Dental award
Dental student crowned winner of national competition
Published on: 5 March 2019
Newcastle University student, David Cobbett, has been named the UK’s top undergraduate dentist for clinical skills after winning a national competition.
The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Dentsply Sirona skills competition has proved to be an exciting and rewarding way of ensuring that standards are challenged and updated annually.
It is the second year in a row that a student from the University has won this award, which is a prestigious accolade for the start of a career.
David, a fifth-year student, won the competition after completing a wide range of tasks designed to challenge the contestants in a selection of clinical disciplines.
David said: “It is absolutely incredible to have won something like this.
"I gained so much simply from taking part and talking to people within the College on the day of the competition, but to have also won the award is fantastic - I am absolutely delighted.”
Clinical skills expertise
More than 400 final year students, from 18 UK and Irish dental schools, took part in the competition. Each school ran heats to choose a contestant to compete in the final held at The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, one of the oldest surgical corporations in the world.
Skills students had to demonstrate included tasks such as oral surgical procedures, fillings and root canal treatment. The competition also tested communication skills and knowledge of paediatric dental care.
Last year, Newcastle University dental student, Joe Reid, won The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Dentsply Sirona award.
Professor Mark Thomason, Head of the School of Dental Sciences at Newcastle University, said: “I am absolutely delighted at David’s well-deserved success in this year’s clinical skills competition.
“David had a lot to live up to after Joe won the competition on behalf of Newcastle last year and it is great to see him rising to that extra pressure.
“The clinical skills competition is important in highlighting the exacting standards that UK undergraduates achieve by the time of qualification and their ability to transfer current skills to new and exciting clinical challenges as they move forward in their careers.”
Showcasing next generation
David has won an all-expenses paid trip to attend the Chicago Dental Society Conference and a digital SLR camera designed for intraoral photography.
Professor Fraser McDonald, Dental Dean at The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, said: “The Dental Skills Competition continues to showcase the breadth of next generation talent within the dental student body.
“The teachers of Newcastle University need to be congratulated on producing such able students in this searching practical assessment.”
Find out more about studying Dental surgery or Oral and Dental Health Sciences at Newcastle University and more about life as an undergraduate student.