I originally trained as a dentist and worked in a high street dental practice on an NHS contract. After practising for a few years, I joined a humanitarian trip to provide dental treatment to street orphans in Bolivia. I was so moved by the plight of the children there that I found the trip to be life-changing. I had studied public health during my training but what I witnessed on my trip made what I had learned come to life and made me realise how unjust and unfair life could be for some children.
Shortly after my visit to Bolivia, I went on another trip, this time to a remote community in Romania. The area was high up in the mountains with no street lighting or cars and there were many families living in poverty. Again, I was able to see firsthand the impact of deprivation and inequalities on the lives of children.
When I returned to work I became aware of inequalities experienced by my own patients. I suppose they had always been there but I now recognised them in a totally different way. Slowly I started to become dissatisfied with what I could do in my role with individual patients and realised that a lot more could be done on a population level.
My interest in public health grew stronger and I began thinking about specialising in dental public health. I had just become pregnant with my first child at the time, so with careful preparation, discussion and planning, I resigned as partner at the dental practice, went on maternity leave and took up post as a senior house officer in dental public health when my son was six months old.
After gaining my membership qualifications with the Faculty of Dental Surgery, I then formally entered the dental public health training programme where I gained a Master’s in research in public health, competencies in public health practice and a fellowship in dental public health with the Royal College of Surgeons in 2011. I took up my first consultant post in public health in 2012.