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Gills
Blog!
I finally arrived in dentistry after a long and tortuous route that took me through degrees in Biochemistry and Microbiology; a Masters degree in Oral pathology and stints working for the Forensic Science Service and at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London. Thus a childhood ambition to be a dentist took over 10 years of study and wild (?) student nights of partying to achieve. But the BDS was worth it.
Apart from the few odd moments, (NHS Saturday mornings mostly!) I’ve loved every minute of my chosen career. Like any vocation or job, lots of dentistry can be routine but I still feel extremely privileged to be able to help my patients, whether it is to relieve pain they are experiencing, to improve their appearance or just to give them confidence to attend if they are nervous. Working in a fabulous practice with a great team also makes it so much nicer too. As a full member of the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners of the Royal College of Surgeons and also the British Dental Association, I like to keep up with new trends in the more general areas of dentistry and attend varied and diverse courses to keep up to date. I am particularly interested in the fields of Endodontics (root fillings) and Pathology so I have undertaken more specialised courses in these subjects and welcome referrals in these areas.
Outside of dentistry, I am a Governor of the Royal National Lifeboat Institute & help raise funds and a major hip operation in 2005 curtailed my outdoor pursuits somewhat for hill climbing, fell walking and all that Morris dancing that probably helped damage my hip in the first place! So now I am more of a couch potato and intend to spend more of my time afloat – cruising- preferably being pampered in a spa.
Worst fears – computers.
Greatest achievement – my second parachute jump at Sunderland airport – would you do it twice??
Happiest day of my life – probably steering the large RNLI Trent lifeboat all the way across the Bristol Channel from Minehead to Barry – after a wonderful sunny day spent with the RNLI volunteers from Barry. Next ambitions – conquer my fear of computers and learn to ballroom dance. | 
