Lecturer Details: Managing anxious patients and managing expectations- when and who to refer

Lecturer nameMr Chris Bell BDS MSc FDS RCS(Eng)
Lecturer profileOral & Maxillofacial training 1981 – 87
Founding Member of Dental Sedation Teachers Group
Clinical Lead for Oral Surgery Bristol Dental Hospital 1993-2002
Chair NHS Southwest Oral Surgery Managed Clinical Network 2017 – present.
Co Clinical Director Bristol Dental School 2022 to present


Short resume of career to date:
Qualified Dec 1980
Career in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery from 1980 to present
Chair Southwest Oral Surgery MCN since 2017
6 years as Principle of an NHS Dental Practice 1987 to 1993

Experience relevant to the topic:
Founding member of the Dental Sedation Teachers Group.
Course Tutor for the BUOLD Anxiety and Control & Sedation Element from 1994 to 2016




Lecturer nameDr Camilla Boynton MA (Hons), BDS Lond, MJDF RCS Eng, MSc, MSCD RCS E
Lecturer profileConsultant in Special Care Dentistry and Medical/Governance Lead, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Training Programme Director in Special Care Dentistry for the South.
Camilla graduated as a dentist from King’s College London in 2009 following a career change from publishing. Initially working in Dorset, she completed her Specialist training in Special Care Dentistry in 2016, which included an MSc in Special Care Dentistry with sedation. Camilla now works as a Consultant and Departmental/Governance Lead for the Community Dental Service at Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust in Exeter and North Devon. Camilla is also Training Programme Director for Special Care Dentistry in the South, an Examiner for the MFDS Diploma and the 2026 President of the British Society of Gerodontology.
For 15 years, Camilla has been delivering conscious sedation for patients with complex needs. She is STAC approved and provides training for postgraduate dentists at all stages of their careers, including those undertaking the PG Cert from Portsmouth University.
She has much experience of using the principles of the Mental Capacity Act in her every day practice.
Lecturer nameHiral Patel BDS, MJDF (RCS England), PG Dip Conscious sedatio
Lecturer profileSTR Special care dentistry, Sedation-lead clinician Community dental services, Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Hiral graduated in India in 2006 and has been working within salaried dental services and primary care in the UK since 2009. She has extensive experience managing anxious adult and paediatric patients, using conscious sedation techniques.
Hiral serves as Sedation Lead within the Community Dental Service at RD&E, where she has played a key role in establishing and developing the sedation facilities. A STAC-approved trainer, she regularly delivers team-based teaching and training across the full range of dental professionals engaged in conscious sedation, including postgraduate dentists, therapists, and dental nurses