Margie Taylor has been appointed as Scotland's new Chief Dental Officer. Miss Taylor (51) has extensive experience in dentistry and is currently Consultant in Dental Public Health at NHS Lanarkshire. Before joining NHS Lanarkshire in 1994, she worked in Fife and Lothian as Chief Administrative Dental Officer and in clinical dentistry, respectively.

Born in Edinburgh and educated at James Gillespie's High School, Miss Taylor graduated from Edinburgh University in 1978. She gained an MSc in Community Medicine in 1985 and an MBA in 1996. She is a fellow in dental surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and an honorary member of the Faculty of Public Health Medicine. Miss Taylor has also held posts as Honorary Senior Lecturer at St Andrews, Glasgow and Dundee universities.

She will take over on May 1 from current CDO Ray Watkins, who is leaving to take up a post as Consultant in Dental Public Health at NHS Grampian. Mr Watkins will continue to act as Chief Dental Officer until Miss Taylor takes up her post.

British Dental Association (BDA) Director for Scotland Andrew Lamb welcomed the appointment and said, 'Given that two years after the launch of the Scottish Executive's Action Plan, fewer patients are registered with an NHS dentist than were before and fewer dentists who provide NHS treatment are regarded as being committed according to Executive criteria, Miss Taylor faces significant challenges in her new role.'