The British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BASCD) is keen to encourage researchers in the field of population oral health. To support this, BASCD offer four awards including the Keith Woods Essay Competition and the BASCD-Borrow Foundation Early Career Poster Award.
The essay competition is designed to foster the interest of the next generation of dental professionals in public health dentistry. This competition is open to any undergraduate from dentistry, dental therapy, dental hygiene or dental nursing student registered at a dental school in the UK. A prize of £200 and certificate will be awarded to the winner of the competition.
The title for the essay in 2022 was: The oral health of refugees and the mobilisation of oral health care services to meet their needs.
The essay winner was Ellie Macintosh, a recent graduate of dental therapy and hygiene from the Peninsula Dental School. Commendation went to Yasmin Aziz, a recent dental graduate from the Cardiff Dental School.
 Keith Woods Essay Competition Winner Ellie Macintosh with BASCD President Albert Yeung |
 Keith Woods Essay Competition Commendation Yasmin Aziz with BASCD President Albert Yeung |
BASCD-Borrow Foundation Early Career Poster Award
The BASCD-Borrow Foundation Early Career Poster Award is sponsored by The Borrow Foundation which is actively engaged in promoting oral health and disease prevention. The poster prize is open to BASCD members from academic and non-academic institutions in their early careers, e.g. undergraduates, clinical fellows, trainees and those undertaking Masters and PhD degrees. This includes dentists, dental care professionals and any other groups with an interest in public health.
The 1st prize award winner received a certificate, £200 and be offered financial support to participate at the congress of the European Association of Dental Public Health being held in the following year. A certificate and prize of £50 were awarded to both the 2nd and 3rd prize winners.
 BASCD-Borrow Foundation Early Career Poster Award Winner K. Julia Hurry with BASCD President Albert Yeung |
1st prize: K. Julia Hurry, Queen Mary University of London
Topic: Barriers and Dental Care Pathways for Children Looked After in the UK
 BASCD-Borrow Foundation Early Career Poster Award 2nd Place Sarah Kaddour with BASCD President Albert Yeung |
2nd prize: Sarah Kaddour, NHS England
Topic: ‘Stay Smiling’: Co-producing an oral health training programme for care homes
 BASCD-Borrow Foundation Early Career Poster Award 3rd Place Mairead Hennigan with BASCD President Albert Yeung |
3rd prize: Mairead Hennigan, NHS Lothian
Topic: Service evaluation of a new unscheduled paediatric dental service in NHS Lothian
Awards presented at BASCD virtual conference
All the prizes were presented during the BASCD Autumn Scientific Meeting held on 10 November 2022. Due to the London Tube strike, the event was moved to a virtual platform in short notice. The theme of the conference was A Place to Call Home: Rescue or Repair. It explored the provision of dental care for asylum seekers, refugees and looked-after children.
During the conference, BASCD President Albert Yeung was wearing the Ukraine flag bow tie to express solidarity with those people affected by the conflict in Ukraine. He also put on the poppy as a show of support for the Armed Forces community.
Albert said: “The standard of the entries this year was so high that the judging panel had difficulty to decide on the winners. It was a shame not able to present the awards in person at a virtual event.”