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  2. About us
  3. Our structure
  4. Advisory committees
  5. Regulation and Education Committee (REC)

The remit is wide and covers all fields of practice in dentistry. Arrangements for dental foundation training, dental core training and specialty training are constant topics for the committee. Any matters relevant to dental regulation – from the role and activities of the General Dental Council (GDC) to the way in which members of the dental team work together are considered by the committee.

It also provides a home for policy areas that cover issues and themes unrelated to sphere of practice, such as mental wellbeing or sustainability in dentistry.

The REC meets three times a year; its members include BDA board members and cross-representatives from across the BDA’s representative structures.

Our priorities

  • The General Dental Council (GDC) and improving the system of regulation, including registration, CPD, standards and guidance, fitness to practise, recognition of international qualifications, and wider regulatory reform

  • Safeguarding postgraduate dental training: dental foundation training, dental core training and specialty training

  • Support for dentists and their teams: mental wellbeing; sustainability; clinical audit and peer review; moving away from a punitive to a learning environment

  • Dental team working

  • Workforce matters: supporting the work of other committees across the BDA on systems reform and recruitment.

Our team

Chair

Lauren Harrhy

Dr Lauren Harrhy, a Cardiff University graduate of 2009, is the Welsh member of the the BDA board and an educational supervisor for foundation dentists. She was elected as Chair of the Regulation and Education Committee in September 2025.  She also chairs our Equality and Diversity Committee. With a down-to-earth approach, Lauren combines her life as a dedicated principal dentist, wife, and mother to three children with her commitment to the dental profession. She is a strong advocate for the mental health and well-being of dental professionals, emphasising the importance of supportive working conditions. Lauren firmly believes in the critical role of professional associations and trade union activities in strengthening the dental community. She champions inclusivity and equal opportunities, reflecting her dedication to making the dental profession better for all.
Lauren Harrhy

 

Get in touch

Ulrike Matthesius
020 7563 4133
[email protected]

Get involved

The remit of the committee provides wide-ranging input into areas of dentistry that will affect students, recent graduates, dentists in general practice, hospitals, community, the armed forces and dental public health across the UK. PEC members and cross-representatives are elected through their respective committees.