Interview Continued »
not always doing this work as a medical treatment for patients, but as a cosmetic procedure – but they have been trained using public funds – just as in the case of ‘plastic surgery’ in the medical profession. “We are given public funds to
produce dentists for the NHS, but we are losing them to private practice and 15-20 per cent of them leave Scotland altogether, either for the south-east of England or further afield to places like Australia. “Luckily, in Scotland, we are very
good at supplying qualified dentists for our needs. In fact, we produce twice as many dentists per head compared with the rest of the UK, but I can see this situation being affected by government cuts. “Nicola Sturgeon has already announced a 10 per cent cut in the number of medical students being taught in Scotland, so I can see a similar cut coming for dental students – we’ll have to wait and see,” he said. From pulling teeth in Govan as a
newly qualified dentist in the 1960s to becoming dean of the University of Glasgow Dental School in the 1990s, Prof Wray’s years of dental research have advanced medical knowledge around the world.
SIR JOHN TOMES
And this contribution to research has been recognised by the award of the BDA’s prestigious John Tomes Medal. Dr John Drummond of the BDA’s honours and awards committee, said: “Professor Wray is a central figure in oral medicine, research, teaching and patient care. He is acknowledged as one of UK’s leading experts and richly deserves to be recognised for the immense contribution he has made.” Such an accolade has given Prof
Wray great pleasure. He said: “It’s the second highest honour that the BDA can bestow on a member, apart from making them president, so it’s wonderful to receive the medal. It’s always good to find out that your contribution is appreciated by your peers.” Prof Wray said he was destined for
Sir John Tomes was a seminal figure in the history of British dentistry during the Victorian period and his pioneering clinical, educational and political interests played a vital role in the development of modern dentistry and dental surgery. He was instrumental in fight- ing for the 1878 Dentists Act, which allowed only those with a Licentiate in Dental Surgery to be called dentists. Also, his forceps design was so popular that it became an industry standard.
38 Scottish Dental magazine
a career in dentistry after breaking his tooth as a youngster. “Seeing the surgery and the staff gave me the illogical desire to become a dentist. Unlike other children, a visit to the dentist held no phobia for me – which was just as well as, being a pre-fluoride baby, your teeth got filled as quickly as they came through!” he laughed. In fact, dental health in the 1960s
was quite shocking as he found out after he entered Glasgow Dental School at the tender age of 16 in 1967. “After graduation I got a job as a dentist in Govan where I basically spent all my time gassing people and pulling their teeth out… and doing the odd filling!
“Dentistry at this time was
“Professor Wray is a central figure in oral
medicine, research, teaching and patient care”
Drummond Dr John
largely dealing with the end result of years of decay, so I could not honestly see myself doing this for the next 40 years.” However, his interest was piqued in the medical side of the profession and he was fascinated by his medical studies. He explained: “While we touched on all the main aspects of medicine during the first three years of the course, I was interested to find out the full story on dental medicine. “I was intellectually driven, rather than career-driven, and I was lucky to fall under the influence of Professor David Mason, who was dean of the dental school and later knighted for his contribution to dentistry. “His work on oral medicine was an inspiration to me and his mentoring put me on the path of research. It’s from him that I developed my whole ethos to research and continual learning.” Prof Wray said he was lucky to get
into dental research at that particu- lar time and described it as a “golden era”. He said: “We were driven by ‘blue sky’ ideas and had the freedom and autonomy to explore a wide range of interesting ideas.” Prof Wray specialised in oral
ulceration and one his earlier research successes was in finding the relationship between mouth
ulcers and deficiencies in the blood, which made patients more susceptible to ulcers. On the back of this research, in 1979
he was awarded a Fogarty Fellowship to study at the National Institute of Health (NIH), one of the world’s
Picture courtesy of the BDA Dental Museum
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76