The UK Sports Dentistry Association (UKSDA) is the national body dedicated to advancing oral health in sport. We bring together sports dentists, allied healthcare professionals, researchers, coaches, and athletes to highlight the vital role oral health plays in athlete wellbeing, performance, and recovery. Founded to provide a unified voice for sports dentistry in the UK, the Association creates opportunities for education, research, and collaboration. Through conferences, workshops, and training programmes, we ensure clinicians are equipped with the latest evidence-based knowledge to deliver world-class care to athletes at every level - from grassroots to elite.
Our work extends beyond clinical excellence. We are committed to inspiring and mentoring the next generation of sports dentists, building a strong professional network, and developing innovative approaches to dental trauma prevention and oral health promotion in sport. By uniting experts across disciplines, we aim to create lasting impact not just for dentistry, but for the wider sporting community.
At the heart of the UKSDA is our belief that oral health is essential to athlete health. A healthy smile is more than just confidence - it supports performance, reduces risk of injury, and ensures athletes can return to play safely. Whether you are a dentist, healthcare professional, researcher, or athlete, the UK Sports Dentistry Association is your community. Together, we are shaping the future of sports dentistry and building a healthier, stronger sporting nation.
Chairman
Having been in general dental practice for 40 years, I became involved in academic practice by teaching on a dental restorative programme at UCL Eastman Dental Institute, London, UK. This lead to the completion of my PhD into the impact of postgraduate dental education on GDPs, which has subsequently led to me becoming Director of the Restorative Dental Practice programme, with responsibility for specifically looking after the Master's students during their research year. Having had the opportunity to work with professional athletes in practice, including footballers, rugby players and golfers, I was delighted to take over the running of the Sports Dentistry continuing professional development course at UCL Eastman Dental Institute in 2007. I have developed the CPD course into a part-time, blended learning programme, leading to a Master’s degree in Sports Dentistry-Oral Health in Sport. The programme teaches dental practitioners to care for elite and recreational athletes and includes dealing with dental trauma, the implications of poor oral health on athletic performance, restorative challenges of athletes, the use of mouthguards and undertaking research in sports dentistry.
Dr Peter Fine
Fiona Davidson
Lyndon Meehan
John Haughey
Umair Mohammed
Anni Seasborne
Imogen Johnson
Raya Karaganeva
Lucy Docherty
Ellie-Kate Fallon
Cathy Connolly
Danny Elliott
Stevie Potter
Tom Rickards
Maha Hashim
Suhaib Ameen
The UK Sports Dentistry Association (UKSDA) was established to provide a unified voice for sports dentistry in the United Kingdom and to emphasise the vital role oral health plays in athlete wellbeing and performance. From its very beginning, the Association set out to create a platform for education, collaboration, and innovation - bringing together dentists, allied healthcare professionals, researchers, and those working across sport.
Our story began with the inaugural UK Sports Dentistry Conference in Edinburgh, which marked a turning point for the profession. Held in a city renowned for its academic and sporting heritage, the event brought clinicians and researchers together to discuss the impact of oral health on sporting performance and to share experiences from both grassroots and elite levels. The Edinburgh conference not only introduced the UKSDA to the wider community but also established our annual conference as a flagship event in the sports health calendar.
Building on this momentum, the second conference in Manchester demonstrated the rapid growth of interest in the field. With a larger and more diverse audience, the event expanded the scope of discussion to include new research, clinical case studies, and the broader implications of oral health on return-to-play protocols. Manchester also showcased the strength of our network, highlighting the importance of collaboration across dentistry, medicine, and sport.
Together, these two landmark conferences laid the foundations for a thriving professional community. They demonstrated the UKSDA's commitment to uniting experts, supporting the next generation of sports dentistry, and championing a brighter future for athletes across the UK and beyond.
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