Students: Introducing the Student Board for 2018–19 by Beth Bradley

Student Editor: Beth Bradley
5th year, Leeds

I was delighted to be introduced in the September edition of DentaltownUK. I have great pleasure in now introducing the rest of the new DentaltownUK Student Board for 2018–19.

Thomas Hayes-Powell
4th year, King’s College London

Thomas Hayes-Powell is a fourth-year dental student and the current president of the Dental Society at King’s College London. He loves taking on a challenge and growing his skill set in all walks of life; he says that the only way to expand your limits is to stretch them. Hayes-Powell keeps active by playing tennis, skiing or bouldering. He says, ‘I’m really looking forward to working with the DentaltownUK team and helping provide high-quality content to dentists and students.

Claire Dewshi
5th year, King’s College London

Claire Dewshi is a fifth-year dental student at King’s College London, and has special interests in oral surgery and new dental technology. A keen writer, she has published feature articles in magazines within the university and for the Student BDJ.

Dewshi has represented KCL at external conferences with the Student Advice Service and is an ambassador for the university, helping at events for prospective students and conducting tours and presentations to international parties who would like to visit the Dental Institute.

She is always willing to try new experiences and does so with enthusiasm and an open mind. In her free time, Dewshi enjoys debating and public speaking, outdoor sports and travelling to new countries.

John Gorman
5th year, Dundee

John Gorman is a final-year dental student at the University of Dundee, originally from Paisley. He has special interests in restorative dentistry, oral surgery and dental anxiety. He enjoys discovering new techniques for improving patient care and the overall dental experience. As part of this, dental journalism and evidence-based dentistry are extremely important to him.

This passion for dentistry and connecting with patients has led Gorman to become involved in numerous societies. This includes being the vice president of Dundee Dental Insight, where he aids pupils in gaining a clear idea of whether a career in dentistry is right for them. He is also heavily involved with the Dental Reach program.

Outside of dentistry, he enjoys playing guitar and listening to music and is involved in the University of Dundee’s badminton club.

Ragan Horne
4th year, Aberdeen

Ragan Horne is a fourth-year dental student at the University of Aberdeen. In 2012 she achieved an SVQ Level 3 dental nursing qualification, which was to be the start of her journey into dentistry.

One year later she applied to study dental hygiene therapy at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Horne says her work as a dental nurse and therapist has strengthened her passion to become a dentist—she adds that it hasn’t been a simple or easy road to take, but her path has given her a huge amount of practical experience, which she feels has greatly benefited her now.

She has been selected to stand as the student convener of Aberdeen Dental School. Her hobbies include attending the gym, a boxing club and socialising with friends.

Wilfred Elliot
1st year, King’s College London

Wilfred Elliot is a 25-year-old student who has just embarked on his BDS at King’s College London (KCL). Wilfred says, ‘I don’t believe it is ever too late to start something that interests you’.

He grew up in the Netherlands and admits that as a child he ‘hated the dentist’, so it was therefore a great surprise to his dentist when he requested a shadowing placement. Elliot undertook this work during his biomedical science BSc at KCL, where he cultivated an interest in scientific research and the understanding of physiological processes. His final year at KCL prepared him well for an MSc in oral biology at Queen Mary University in London, which he undertook from 2016–2017.

He enjoys keeping fit and going on long runs to clear his mind. He has undertaken a lot of charity work, including leading King’s Climbs Kili, a charity group of 35 students who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and managed to raise £65,000 for AidsOrphanUK.

Harriet Beaty
3rd year, Newcastle

Harriet Beaty, a third-year Newcastle University dental student, is originally from the Lake District and grew up on a dairy farm. She earned a BSc in biomedical sciences.

Beaty is particularly interested in current affairs and politics, particularly health and social care. She is interested in lobbying government about further avenues of implementation of the sugar tax; early education about oral and general health; and advocating change in pressing issues, such as admissions to the emergency department regarding oral abscesses.

She is also an advocate and follower of Empowering Women in Dentistry and supports its aim to increase the number of women who are teaching and are heard within the dental community.

Her interests include outdoor sports such as skiing and horseback riding.

Rebecca Reid
1st year, Aberdeen

Rebecca Reid is currently dually qualified as a dental technician and hygiene therapist, two degrees that only a handful of people in dentistry hold together. Reid is currently adding to these disciplines at Aberdeen University, where she is in first year of the BDS programme.

Reid has been a part of The Berkeley Clinic and Brite Dental team since 2014, encountering multiple clinical and nonclinical roles. She has developed a keen interest in both cosmetic dentistry with facial aesthetics and paediatrics, areas she wishes to explore further during her studies.

During her spare time, she enjoys keeping fit at the gym and up to date on the latest medical emergency training as a volunteer at St Andrews’ Cross Paramedics.

You may recognise Reid as one of the Dental News’ newsreaders for DentaltownUK. For more details, visit dentaltownuk.com.