A note from our President ...

I am honoured and humbled to have been elected as President of the wonderful British Society of Periodontology and Implant Dentistry for 2024. I aim to serve the Society and its membership to my fullest abilities, and I am looking forward to an exciting and productive year ahead.

I have been reflecting on what it means to be a member of the BSP. We are a family of perio-enthusiasts!  We want to make a difference, we want to improve patient care, and develop the profession. We are mutually supportive and positive, and we welcome all members of the dental team to join us. We are proactive and dynamic, and we contribute hugely to the development of the periodontal specialty, based on evidence and top quality research and science. We are a key member of the European Federation of Periodontology, and many of our BSP members have important leadership roles and contribute hugely to the work of the EFP too.

We are the Society that plays a leading role nationally in the specialty of periodontology, but we are not a Society just for specialists. We are the perio society for the whole dental team; that is something that I am very proud of.  If you like perio, then the BSP is the Society for you!

There are lots of exciting initiatives that we will be working on this year. An important (and hugely enjoyable) task for the BSP President is to develop and organise the BSP Annual Conference, as always supported massively by Paula Dunn, Jo Brown and the entire BSP Council (for which many thanks!). The theme for the Conference will be Interdisciplinarity, building on the outstanding success of Prof Mike Milward’s conference in Birmingham in 2023. This year’s Conference will address how working together across dental and medical specialties, and including the full dental team can result in the best outcomes for patients.

I have been delighted that an exciting group of internationally-renowned speakers have agreed to speak at the Conference, which will be held in the fabulous Crowne Plaza hotel in Newcastle upon Tyne on 9-11 October 2024. We will also be including a parallel session focussing on career development opportunities for DCPs. Please put the date into your diary, as we will be opening registrations soon. As you might know, Newcastle is a vibrant and fun city, with great restaurants and bars, and the fabulous quayside area with its historic and famous bridges. Newcastle also has easy access to the wilds of Northumberland and beyond.

It is a true privilege to be President of the BSP for 2024, and I look forward to serving the Society and welcoming you to Newcastle in October.