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Benjamin William Fickling CBE (1909-2007), oral and maxillofacial surgeon and Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery

British Dental Journal volume 232, pages 819–824 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Ben Fickling was a dentist and doctor who played a major part in the development of oral and maxillofacial surgery as a specialised discipline. He designed several surgical instruments, published (with William Warwick James) Injuries of the jaws and face and translated Le Fort's work into English, both in wartime. He was a founder member of the British and International Associations of Oral Surgeons. Fickling planned and inaugurated the Royal College of Surgeons of England's first higher examination in general dental surgery and he was Dean of its Faculty of Dental Surgery from 1968-1971.

Key points

  • Over the years, dentistry has progressed from relatively simple procedures to highly complex techniques which require people to specialise.

  • Over time, NHS consultants in dental surgery evolved into oral surgeons.

  • The First and Second World Wars threw up a need for highly skilled oral and maxillofacial surgeons to develop their skills alongside plastic surgeons, skills which now help to provide complex treatments for cancer patients, road traffic accident patients and others.

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References

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  3. Son Paul's Tribute at the Service of Thanksgiving.

  4. The Society of Old Framlinghamians. Benjamin William Fickling CBE. Available at http://www.oldframlinghamian.com/images/articles/BENJAMINWILLIAMFICKLINGCBEG1924-27.pdf (accessed May 2022).

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  22. Royal College of Surgeons of England. Fickling, Benjamin William. Available at https://livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/client/en_GB/lives/search/detailnonmodal/ent:$002f$002fSD_ASSET$002f0$002fSD_ASSET:372770/one?qu=%22rcs%3A+E000587%22&rt=false%7C%7C%7CIDENTIFIER%7C%7C%7CResource+Identifier (accessed May 2022).

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  25. Son Clive's Tribute at the Service of Thanksgiving.

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Acknowledgements

First, I must thank Clive Fickling who provided access to an enormous amount of material from the family archive on his father, including three wonderful tributes from him, Paul and Julia at the Thanksgiving Service.

Helen Nield, Head of BDA Library and Knowledge Services and Rachel Bairsto, Head of BDA Museum Services, kindly located other resources.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Honorary Professor and Head of the Unit for the History of Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Oral and Craniofacial Sciences, King’s College London, Guy’s Hospital, Tooley Street, London SE1 1UL, UK

    Stanley Gelbier

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Correspondence to Stanley Gelbier.

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Gelbier, S. Benjamin William Fickling CBE (1909-2007), oral and maxillofacial surgeon and Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery. Br Dent J 232, 819–824 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-022-4311-x

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