TCD School of Dental Science

TCD School of Dental Science Ireland's leading Dental School. Extensive teaching, research and patient care experience.

Training all members of the Dental team in Trinity College Dubin and Dublin Dental University Hospital.

Congratulations to Dean of Dental Affairs and Head of School Prof Alison Dougall, who is the 2026 recipient of the Honor...
21/08/2026

Congratulations to Dean of Dental Affairs and Head of School Prof Alison Dougall, who is the 2026 recipient of the Honorary iADH Membership Award.

Presenting the award at the IADH annual conference this week, Dr Denise Faulks described Prof Dougall as the driving force behind the active, worldwide organisation we know today. As former president of the iADH, Prof Dougall developed the iADH education and fellowship programmes, and has contributed to all research initiatives, including the Attitudes Toolbox, and the iADH Universal Case Mix tool.

In her acceptance speech, Prof Dougall dedicated her award to her friend, the late Dr Janet Griffiths (MBE for services to Special Care Dentistry), who introduced her to the iADH. "Someone saw me and thought maybe I had a spark of promise, and that was the changing moment. That gave me the ability to make a change for others. The iADH is such a positive organisation, with missions and aims, and to get this award at Trinity College Dublin, and to have the conference here, is even more special. I would like to thank everyone in the iADH for giving me so much in my life: my friends, my profession, structure and ideas. There is so much I have to thank you for."

Alison Dougall



Dean of Dental Affairs and Head of School Prof Alison Dougall Alison Dougall explains how people with disabilities in Ir...
20/08/2026

Dean of Dental Affairs and Head of School Prof Alison Dougall Alison Dougall explains how people with disabilities in Ireland face "unfair, unjust and largely unnecessary" barriers to dental care in Ireland in this article (link in bio, Linktree) featured in Irish Examiner and Irish Independent




We were honoured to host a reception at the DDUH yesterday, where the World Health Organization launched their new polic...
19/08/2026

We were honoured to host a reception at the DDUH yesterday, where the World Health Organization launched their new policy Oral Health Equity For Persons With Disabilities. The event was attended by key stakeholders from the HSEIreland, Department of Health - Ireland, , Dean of University University College Cork (UCC) Dental School and Hospital, Prof Paul Brady, and Dean of Dean of Dental Affairs and Head of School, Prof Alison Dougall.

Over 1.3 billion people worldwide live with a disability, ranging from Intellectual Disability, autism, physical disability, severe mental health, or complex medical conditions. According to the National Disability Authority, 70% of working-age adults with a disability acquired it during their adult life, between the ages of 16 and 65, with 30% affected from birth or childhood.

Currently, in Ireland and abroad, disability means that people must wait longer for oral health services, often only receiving care when preventable problems have developed into emergencies or tooth loss. People may require an accessible building or specialist equipment, longer appointments, adapted communication, or close cooperation between dentists, carers and other healthcare professionals. Frequently, general dental practices lack the appropriate training, confidence and resources.

This new policy brief from the WHO addresses these critical shortcomings. Speaking at the opening address, Dr Kaloyan Kamenov Disability Lead at the WHO, highlighted how inclusion and equity must be designed into oral health systems, and people with disabilities should be active partners rather than simply recipients of care.

We are extremely proud of Prof Caoimhin Mac Giolla Phadraig and Dr Katrina Byrne who were among the external contributors to the policy brief which can be found in the link in the bio (Linktree)

Congratulations also to our prize winners: Dental Health Foundation student prize: Darshini Ramasubbu. June Nunn Service Innovation Award sponsored by DeCare Dental: Eleanor Greene, Elaine Byrne, Louise Madden, Carmel Carroll, Margaret Farrell and Christine Delany.

Save the date and time - Saturday 21 November 2026 @ 10am - 1pm in Dublin Dental University Hospital, Lincoln Place, D02...
13/08/2026

Save the date and time - Saturday 21 November 2026 @ 10am - 1pm in Dublin Dental University Hospital, Lincoln Place, D02 F859 for Open Day. Meet students, professors and tour the facilities!

Register now at http://www.tcd.ie/cao




Thanks to everyone for coming to the Prize Giving Ceremony for the Dental Hygiene and Dental Nursing (Full Time & NDNTP)...
10/07/2026

Thanks to everyone for coming to the Prize Giving Ceremony for the Dental Hygiene and Dental Nursing (Full Time & NDNTP) Graduates 🎓 today! Well done 👏

Congratulations to our wonderful Dental Hygiene and Dental Nursing Full Time and NDNTP Graduates today 😀 We are now read...
10/07/2026

Congratulations to our wonderful Dental Hygiene and Dental Nursing Full Time and NDNTP Graduates today 😀 We are now ready for their Prize Giving Ceremony in Regent House...Course Directors, Pro Dean, Sponsors, Dental Council and other staff.

We are very proud to announce that Dr Caoimhin Mac Giolla Phadraig has been appointed as Consultant / Professor in Speci...
30/06/2026

We are very proud to announce that Dr Caoimhin Mac Giolla Phadraig has been appointed as Consultant / Professor in Special Care Dentistry.

Dr Mac Giolla Phadraig first entered the DDUH and Trinity College Dublin as an undergraduate, later studying for a doctorate in Special Care Dentistry, and followed by his PhD under the supervision of Prof June Nunn. He leads national and international implementation projects ( and Brush My Teeth) and develops inclusive research tools to address systematic ableism in oral health research.

He also helps to set the global agenda for Special Care Dentistry research and policy impact in his roles as: Chair of the International Association for Disability and Oral Health (iADH) Scientific Committee; Oral Health co-Lead within IDS-TILDA at Trinity Centre for Ageing and the Life Course in Intellectual Disability; and Initiator of the IADR Anaesthesiology & Special Care Research Group.

With over 15 years' experience in training specialists, he has contributed to the clinical skills and attitudes of the oral health workforce, and international educational standards. He also directs global curriculum development in Behaviour Support in Dentistry (DBS) and postgraduate innovation in oral-health promotion and interprofessional learning.

Congratulations to Carley Wlad (4th Year Dental Science), who has been awarded a DDUH Summer Research studentship to car...
26/06/2026

Congratulations to Carley Wlad (4th Year Dental Science), who has been awarded a DDUH Summer Research studentship to carry out a research project with Prof Lewis Winning and Dr Michael Crowe. The award was presented by Prof Hal Duncan.

The project, entitled "Periodontal Health and Cognition in Older Irish Adults: Examining the potential mediating role of systemic inflammation," will use data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) to investigate the relationship between gum disease and cognitive function in older adults.

Periodontitis (gum disease) has been linked to cognitive decline and dementia, but the biological pathway behind this link is not well understood. Carley's project will examine whether systemic inflammation, measured through a blood marker called CRP, helps explain why poorer gum health is associated with lower cognitive performance, using a large nationally representative sample of older Irish adults.

This project builds on an established programme of TILDA-linked research examining the connections between oral health, inflammation, and healthy ageing.

Prof Winning commented: "We're delighted to support Carley in this project, and grateful to Pamex Limited Ireland for providing a bursary for this studentship. It builds directly on our long-standing TILDA research into the links between oral health and healthy ageing, and gives Carley hands-on experience in analysing a major national dataset to answer a question with real relevance for how we understand and prevent cognitive decline in older adults."

Christina Sharp (4th Year Dental Science) has been awarded a DDUH Summer Research studentship to carry out a research pr...
23/06/2026

Christina Sharp (4th Year Dental Science) has been awarded a DDUH Summer Research studentship to carry out a research project with Prof. Gary Moran. The project, entitled “Quantification of acetaldehyde production by oral Candida isolates from Dublin Dental University Hospital patients” will examine Candida yeasts recovered from the mouths of patients with and without potentially malignant diseases to examine their ability to generate carcinogenic acetaldehyde from alcohol. This project is part of an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Sheila Galvin and Prof. Claire Healy in the Oral Medicine unit to examine microbial markers and risks for oral malignancies.


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