The luncheon, held at The Hallam Conference Centre, London, was attended by leaders in dentistry from all over the country.

These awards, unique to DCPs, are offered via a partnership between The Oral and Dental Research Trust (ODRT) and Colgate. A maximum of four awards of up to £5000 each is offered, for research conducted by dental care professionals to support investigations of clinical relevance, particularly in the field of preventive care.

The keynote speaker, Sara Hurley, chief dental officer England, said, “These are extraordinary times, in which our award winners have forged new ways of working and not one of us should underestimate their investment of personal capital in powering through. Just as the award winners have had to adapt to change, the profession has also adapted and we still face the varying nature of an uncertain threat. As we continue to deal with the here and now, the Dental Care Professional recipients of the Colgate and The Oral and Dental Research Trust awards remind us that we really shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that the amazing endeavours over the last year are tangible proof of what the profession is made of. For me, these awards rightly laud these exemplar dental care professionals for their aptitude and attitude to add real momentum to the pace of transformation from 20th century dentistry to 21st century dental care, improving patient care and patient outcomes.”

Professor Nairn Wilson, former chair, director and trustee of ODRT, invited the 2021 awardees to outline their winning proposals:

Rebecca Laws, dental therapist
Rebecca is investigating if oral cancer should become a mandatory continual professional development (CPD) topic for dental professionals. Rebecca shared that her research award will contribute towards her overall fund to allow her to carry out her research in this important area. Although Rebecca’s research proposal was initially designed pre covid, she has since adapted her protocol to complete this research in a post- covid era, including liaising remotely with the study participants.

Samia Turkistani, dental nurse
Samia is investigating the impact of Covid-19 on dental nurses’ professional practice. Samia shared that the Robin Davies award would allow her to explore dental nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, practise, and confidence when performing routine duties in the light of the updated infection and prevention control guidelines, especially what was impeding and facilitating their role when it came to assisting in aerosol-generating procedures.

Ashwaq Al-Kahtani, dental hygienist
Ashwaq is investigating the salivary biomarkers in Type 2 diabetes (T2D) in association with dental caries. Ashwaq mentioned the award will provide the opportunity to add valuable data to her clinical research, whilst enhancing her knowledge and laboratory skills in attaining this. She also shared that the award allows for a better chance of establishing a possible association between diabetes, saliva and dental caries risk and raising awareness of ‘oral health for general health’ within healthcare workers and diabetes patients.

Professor Wilson commented, “As ever, all awardees have shown great professionalism and justifiable success with their fantastic award submissions. The Robin Davies research awards are unique globally in providing research support for DCPs and this luncheon is a wonderful opportunity to recognise research designed and delivered by DCPs. As a trustee of the ODRT it is an honour and a privilege to come together with Colgate once again and celebrate the success of the 2021 awardees.”

Colgate and The Oral and Dental Research Trust are pleased to invite applications for the 2022 Robin Davies Research Awards. Please visit www.odrt.org.uk/colgate-dcp-awards/ to find out more and download an application form. Applications should be received by Friday February 4, 2022.

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