NHS England has appointed Janet Clarke and Eric Rooney (right) as Deputy Chief Dental Officers. They will both work part-time reporting to Sara Hurley, Chief Dental Officer.

As senior members of the Medical Directorate, they will work in partnership with other directorates, domain leads and other clinical leaders in regional and local area teams to improve outcomes for patients, and support the role of dentists and dentistry across the health system.

Janet is currently Associate Director for Dental Services in Birmingham Community Healthcare Trust and will start her new role on 1 January 2016. Her career has included the domains of wider healthcare policy, dental commissioning and undertaking operational healthcare management and strategic leadership assignments.

Janet said: 'I look forward to joining NHS England and working to further develop initiatives to continue to improve the oral health of adults and children, particularly the most vulnerable in our society.'

Eric, who joined NHS England in November from PHE, where he is a Consultant in Dental Public Health in the North West, said: 'I am excited about this opportunity to work with NHS England and the dental profession to develop and transform our dental services for the benefit of patients and the public.'