Profi le


Founding father Bob McKechnie was branch secre- tary for 11 years and served as its president in 1979-80. He was also on the national BDA representa- tive board for 22 years and, with Henry Noble, helped to found the History of Dentistry Research Group mentioned earlier. Bob’s dedication and hard work


was rewarded in 2001, when he was elected a Fellow of the BDA and was chairman elect of the Lindsay Society for the History of Dentistry in 2005-06. Unfortu- nately, Bob died in 2006, shortly before he would have assumed the presidency of the organisation. Robin said: “Bob always had a


huge interest in the dental profes- sion, and with his experience, was in a unique position to make his mark as an archivist. “He was responsible for collecting


the bulk of the archive material – much of it contained in large boxes – that goes back to 1918 and is main- tained to the present day. He is the father of the history of dentistry in this part of the world.” Robin recently “inherited” the


branch records from Bob’s widow. “She called me to say she had all this historical material in a room in her home and wanted to pass it on. It consists of minutes of meetings, right from the time of the foundation of the West of Scotland branch in 1918. “In those days, all the dentists who


belonged to the BDA came along to meetings once a month in Glasgow.


“These meetings were part-social,


“The archive consists of minutes of meetings, right from the time of the foun- dation of the West of Scotland branch in


1918” Robin Graham


part-educational and part-political. Minutes were meticulously kept of what was discussed and which guest speakers had attended. It could be an academic, invited to explain a new technique or a representative from the BDA in London, called to Glasgow to explain the latest polit- ical situation as it affected dentists.” Meetings of the branch were


nearly always held at the Royal Col lege of Physicians and Surgeons in Bath Street, or at the Dental Hospital. “The West of Scotland branch


was an important focus for dentists here, which kept them up-to-date with recent advances in dental techniques and materials, and with the political process nationally. There is no doubt that, during the 1940s and 50s, the branch punched above its weight as far as infl u- ence in the corridors of power is concerned. We had some real heavyweights such as J Marshall Banks, E Rankine Crerar and T Brown Henderson. Dentists in those days almost never used their fi rst names. I guess it was a form of snobbery.” Robin added: “When I qualifi ed in


the 1960s, it wasn’t unusual to see 150 people attending a branch meeting. Although BDA member numbers have remained pretty static, the interest in politics among dentists has dropped, and 50-70 people at a meeting would be considered a good turnout these days.”


TECHNICAL ADVANCES OVER THE YEARS


Robin Graham was awarded Life Member- ship of the British Dental Association in 2010 for his work in the profession over the past 45 years. He has seen many changes in dental


techniques and materials since he gradu- ated. As branch archivist, he is keenly aware that the views of the current crop of dental professionals will live on in records and minutes to be read by future generations. Robin said: “The big difference now


in dentistry from when I qualifi ed is the advance in dental materials and surgical techniques. Implants in dentistry now are becoming more common – such proce- dures were just a dream in my young days. “The materials that we are using in


dentistry now are very high tech – when I qualifi ed I was using materials that dentists had been using for 50 years. And very little had changed. “Yet in the last 20-odd years there’s


been a huge increase in dental materials and different techniques, with the biggest advances being made in implants and dental materials. The other big thing that’s changed the profession has been the introduction of reliable sterilisation techniques.” He smiled and said: “When I qualifi ed


it was common practice to boil instru- ments in water – of course, that’s since been proven to be not particularly effec- tive. And there’s a huge increase now in having very set-down protocols for


sterilisation procedures.” He looked around at the new build


dental practice that he opened a year ago in Alexandra Parade, in Dennistoun. “The reason we had to build a new practice was that it’s now mandatory to have a sepa- rate room for sterilisation and a lot of the old-fashioned dental practices didn’t have room to put that separate facility in. It was one of the main reasons we moved here.” He is immensely proud of the new


premises. “They are great. Before, like many dental practitioners, we were working up a close in somewhat cramped premises. The new place is great for staff morale too – they like working in a modern building with a good atmosphere and modern facilities.”


Scottish Dental magazine 41 NOTABLE FIGURES


Many local dentists have played a signifi cant role in the develop- ment of the profession over the years, both locally and nationally. These include J Marshall


Banks, E Rankine Crerar, T Brown Henderson, Charles Downie (BDA President 1985-86), Robert McKechnie and Bernard Caplan. More recently: John Craig,


who was a recent BDA President, Graham McKirdy, Kieran Fallon, Robert Kinloch, Andrew Lamb (present BDA Scottish Director), George Taylor, Mike Arthur, Jackie Morrison and Arabella Yelland. There are, of course, many


others who are not named here. Their hard work and dedication to the progress of dentistry is recognised and appreciated.


Robert McKechnie


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