implements public smoking ban. Lancet Oncol. 2008 Dec;9(12):1122-3.
McNeill A, Bedi R, Islam S, Alkhatib MN, West R. Levels of toxins in oral tobacco products in the UK. Tob Control. 2006 Feb; 15(1):64-7.
Conway DI, Quarrell I, McCall DR, Gilmour H, Bedi R, Macpherson LM. Dental caries in 5-year-old children attending multi-ethnic schools in Greater Glasgow—the impact of ethnic background and levels of deprivation. Community Dent Health. 2007 Sep;24(3):161-5.
Ready D, Lancaster H, Qureshi F, Bedi R, Mullany P, Wilson M. Effect of amoxicillin use on oral microbiota in young children. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2004 Aug; 48(8):2883-7.
McGrath C, Bedi R. J ; Measuring the impact of oral health on quality of life in Britain using OHQoL-UK (W).Public Health Dent. 2003 Spring; 63(2):73–7.
Tooth decay, also known as caries, is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The resulting cavities may be a number of different colors, from yellow to black. Symptoms may include pain and difficulty eating. Complications may include inflammation of the tissue around the tooth, tooth loss and infection or abscess formation. Tooth regeneration is an ongoing stem cell–based field of study that aims to find methods to reverse the effects of decay; current methods are based on easing symptoms.
Dental sealants are a dental treatment intended to prevent tooth decay. Teeth have recesses on their biting surfaces; the back teeth have fissures (grooves) and some front teeth have cingulum pits. It is these pits and fissures that are most vulnerable to tooth decay because food and bacteria stick in them and because they are hard-to-clean areas. Dental sealants are materials placed in these pits and fissures to fill them in, creating a smooth surface which is easy to clean. Dental sealants are mainly used in children who are at higher risk of tooth decay, and are usually placed as soon as the adult molar teeth come through.
Opposition to the addition of fluoride to drinking water arises from political, ethical, economic, and health considerations. For deprived groups, international and national agencies and dental associations across the world support the safety and effectiveness of water fluoridation. Proponents see it as a question of public health policy and equate the issue to vaccination and food fortification, citing significant benefits to dental health and minimal risks. In contrast, opponents view it as an infringement of individual rights, if not an outright violation of medical ethics, on the basis that individuals have no choice in the water that they drink, unless they drink more expensive bottled water. A small minority of scientists have challenged the medical consensus, variously claiming that water fluoridation has no or little cariostatic benefits, may cause serious health problems, is not effective enough to justify the costs, and is pharmacologically obsolete.
Dental fluorosis is a common disorder, characterized by hypomineralization of tooth enamel caused by ingestion of excessive fluoride during enamel formation.
Reidar Sognnaes was Dean of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, founding Dean of the UCLA School of Dentistry and scholar in the field of oral pathology.
Early childhood caries (ECC), formerly known as nursing bottle caries, baby bottle tooth decay, night bottle mouth and night bottle caries, is a disease that affects teeth in children aged between birth and 71 months. ECC is characterized by the presence of 1 or more decayed, missing, or filled tooth surfaces in any primary tooth. ECC has been shown to be a very common, transmissible bacterial infection, usually passed from the primary caregiver to the child. The main bacteria responsible for dental cavities are Streptococcus mutans (S.mutans) and Lactobacillus. There is also evidence that supports that those who are in lower socioeconomic populations are at greater risk of developing ECC.
Dental Public Health (DPH) is a para-clinical specialty of dentistry that deals with the prevention of oral disease and promotion of oral health. Dental public health is involved in the assessment of key dental health needs and coming up with effective solutions to improve the dental health of populations rather than individuals.
The Faculty of Dentistry at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) is the largest dental school in Africa. Located in Belville, near Cape Town the UWC Faculty of Dentistry offers the BChD (DDS) Degree, degree in dental hygiene, and post-graduate MChD, MSc(Dent) degrees.
Special needs dentistry, also known as special care dentistry, is a dental specialty that deals with the oral health problems of geriatric patients, patients with intellectual disabilities, and patients with other medical, physical, or psychiatric issues.
Pediatric dentistry is the branch of dentistry dealing with children from birth through adolescence. The specialty of pediatric dentistry is recognized by the American Dental Association, Royal College of Dentists of Canada, and Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons.
The Hall Technique is a minimally-invasive treatment for decayed baby back (molar) teeth. Decay is sealed under preformed crowns, avoiding injections and drilling. It is one of a number of biologically oriented strategies for managing dental decay.
Silver diammine fluoride (SDF), also known as silver diamine fluoride in most of the dental literature, is a topical medication used to treat and prevent dental caries and relieve dentinal hypersensitivity. It is a colorless or blue-tinted, odourless liquid composed of silver, ammonium and fluoride ions at a pH of 10.4 or 13. Ammonia compounds reduce the oxidative potential of SDF, increase its stability and helps to maintain a constant concentration over a period of time, rendering it safe for use in the mouth. Silver and fluoride ions possess antimicrobial properties and are used in the remineralization of enamel and dentin on teeth for preventing and arresting dental caries.
Molar incisor hypomineralisation (MIH) is a type of enamel defect affecting, as the name suggests, the first molars and incisors in the permanent dentition. MIH is considered a worldwide problem with a global prevalence of 12.9% and is usually identified in children under 10 years old. This developmental condition is caused by the lack of mineralisation of enamel during its maturation phase, due to interruption to the function of ameloblasts. Peri- and post-natal factors including premature birth, certain medical conditions, fever and antibiotic use have been found to be associated with development of MIH. Recent studies have suggested the role of genetics and/or epigenetic changes to be contributors of MIH development. However, further studies on the aetiology of MIH are required because it is believed to be multifactorial.
John C. Greene was an American dentist and public health administrator. He was a rear admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, and served as the Deputy Surgeon General of the United States under President Carter from 1978 to 1981. He was the Acting Surgeon General from January to May 1981 under Ronald Reagan. He was the highest ranking non-physician public health officer in the history of the U.S. government.
James Neil Swallow was a pioneering British dentist who developed treatments for adults and children with mental and physical disabilities. He co-authored a standard textbook on children's dentistry. In 1964, Swallow became senior lecturer in children's dentistry at the Cardiff Dental School. This was followed in 1975 by his appointment as professor of paediatric dentistry at the University of Amsterdam, and then as professor of restorative dentistry at Belfast Dental School in 1978.
Jason Andrew Leitch is the National Clinical Director of Healthcare Quality and Strategy for the Scottish Government. He is a Senior Clinical Advisor to the Scottish Government and a member of the Health and Social Care Management Board. Leitch was involved in the COVID-19 pandemic response, where his duties included communicating complex scientific information to the public.
Stephen James Challacombe is professor of oral medicine at King's College in London, best known for research in oromucosal immunology and for developing the Challacombe scale for measuring the extent of dryness of the mouth. He led the team that laid out research challenges of global health inequalities and oral health, particularly relating to the oral manifestations of HIV.
Atraumatic restorative treatment (ART) is a method for cleaning out tooth decay from teeth using only hand instruments and placing a filling. It does not use rotary dental instruments to prepare the tooth and can be performed in settings with no access to dental equipment. No drilling or local anaesthetic injections are required. ART is considered a conservative approach, not only because it removes the decayed tissue with hand instruments, avoiding removing more tissue than necessary which preserves as much tooth structure as possible, but also because it avoids pulp irritation and minimises patient discomfort. ART can be used for small, medium and deep cavities caused by dental caries.
International Association of Paediatric Dentistry (IAPD) is a non-profit organization founded in 1969. The objective of IAPD is to contribute to the promotion of oral health for children around the world.
Bernadette Kathleen Drummond is a New Zealand dental academic, and was the first woman full professor in dentistry at the University of Otago. She is a specialist pediatric dentist, and past president of both the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons and the Australian and New Zealand Society of Paediatric Dentistry.