John Milne, a dental practitioner based near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, has been elected as the new Chair of the BDA's General Dental Practice Committee (GDPC). He is a partner in a mainly NHS practice and holds a Clinical Assistant post in Orthodontics at Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield.

Dr Milne, the representative for the GDPC's Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield constituency, is a long-serving member of the committee, having been a member since its inception in 2003 and a member of its predecessor, the GDSC, for three years. He has also served the profession extensively at local level and is currently secretary of Wakefield Local Dental Committee.

A member of the Department of Health's Key Stakeholder Group, Dr Milne also featured in Lord Darzi's Next Stage Review Group. He is also Dental Advisor to Wakefield District Primary Care Trust.

Dr Milne will be supported by the two newly-elected Vice Chairs of the GDPC: Cornwall-based dentist Peter Hodgkinson and West London practitioner Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen.