Church Court Dental Practice

BDS (Edinburgh) 1987 GDC:62226.  Mark has worked at Church Court as a Dental Surgeon since 1999, he took over as Practice Principal and owner when the previous owner retired in Autumn 2009.  He has 25 years’ experience in preventive, restorative and cosmetic treatment - looking after the long-term care of people of all ages.Mark coordinates the organisation of individual patient care across the whole team both within Church Court and in partnership with specialists and consultants across Scotland and Northern England.  He is committed to preventive practice and to the continuing professional development of his whole team.  His aim is to bring the best possible, well considered and affordable care to people here in Dumfries.  In November 2013 his practice was the inaugural winner of the prestigious Dental Protection/schulke Dental Practice of the Year Award (UK).Mark is committed to continuing professional dental education and has continuously developed his own practice since qualifying in Edinburgh in 1987. In December 2012 Mark and his practice was awarded Denplan Excel Accreditation, this involved Mark voluntarily opening up his own clinical work and the whole Practices records to independent review.  The Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme is the only independently validated clinical governance peer assessment programme available.Before moving to Dumfries Mark worked at practices in Doncaster, Stockton-on-Tees, and County Durham.

BDS (Dundee) MJDF RCS (Eng)
Lead Implantologist (Self-employed)Duncan joined Church Court in Summer 2014 and works with Mark to provide a full restorative and implant service. Duncan has been working in practice for 25 years, always placing high importance on the well-being and confidence of his patients. Over these years the focus of his practice has developed with an emphasis on Cosmetic, Reconstructive and Implant Dentistry, all of which he finds inspiring and interesting. Duncan has pursued implant training in this country and abroad, with a focus on complete patient care. He is a member of the Association of Dental Implantology and of the Academy of Osseointegration.

GDC: 113026
BDS (Newcastle), MJDF (RSC ENG)
Dental Surgeon (self-employed)
We are delighted that Maria will be joining the team at Church Court from June 2016. Maria will initially provide cover for Mark as he develops the regional pilot of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme, before building up her own list of patients.Maria joins us as she starts a new life here in Dumfries & Galloway with her husband Oscar and their new baby Acacia. She was previously the lead clinician at Ferryburn Dental Care, Edinburgh and was Vice Chair of the Young Dentists Committee for the British Dental Association (Lothian and Borders). Maria's interests extend to surgical placement and restoration of implants, cosmetic tooth alignment and facial aesthetics as well as general family care.We look forward to welcoming Maria to our growing team.

Dental Therapist & Hygienist.  Combined Diploma in Dental Therapy and Hygiene, Liverpool 2009 GDC: 166967.  Julie is one of only a few but increasing number of dental therapists working in the profession.  Her work makes a huge contribution to the practice and enables us to give more time to each patient, to focus our skills on each element of their dental care whilst being able to carry out whole courses of treatment without long waiting times. Julie was announced as one of only five therapists shortlisted for Best Dental Therapist (under 30) in the Dental Hygiene & Therapy Awards 2015, and was the only one to be 'Highly Commended' within the category at the ceremony in in London on 6th February 2015.Julie completed her Combined Diploma with distinction and has worked at the Practice since February 2010.  She has been through a rigorous and supportive training programme within the practice's learning culture.  Julie works with Mark providing many components of the care in the dental surgeon’s prescription. - including fillings, radiography, hygienist care, pulp therapy and extraction of deciduous teeth.Since 1st May 2013 new guidelines have been agreed which allow dental therapists and hygienists to carry out the full scope of their registered role without necessarily needing the prescription of a dentist.  As Julie and the rest of our preventive team have worked within our culture of good communication, monitoring and patient-centred care there is already a strong ethic of putting patient needs first and strong working relationships within the whole team. 

Dental Hygienist.  DipDent Hygiene 1991 (Glasgow) GDC: 4194. Lorraine has worked at the practice since 2000 and is committed to supporting the work of the dentists and caring for our patients whole oral health as part of our preventive team.

Dental Hygienist. Cert in Dental Hygiene (Edinburgh), 1987 GDC:3373.  Fiona is a highly experienced dental hygienist and contributes greatly to the preventive work of the whole team.

Adele has been a part of Church Court since 1995, working her way up from dental nurse to Practice Manager and provides vital administrative, management and customer service roles.  She has a deep understanding of the importance of providing continual individual care to our patients and is a huge support to the staff team and our patients.

GDC: 209422
Registered Dental Nurse with Certificate in Radiography
Victoria joined Church Court in August 2011 having previously worked as a dental nurse in Carlisle and at Dumfries Dental Centre.  She makes a valuable contribution to our support team and is developing her skills with a great attention to detail and an enthusiasm for her work.  Victoria passed the Certificate in Radiography for Nurses in February 2014, providing an invaluable additional service in taking x rays for patients and increasing the scope of the whole team. Victoria also holds certificates in Clinical Photography and Impression-Taking.  She is about to embark on an Extended Duties Dental Nurse Course which will begin in November 2016.After returning from maternity leave in August 2015, Victoria now works part-time at Church Court.

GDC: 235275
National Certificate in Dental Nursing 2012
Registered Dental Nurse
Heather joined the Practice towards the end of 2010 with experience in general nursing.  She is now a qualified dental nurse having trained and studied in our supportive environment.  Her empathy with patients and ability to learn quickly with enthusiasm are clearly evident and very welcome.  Heather successfully completed the National Certificate in Dental Nursing early in 2012 and has recently been focussing her time with Adele on developing her skills at reception and contributing to good management and coordination of patient care. Having attended short courses in 2014 in British Sign Language and Forensic Dentistry, she is now looking forward to deciding which way to continue her study in order to expand the range and depth of the skills in the whole team.Heather has a key role for Church Court in developing the regional pilot of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme.

National Certificate in Dental Nursing 2012
Registered Dental NurseKerrie joined the practice in November 2013 having previously worked at a practice in Annan. We are very pleased to welcome her to Church Court.

Dental Nurse (Trainee) and Receptionist
Stacey has been part of our Practice for over 8 years and her excellent customer service skills, together with an understanding of the clinical philosophy at the Practice are a key part of organising care for our patients.Stacey began her training as a dental nurse before having her first child and came back to work with us as a receptionist and administrator for a number of years.  We are delighted that she has now decided to continue her studies and is again training as part of our clinical support team.