Passing the baton – BACD Dr Andrew Chandrapal’

  Posted by: Dental Design      2nd November 2017

Dr Andrew Chandrapal’s tenure as the President of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (BACD) is coming to an end this November. Here, he looks back at what the Academy has achieved in the last year – and how it will be moving forward in the future…

My aim as President has been to further enhance the Academy’s academic prestige. The Board has worked hard to push our scientifically based material – our journal remains to be of high quality and peer reviewed. We have even tried to bring an academic stance to our e-newsletters – in order to provide members with access to evidence-based information.

Tying in with this, we have radically changed the ways in which we provide education to our members throughout the academic calendar. We have reformatted the longstanding BACD Regional Meetings programme, changing them from short evening lectures to full-day sessions with two or three quality speakers. In doing so, we have enhanced the quality of the education we can provide around the country. So far, the reception to these changes has been very positive – and I think they have further elevated the academic prowess of the BACD.

What’s more, the Board has begun to lay out the blueprints for a new webinar facility on the Academy’s website, along with new video content. This will be accessible to members and a great resource for those who are not able to attend our physical meetings as often as they would like, or for those who wish to enjoy the benefits of BACD membership in a different manner. Whilst there are many online resources available, the aim of the video series was to provide handy tips and tricks to our members in a way that no other resource can.

Finally, we have hosted a free educational day for all members – a hugely successful photography day featuring Dr Silvestre Ripoll from Spain, who provided us all with his best hints and tips to improve our clinical photography. We will be holding another similar event next February as part of our manifesto to offer more first-rate education to our members as part of their annual subscription.

Personally, I am most proud of the Annual Conference. It really was a fantastic event – and, this year, we were delighted to welcome a world-renowned keynote speaker, Francesca Vailati, who had never before lectured in the UK. She took to the podium to discuss the treatment of tooth wear, which is an issue commonly fraught with confusion and managerial difficulty. Securing such a prestigious speaker is definitely one of the biggest achievements of the year and just shows how far-reaching and dynamic the Academy has become.

Ultimately, the BACD is about education and I believe it will always be about the education, in order to improve the standard of dentistry for both practitioners and patients. Importantly, we need to listen to all of the feedback we’ve been given and act on this to further improve the Academy and I believe this is what my successor, Dr Donald Sloss, will be carrying forward.

For more information and to get involved with the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (BACD) visit www.bacd.com

No Comments

No comments yet.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.