Meet the Guest Editor

By Kate Quinlan

Professor Konrad S. Staines is a Consultant & Specialty Lead in Oral Medicine (University Hospitals Bristol Hospital NHS Foundation Trust). He is an Honorary Professor in Oral Medicine, BDS Finals Lead and Programme Director, MSc in Oral Medicine at Bristol Dental School (University of Bristol). He is the Training Programme Director for Oral Medicine specialist training, in partnership with Health Education England Southwest. He is a senior fellow of the Higher Education Authority and has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Professor Staines is the Guest Editor for this oral medicine themed issue of the BDJ.

What have you enjoyed about being a Guest Editor?

I have very much relished the opportunity provided of being a Guest Editor. This was an engaging experience working with colleagues to shape the themed issue. Overall, I am pleased with the resultant range of articles that hopefully the readership will find both engaging and relevant to their practice.

Do you think the articles that will be published in this special issue encompass all of the most important topics in this area of dentistry?

I do think that we have managed to explore key areas within oral medicine clinical practice. Our broad aim was to ensure that the articles appeal both to general dental and hospital-based practitioners in providing a concise, clinically applied knowledge update.

What would you say have been the biggest developments/advances within oral medicine in the last ten years?

I would suggest that the greater emphasis on multidisciplinary collaboration is one of the main developments in the last decade. We are increasingly relying on such collaboration driven by evolving factors such as increased patient complexity and patient expectations. Another development is the increasing use of monoclonal antibodies for management of autoimmune diseases that involve oral mucosal tissues. In my opinion, this will expand further in the coming decade, further establishing the need for a multidisciplinary approach to care where appropriate to optimise patient outcomes.

Why did you originally pursue a career in dentistry?

This is a difficult question to answer; I need to cast my mind back to the 1990s! I suspect, during secondary education, I was interested in a career within healthcare, although I was initially unsure as to which specific area I would engage with. I was lucky enough to choose dentistry and have no regrets!

Why did you choose your area of specialism?

I always found the subject area to be extremely fascinating. Once I qualified as a dentist and gained experience in different dental specialties, I realised that oral medicine was the area I enjoyed most. The challenge of establishing diagnoses and managing complex or mucosal disease presentations was more interesting to me than the operative aspects of dentistry.

What are your educational interests?

My teaching practice relates to oral medicine teaching at under- and postgraduate level and extends beyond into areas such as assessment and educational leadership. I was fortunate to meet some colleagues in my career who were a positive educational influence; I hope that similarly, I can exert a positive impact on my students and colleagues as an educator.

What do you consider to be the highlights of your career so far?

I tend to think of a career as a series of cumulative building blocks with multiple milestones. On a personal basis, such milestones include my NHS Consultant appointment, Honorary Professorship from University of Bristol. In a broader sense, I am proud of our current Oral Medicine Department in Bristol, which when I was appointed (2013) had no senior clinicians in post. We have since developed into a much larger department with four consultant colleagues delivering specialist training, undergraduate and postgraduate teaching.

Would you recommend dentistry/oral medicine as a career pathway to young people today?

Definitely, as long as one is passionate about the subject. I think dentistry is a challenging albeit rewarding career if pursued for the right reasons. I believe this will remain an exciting profession that is futureproof.

What are your interests outside dentistry?

I enjoy time with my family, travelling and walking outdoors, especially if the sun is shining, albeit with adequate sun protection (as I tell my patients!).