Annual Dento-legal study day 2025

09:30     Chair’s welcome and scene setting - Len D’Cruz, GDP and Practice Owner, London and Head of BDA Indemnity

09:50     Legal and ethical considerations for dental professionals when using AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is used by dentists in case management, to diagnose, treatment plan, and forecast outcomes; referred to as ‘Digital Health’. The lecture will consider:

• How technological changes impact on current ethical and regulatory standards
• What are the risks in a healthcare setting arising from AI implementation?
• Recent examples of legal challenges arising from the misuse of AI
• How AI can perpetuate the risks of discrimination, amplifying existing social or political biases
• Where liability lies for dental practitioners using AI in the workplace
• How dentists can safely and legally use AI-driven tools for marketing and patient engagement.

Julia Furley, Barrister and Founding Partner, JFH Law

10:35     Dispute negotiations

• All disputes are different - working out which approach to take
• How to best engage with the other parties
• How to achieve the best outcome.

Disputes can often consume large amounts of time and energy, and distract the parties from more important, day-to-day work. Different disputes need different approaches. There is a time to be firm and a time to be conciliatory. The BDA has helped members reach agreement through negotiation on purchase and sale disputes, employee grievances, associate disputes and everything in between. James Goldman looks at ways of engaging in negotiations in various types of disputes to give you the best chance of achieving your ideal outcome.

James Goldman, Associate Director, BDA

11:20         Q&A

11:35         Morning break and refreshments

11:55     The recent legal requirement to protect employees from harrassment – how will dental practices be affected?

• The legislative landscape (including the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 – what has actually changed and what does it mean?
• What happens when it goes wrong?
• What are the riskiest areas?
• How can risks be mitigated to protect workers and the practice?

Simon Gomersall, Partner, Weightmans

12:25     Clear communication and consent

• How do you communicate risk?
• How do we communicate benefits?
• How language and words influence decisions
• Can we nudge patients into making the "right" decision?

Len D’Cruz, GDP and Practice Owner, London and Head of BDA Indemnity

12:55     Lunch and networking

13:40     When WhatsApp goes wrong

• Professionalism, particularly outside the workplace
• What is public confidence and why does it matter?
• How do regulators view social media and personal correspondence?
• A salutary tale from a healthcare regulator
• What does this mean for you?

Will Childs, Partner, Weightmans

14:25     Crisis management and reputational risk mitigation

• An overview of the legal and regulatory landscape when it comes to media and reputation
• Identify the primary reputational threats to practices
• How to manage hostile media and stakeholder enquiries
• Learn from case studies on best practice reputation management.

Jack Myers, Senior Account Director, Alder UK

15:10     Q&A

15:25     Tea break / networking

15:45     Practical scenarios with breakout discussions - Led by BDA Indemnity

16:30     Personal branding in relation to risk

• Define personal branding and understand its strategic foundations
• Recognise the benefits and risks of personal branding in a dental practice setting
• Apply GDC standards, GDPR, and consent principles to social media and branding
• Evaluate the alignment between personal and practice brands
• Implement strategies to manage dual branding and protect professional reputations.

Andrea Ogden, GDP and Undergraduate and Career Development Lead, BDA

16:50         Chair’s conclusions

17:00         Close of the event

Formerly of RadcliffesLeBrasseur, William is a Partner in the health sector team at Weightmans. He advises clients in relation to disciplinary, regulatory and criminal investigations and prosecutions in the healthcare sector.

As one of the team of advocates, William frequently appears before statutory regulators, disciplinary panels and coroners. William deals with professional performance, conduct and health concerns. His caseload consistently includes challenging cases which involve complex clinical and legal issues many of which are the subject of media interest. William is one of the many partners in the department ranked for professional discipline in the legal directories.

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 textbooks, journals and websites. He regularly shares his wisdom on NHS regulations and contract reform and has both dental and legal qualifications.

Julia Furley is a senior barrister and founding partner of JFH Law. She was called to the Bar in 2000 and worked in Chambers in London for over 10 years, before establishing JFH Law in 2010; one of the first Legal Disciplinary Partnerships in the UK.

Julia advises businesses in all aspects of company law and employment law, and represents companies and individuals appearing before the courts, employment tribunal and appeal tribunal. She also provides training seminars and lectures in company and employment law to businesses and associations. In addition, Julia represents clients appearing before professional panels, such as the General Medical Council and General Dental Council.

Known for her meticulous case preparation, the outstanding results Julia achieves are a testament to her dedication to each and every case she is instructed in. She has enjoyed success in both the High Court and Court of Appeal.

James is a barrister specialising in employment law and dental contracts. He has appeared in several employment appeal tribunals on behalf of dentists and is also an accredited mediator.

Simon is a Partner in Weightmans health sector team, leading their Indemnifiers client grouping which covers providers of indemnity to professionals working in the health and social care sector.

Simon represents dentists, doctors and other healthcare professionals in disciplinary proceedings before their regulators arising from conduct, performance and health issues. His practice also includes inquests, NHS Performers List investigations and hospital disciplinary investigations. Simon is instructed by defence organisations, insurers, healthcare providers and companies, NHS bodies and individual healthcare professionals.

Simon is ranked in both the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners, which recommends him as a lawyer who “One of the most effortless and cool lawyers. Clients love him and he oozes confidence. A class act.”.

Jack Myers is senior account director at Alder, advising clients across their healthcare practice. Having worked for a range of specialist communications firms, advising clients in the worlds of technology, politics and charity, Jack’s broader experience includes working at The Times and Legal 500. He has degrees from the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and City, University of London. 

Andrea Ogden is the BDA’s Undergraduate and Career Development Lead and an experienced associate dentist. With a background in dental education, she has previously held roles as an Educational Supervisor and Foundation Training Programme Director. Andrea has clinical experience in NHS, private, and community dental settings. Passionate about supporting the next generation of dental professionals, she regularly delivers talks on the key issues affecting young dentists.

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 the immediate 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 12 years as a dento-legal adviser and has all round experience in dealing with complaints, regulatory, disciplinary, advice and claims cases.