George Wright becomes Dentaid vice-chairman
Dentaid The Dental Charity is pleased to announce George Wright as its new vice chairman as it creates new opportunities on its board of trustees.
As Dentaid enters its 4th decade of providing outreach dental care and oral health programmes for under-served communities, George and his fellow trustees are helping to steer the strategic direction of the charity following a period of rapid growth.
George joined Dentaid’s board of trustees in February 2025. A registered dentist, he has served as deputy director of Dental Protection since 2016 and previously held roles on his local dental committee, as a training programme director in Yorkshire and the Humber and foundation trainer and chief examiner at the Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine.
George said: “I am thrilled to be stepping into the role of vice chair of the board of trustees at Dentaid and look forward to building on what we have achieved to date.
“2026 marks a significant milestone at the charity as we recognise our 30th anniversary.
“My focus will be working with the board and senior leadership team to continue to grow the charity to reach as many of those in need of our services as possible -either at home or overseas.”
Outgoing vice chair, Fiona Ellwood, vice chairman and executive director of the Society of British Dental Nurses remains on Dentaid’s Board and is playing an active role supporting this transition.
We are also pleased to announce Robert Middlefell (pictured) is joining the board of trustees. Rob is a general dental practitioner, based in the South West, and CQC’s National Professional Advisor for Dentistry. He has previously worked as a volunteer dentist on several Dentaid mobile dental clinics providing treatment for patients experiencing homelessness.
Rob said: “I have seen Dentaid’s vital and important work at first hand and look forward to working with the board to further the aims and objectives of the charity both at home and overseas.
“With access to dentistry such a huge topic of conversation the work that the charity does has never been more important.”
Further planned changes to Dentaid’s board of trustees will follow later in the year when current chairman Crispin Keanie steps down after 7 years in the role. During his tenure the charity’s annual income has grown from less than £150K to more than £3M.
This expansion has seen UK clinic delivery grow to more than 1,300 mobile outreach dental clinics a year, in addition to the BrightBites oral health programme reaching 200,000 children and the continuation of programmes and volunteering trips supporting overseas dental partners.
Recruitment for the role of Chair of Trustees will commence in Spring 2026.
The board is also actively seeking a dental therapist to join the trustees after Sally Reading stepped down last Autumn. Sally has a long association with Dentaid and fundraised for the charity and led several overseas trips to Kenya before she joined the board in 2018. The board values the insights and experience of all dental care professionals and invites applications from those with a hygiene and therapy background.
The new trustees will work closely with the charity’s senior leaders as Dentaid continues to expand and develop its programmes for those in greatest need.
To find out more and request an application pack email recruitment@dentaid.org or visit https://www.dentaid.org/careers/