Dr Hesham Emam is a SAS surgeon in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) at Morriston Hospital, Swansea. He came to the UK as an international medical graduate in 2002, having originally qualified as a dentist in Egypt. Since then, Hesham has built a highly respected career within UK dentistry, developing a longstanding interest and extensive experience in oral surgery across both clinical practice and education.

Over more than two decades working in oral surgery, he has gained substantial clinical expertise and has become deeply involved in training and mentoring the next generation of dentists. His commitment to education and workforce development has been a consistent theme throughout his career.

More recently, Hesham has focused considerable energy on supporting wider access and progression opportunities for dentists working outside traditional specialist training pathways, particularly in light of the pause in mediated entry routes to the specialist list. He has become a strong advocate for creating fair and meaningful opportunities for experienced clinicians to demonstrate their knowledge, skills, and competence through alternative routes.

As a named clinical supervisor for dental core trainees, Hesham has played an important role in supporting and inspiring many developing clinicians, several of whom have gone on to secure senior appointments, including consultant posts. His contribution to training is widely recognised by colleagues and trainees alike.

He also highlights an innovative pilot programme underway in South Wales, where he works, to commission Dentists with Enhanced Skills (DES). This initiative builds on NHS England commissioning guides relating to DES services in areas such as oral surgery and oral medicine and reflects the growing importance of flexible workforce models in improving patient access to care.

SAS dentist resources

• The Faculty of Dental Surgery (FDS) launched a SAS Dentist Educational Committee in 2022. The Faculty maintains that SAS grade and locally employed dentists represent more than 20% of the NHS Dental Workforce.
• The RCS England, SAS Forum represents SAS doctors and dentists.
• The British Dental Association (BDA) Central Committee for Hospital Dental Services (CCHDS) represents SAS dentists and includes six elected SAS grade dentists.
• The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS) exists to promote the advancement of education, research and the development of oral and maxillofacial surgery in Great Britain.
• The Diploma of Membership in Oral Surgery (MOral Surg) is a tri-collegiate specialist dental surgery exam, run by the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The MOral Surg qualification demonstrates attainment of the knowledge and understanding relevant to the practice of a specialist in oral surgery.
• The General Dental Council offers information on routes to its 13 special lists.

Changes to the specialist list for oral surgery

• 1996 – dental specialty of surgical dentistry created.
• 1999-2003 – dental surgeons with appropriate experience were ‘grandfathered’ on to specialist lists using a short application form detailing their experience.
• 2003 – grandfathering option closed.
• 2009 – surgical dentistry was merged into the specialty of oral surgery, regulated by the GDC, to comply with European Union regulations. The four most common routes to the list became: specialty trainees who successfully complete training in the UK; oral surgeons who were specialists in an EU country; dentists on the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (OMFS) specialist list held by the GMC; and dentists who applied for entry to the oral surgery list based on their academic/research portfolio.
• 2017 – there were 724 specialists on the oral surgery list.

Source:
Fullarton M, Jadun S, Begley A et al. The oral surgery specialist list: what will happen as the ‘grandfathers’ disappear? Faculty Dental Journal 2019; 10: 52-57.