Governance

At the head of the Platform’s work, three experts take the roles of Immediate-Past Chair, Chair, and Chair-Elect and coordinate the actions and initiatives of the organisation.

The Chair’s mandate lasts for a minimum of two years and is supported by the previous and next Chairs to ensure the continuity and stability of the Platform. The Chair-Elect is voted by the voting Members of the Board by majority.

Dr. Dympna Kavanagh

Dr. Dympna Kavanagh

Chief Dental Officer, Ireland
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Dr. Dympna Kavanagh
Chief Dental Officer, Ireland

Dr. Dympna Kavanagh is currently the Chief Dental Officer in the Department of Health, Ireland. She has worked in the Health Service Executive Ireland in the areas of quality and risk, general management and within the Dental Service at the national level. She is the immediate Past President of the Council of European Chief Dental Officers – a Board Member of the Platform for Better Oral Health in Europe. She undertook a Diploma, Masters, and Specialist/Consultancy Training in Dental Public Health at King’s College London and then completed her PhD in UCC.

Prof. George Tsakos

Prof. George Tsakos

Professor in Dental Public Health
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Prof. George Tsakos
Professor in Dental Public Health

George Tsakos is Professor in Dental Public Health at UCL and Honorary Consultant in Dental Public Health with the CNWL NHS Foundation Trust and with Public Health England. He was President of the European Association of Dental Public Health (EADPH) – a Board Member of the Platform – and Immediate-Past Chair of the Platform. He is involved in the development of oral health indicators for WHO, has been a key member of the consortium that carried out the national adult and children’s dental health surveys in the UK and has worked with the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) and other epidemiological studies of ageing. He is currently leading a NIHR (Public Health Research programme) funded research project on the feasibility of the NICE guideline for oral health in older people in care homes.

Dr. Nigel Carter OBE

Dr. Nigel Carter OBE

Chief Executive of Oral Health Foundation
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Dr. Nigel Carter OBE
Chief Executive of Oral Health Foundation

Dr. Nigel Carter OBE has been Chief Executive of the Oral Health Foundation – a Board Member of the Platform – for more than 25 years. A previous chairman and long-term trustee of the charity, Dr Nigel Carter OBE has a keen interest in public health and experience in health promotion. The Oral Health Foundation’s role as coordinator of numerous national campaigns, including Mouth Cancer Action Month, involves Dr Carter working with health departments of all four UK countries as well as representatives of major health, cancer, dental and medical organisations at the highest level. As immediate past chair of the Royal Society for Public Health, Dr Carter is involved in liaison and cooperation between the major public health bodies, the Faculty of Public Health and Register of Public Health Specialists and has broad interests in public health and the social determinants of health. In 2012, Dr Carter was honoured with an OBE for Services to Dentistry and Dental Health in the Queen’s Jubilee honours.