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Staff Profile

Dr Susan Bissett

Lecturer/Honorary Clinical Lecturer

  • Telephone: 01912088319
  • Address: School of Dental Sciences, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne. NE2 4BW.
Background

Roles and responsibilities

Lecturer/Honorary Clinical Lecturer

Deputy Director of BSc (Hons) Dental Therapy

Director of Stages 1-3 BSc (Hons) Dental Therapy

BSc Stage 1 Chair of Board of Examiners

NIHR NENC Oral & Dental Speciality Group Lead

Newcastle BRC PPIE Lead for Oral & Dental


 

Qualifications

Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2019

Masters in Clinical Research 2012

Advanced Diploma in Further Education and Training 2004

Diploma in Dental Hygiene 1994

Research

Research Interest

I am interested in the development and implementation of innovative and targeted interventions to improve oral and dental health and reduce health inequalities.

My research has involved me working in the context of diabetes and periodontitis; periodontitis and atrial fibrillation; head and neck cancer screening in community pharmacy services; developing knowledge of robust biomarkers to evaluate the safety of oral hygiene products; and improving access to NHS dental Health Services for adults with learning disabilities.

As an independent researcher I have been awarded research funding totalling £375,950 that includes two pump-priming awards from Oral & Dental Research Trust; two personal awards from NIHR; and an award from NIHR North East North Cumbria Applied Research Collaboration (Prevention, Early Intervention & Behaviour Change theme).

I have experience of working on over 30 oral and dental clinical trials.

I have presented in the UK and internationally.

I am also interested in:

  1. Developing the roles of dental care professionals.
  2. Inter-professional communication between medical and dental teams.



Teaching

I am interested in the continued development of the BSc (Hons) in Dental Therapy Programme, particularly with regard to inter-professional working.

I am also interested in the co-development of a pilot educational intervention to raise awareness of barriers to care and improve undergraduate self-efficacy with regard to communicating with adults with learning disabilities in an NHS setting. A review of special care dentistry was commissioned as part of the NHS Five Year Forward View that included Special Care Dentistry; and the General Dental Council recommended that undergraduates should be better prepared to manage special needs patients in their 2020 Preparedness to Practice executive summary. Further more, research conducted in 2019 with our final year dental students showed varying levels of preparedness and self-efficacy in meeting the needs of patients with disabilities. The intervention would be developed in collaboration with a local charity called The Lawnmowers, ran for and by adults with learning disabilities, and co-delivered through interactive workshops. The long term aim is to develop an e-learning package which has the potential for use by undergraduates and postgraduates, perhaps being incorporated into a virtual Special Care Dentistry Course.

Publications