Kevin Lewis memorial - a special day of lectures

Programme

09:30 Morning Chair’s welcome and scene setting
Len D’Cruz, Head of Indemnity, BDA

09:45 Risk management with dental implants: risk, regulation and responsibility
Nick Lewis, Consultant and Specialist in Restorative Dentistry, Royal Surrey Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Private Practice

• How should dental implant treatment planning be approached, with risk in mind?
• Clinical delivery as a multi-disciplinary team – how to ensure nothing gets missed
• Understanding the risks relating to peri-implantitis and implant failure
• Insight to current cases which have led to dento-legal challenge
• Key aspects of implant maintenance to limit medico-legal risk.

10:15 Artificial intelligence in dentistry and dento-legal risk management
Raj Rattan, Global Advisor, Medical Protection Society

• Current clinical applications of AI
• Recognise the dento-legal implications of AI use – where are the risks and where does responsibility lie?
• Understand some of the ethical challenges associated with AI use
• Explore structured risk-management frameworks that support safe adoption of AI
• The INFORMED and RECORDS frameworks for everyday practice. 

10:45 Q&A

11:05 Exhibition and refreshments

11:30 Satisficing in dentistry. Who decides? Who benefits?
Martin Kelleher, Specialist in Prosthodontics and Restorative Dentistry

• ‘Satisficing’ and ‘maximising’ in modern dentistry
• Ethical practice, patient consent, and litigation risks
• Where do the litigation risks lie?
• Communicating alternatives in treatment planning
• The patient’s best interests.

12:00 Informed consent
Rosie Shapiro, Partner and Head of Healthcare - Global Risks, DWF Law

• What informed consent looks like since the Montgomery Case

12:30 Q&A

12:50  Lunch and networking

13:50 Welcome back from afternoon Chair
Susie Sanderson OBE, Dento-legal Adviseor, BDA

13:50 My lived-life experiences of surviving third-party complaints during my career
Peter Briggs, Expert Witness and Specialist in Endodontics, Prosthodontics, Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry

• How best to prepare a team that you will be able to rely on, before you receive a patient complaint. What you will need from these people to help support you during a difficult third-party complaint.
• How to put into perspective the problems that you face from an escalated complaint and the tools you can use to best function as a dental professional, with an on-going third-party complaint sitting in the background.
• Why open and transparent sharing with others is essential.
• The unintended consequences that I encountered, and my learning, from three escalated patient complaints made against me between 1996 - 2019.      

14:25 Whistleblowing
Theresa Thorp, Executive Director Regulation, GDC

14:55 Q&A

15:15 Exhibition and refreshments

15:35 The role of the expert
Tara O’Halloran, Barrister, Old Square Chambers

• The modern expert witness– Independence, impartiality, and maintaining credibility in an evolving legal landscape
• Case law in practice– Key judicial decisions, common criticisms of expert evidence, and the practical lessons they provide
• What makes an effective expert– Producing persuasive reports, giving robust oral evidence, and avoiding the pitfalls that can undermine credibility.

16:05 Avoiding burnout and improving resilience – why is this key for dento-legal risk factors?
Richard Porter, Consultant in Restorative Dentistry and Specialist Prosthodontist, Endodontist, Periodontist and Implantologist

• Understanding the human mind
• The power of communication
• Achieving a work-life balance
• Complaints and resilience – when reality hits

16:35 Q&A

16:55 Closing remarks

17:05 Drinks reception
Raise a glass and honour the legend that was Kevin Lewis.

18:00 Event close

Peter qualified December 1983 from King’s College London.  After house officer posts Peter worked as a dental associate in practices in South London.  He then pursued specialist training in Restorative Dentistry and after several training positions, at various training institutes, to include a ‘taught’ MSc at the Eastman Dental Institute, he was awarded a certificate of specialist accreditation in 1994. 

He became a Churchill Fellow in 1994 and was appointed as a NHS Consultant, across South East and West London in 1995.  Peter also built up a successful specialist referral practice at Hodsoll House Dental Practice. 

He was heavily involved with NHS management (Clinical Director), training, education and teaching of UK dentists and Dental Care Professionals.  He was appointed as the Postgraduate Dental Dean for London in 2017, by Health Education England (HEE).  In 2018 he became the first National Regional Postgraduate Dean for London and Kent, Surrey and Sussex.   He was subsequently appointed by COPDEND as the National Postgraduate Lead Dean for Dental Foundation Training and Orthodontics.  

Peter stepped back from HEE and the delivery of specialist clinical care to patients in 2023. Peter currently balances the provision of commissioned expert opinion and report writing with partial retirement, which he spends between West Dorset and North Kent. 

Len is Head of BDA Indemnity, a general dental practitioner, foundation trainer and practice owner. He has 21 years’ experience as a dento-legal advisor supporting dentists with complaints, clinical and regulatory issues, and clinical negligence claims. He is lead lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire teaching on the MA in Dental Law and Ethics.

He has authored and co-authored two books: “Understanding NHS dentistry” and “Dental Law and Ethics” and has contributed legal and ethical content to a number of text books, journals and websites. He regularly shares his wisdom on NHS regulations and contract reform and has both dental and legal qualifications.

Martin Kelleher has been a Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at King’s College London Dental Institute since 1984. He is a Dental Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, as well as of the Royal Colleges of Edinburgh and England and he is on the GDC specialist lists in Restorative Dentistry and Prosthodontics.

He is a past President of the British Society for Restorative Dentistry and a past President of Southern Counties Branch of the BDA.

He was on the board of Dental Protection for 10 years and chaired their Advisory Committee on Dental Claims for many years when Kevin Lewis was the Dental Director.

Martin has lectured nationally and internationally, often along with Kevin, on topics  as varied as managing fixed and removable prosthodontic risks, clinical decision making, managing the compromised dentition, implants and their complications, restorative complications of  orthodontics, clefts, guidelines on ethical marketing and legal issues in cosmetic dentistry, bleaching, bonding, and other minimally destructive aesthetic dentistry techniques for the ageing dentition as well as  advocating ‘satisficing’ approaches to managing tooth surface loss and weak, cracked or root filled teeth.  

He is the author, or co-author of many peer reviewed papers on various topics, including many recently with Kevin - such as about ‘satisficing’ and ‘narrowcism’ in dentistry (PDFs of which are free to download from www.martinkelleher.co.uk) - as well as quite a number of chapters in different textbooks and a book on bleaching .

Nick graduated with Honours at Newcastle and went on to complete general professional training in the North-East. He completed an MSc in Conservative Dentistry at the Eastman in 2007 and his higher specialist training in Restorative Dentistry at the Eastman in 2009. He was subsequently a Consultant in Restorative Dentistry at the Eastman from 2009-2018 based in Prosthodontics.

Nick was subsequently appointed as a Consultant at the Royal Surrey Hospital in Guildford in 2017 with a focus on the dental rehabilitation of head and neck cancer patients. He was the Clinical Director of Maxillofacial Surgery, Orthodontics and Restorative Dentistry in Guildford from 2019-2025 and he has also maintained a private practice in Yateley, Hampshire with his wife Jane since 2011.  Nick completed an LLM in Medical Law in 2017 and he is currently the President of the British Society of Restorative Dentistry.

Raj Rattan’s portfolio career includes over 30 years’ clinical experience in general dental practice. He owned and operated a small practice group and was involved in dental foundation training for over 20 years, first as a programme director and then Strategic Association Dean at the London Deanery.  He has been an examiner for the FGDP and currently for the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine.

He has provided consultancy services to various public and private sector organisations including the NHS, Denplan, dental corporates and the Department of Health where he has previously served as a Policy Adviser.

He is the author/co-author of a number of text books including a textbook on Law and Ethics and has contributed articles to dental publications for more than 25 years. He has lectured extensively throughout the UK and internationally for many years.  He was a part-time dento-legal consultant for many years at Dental Protection before becoming Dental Director in 2016. Raj has recently taken on the role of Global Advisor for the Medical Protection Society.

Susie was a general dental practitioner for 36 years and a practice owner for most of that time. She is a BDA Past President and chaired the BDA's Executive Board and the UK Conference of LDCs. She is a past Speaker of the General Assembly of the FDI World Dental Federation. 

Susie has a master's degree in medical law (LLM) from Cardiff University and is a fellow of the Faculty of Forensic Law and Medicine. She has worked for over 12 years as a dento-legal adviser and has all round experience in dealing with complaints, regulatory, disciplinary, advice and claims cases.

Theresa joined the GDC in September 2023 as Executive Director, Regulation. Theresa is a Solicitor-Advocate (Criminal), with over 20 years’ experience advising and presenting in the public and private spheres. She is also a qualified Advocate with rights of appearance in the South African High Courts. Theresa’s experience has focussed particularly on delivering services which focus on public protection and public interest. A former Crown Advocate specialising in prosecuting child abuse and serious sexual offences, she has also held positions in different professional regulatory bodies as Legal Adviser, Director of Enforcement and Regulatory Governance.

At the GDC, Theresa is responsible for Registration, Fitness to Practise, the Dental Professionals Hearings Service and the Dental Complaints Service.

Tara is junior counsel specialising in healthcare litigation. She acts at all stages of fitness to practise proceedings, including interim orders, substantive hearings and appeals, and regularly represents clinicians before the General Medical Council and General Dental Council, as well as in the High Court. Her practice also encompasses clinical negligence, employment law, and inquests, enabling her to adopt a multidisciplinary approach to complex healthcare cases.