The Chief Dental Officers (or CDOs) in the United Kingdom are the most senior advisers for dentistry in each of the four UK governments, and are the heads of the dental profession. The CDO is one of the six chief professional officers, one for each of six professions, to give advice in their respective speciality.
List of Chief Dental Officers for England William G Senior, 1956–1961 William Holgate, 1961–1971 George D Gibb, 1972–1984 Professor Martin Downer, 1984–1990 Brian Mouatt, 1990–1996 Robin Wild, 1997–2000 Margaret Seward, 2000–2002 Professor Raman Bedi, 2002–2005 Barry Cockcroft, 2005–2015 (acting until 2006) Sara Hurley, 2015–2023 Jason Wong, 2023–present (interim until April 2024)
List of Chief Dental Officers for Scotland Thomas HJ Douglas, 1956–1959 James W Galloway, 1959–1971 Dr James L Trainer, 1971–1979 Dr Martin C Downer, 1979–1983 Norman K Colquhoun, 1984–1993 J Robin Wild, 1993–1997 T Ray Watkins, 1997–2007 M Margie Taylor, 2007–2018 Tom Ferris, 2018–2025 Gillian Leslie, 2026–present
List of Chief Dental Officers for Wales William G Senior, 1956–1961 William Holgate, 1961–1971 George D Gibb, 1972–1984 Dighton R Edwards, 1984–1985 David M Heap, 1986–1996 Dr Paul Langmaid, 1996–2010 Dr David Thomas, 2010–2016 Dr Colette Bridgman, 2016–2021 Andrew Dickenson, 2022–present
List of Chief Dental Officers for Northern Ireland William G Senior, 1956–1961 William Holgate, 1961–1971 George D Gibb, 1972–1984 James F Mageean, 1984–1990 William J N Collins, 1990–1998 Doreen Wilson, 1998–2006 Donncha O'Carolan, 2006–2013 Simon C Reid, 2013–2020 Michael Donaldson, 2020–2021 (acting) Caroline Lappin, 2021–present See also Chief Medical Officers (United Kingdom)
References
Open Wide – Memoir of the Dental Dame, Dame Margaret Seward, published by The Memoir Club,