Dr John Drummond, a Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at the University of Dundee, has become the 123rd President of the British Dental Association (BDA).

New BDA President Dr John Drummond addresses the conference

Dr Drummond was presented with his chain of office and made his first speech at a ceremony in Glasgow on the first day of the 2009 British Dental Conference and Exhibition which took place earlier this month..

He was awarded his Bachelor of Dental Surgery degree – with commendation – by the University of Dundee in 1981. Seven years later he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy degree by the same institution. He was made a Fellow in Dental Surgery by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2000.

His teaching and research activities are in the fields of removable prosthodontics, workforce planning and dental careers and age identification from radiographs. Dr Drummond also has a longstanding interest in forensic dentistry and was twice deployed by the UK Government to Thailand to assist the international effort in identifying the bodies of the thousands of victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. He has written numerous refereed papers and has contributed to many publications as editor or author.

Dr Drummond has formerly held positions as President of the North of Scotland Branch of the British Dental Association, member of the Executive Board and Representative Body. He is a current member of the BDA's Central Committee for Dental Academic Staff and is the BDA representative at Dundee Dental School.

The 2009 BDA Conference featured seminars, workshops, an exhibition, social events and AGM. Among the many speakers was the BDA's Executive Board Chair Dr Susie Sanderson, who spoke on 'Securing your future: capturing opportunities'. During her address, Dr Sanderson welcomed the consultative nature of Professor Jimmy Steele's upcoming review of NHS dentistry, and urged the Department of Health to interpret the review's recommendations 'in a way that allows the ingrained professionalism that we learn in dental schools, and that is willingly expressed in our everyday practice, not to be abused under the guise of achieving value for the public purse.'