Nicola Innes

I am a Paediatric Dentist, teacher and researcher. My work is focused on improving the way we manage the disease dental caries: how dentists can be less invasive in their treatment, how to make it easier for people (especially children) to cope with dental care, and how to make dental care more effective, affordable and accessible. My nursing and dentistry background have given me a very patient-focused outlook but I try to keep in mind the science behind what we do, and how oral health care could be improved for patients.

The specific areas I work in are: clinical trials testing different clinical management techniques for dental caries; patient perceptions (particular children) of the dental care we provide and how we can improve that; uptake of evidence by practitioners; inequalities in dental care (such as dentistry for children with low access in some countries and gypsy/ travellers); improving the standard of research produced within cariology; and systematic reviews related to cariology, paediatric dentistry and inequalities.

I have had an unusual career path, qualifying as a Registered General Nurse, working in neurosurgery in Edinburgh and gaining a BSc in Life Sciences from Napier University. I came to the University of Dundee, graduating in Dentistry in 1998, having also obtained an intercalated degree in Molecular and Cellular Pathology. I then spent a very enjoyable seven years as a general dental practitioner in Carnoustie and Forfar, before returning to join Child Dental Health at Dundee as a Lecturer then Chair. I have been m Head of School of Dentistry at Cardiff University since 2020 and am also currently Interim Head of School of Healthcare Sciences. My PhD investigated the Hall Technique, a method for managing carious primary molars that used globally.

I sit on the Scottish Dental Practice Based Research Network steering committee, a number of SDCEP and SIGN guidance development groups. I edit Wikipedia pages on Dentistry.

I have run National clinical trials; BRIGHT (Brushing RemInder for Good oral HealTh), FiCTION Dental Trial (Fillings in Children’s Teeth; Indicated or Not), and work on the CALM Trial investigating CBT to help young people manage anxiety during dental treatment and a trial investigating parents perceptions of minimally invasive dentistry in Latvia. I have been involved in Germany, Brazil, Lithuania, Australia and New Zealand based dental trials.