Prof. Liz Kay assumes role of BDA president

LONDON, UK: On 7 September, renowned academic and dental public health specialist Prof. Liz Kay was inaugurated as the British Dental Association’s (BDA) 135^th president. For the first time in the post-World War II era, the role will be occupied by an individual for more than one year, as Kay is set to stay as president until 2023 owing to the upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In taking over as BDA president from Dr Russ Ladwa, Kay promised to continue to fight for fairness in the dental profession and to address the systemic issues of oral health inequality that pervade the UK.

“I am honoured to take up this role, notwithstanding that this is one of the most challenging times in our history,” she said. “COVID has had a devastating impact not just on dentists’ livelihoods and well-being but also on our patients and has exacerbated pre-existing inequalities and access difficulties.”

“However, I hope that the long-anticipated road map out of COVID will focus minds on tackling these difficult issues and will result in a fairer system for patients and a more welcoming environment for dentists and their teams,” Kay added.

Having qualified as a dentist in 1982, Kay has worked in various academic and clinical roles across a number of British universities and their attached dental hospitals. She was appointed the inaugural dean of the University of Plymouth’s Peninsula Dental School in 2006 and is a past president of the Oral Health Foundation. Kay is also the author of more than 250 scientific papers and journal articles and is the principal author or editor of six textbooks.