Faculty of Dental Surgery
About the Faculty of Dental Surgery
The Faculty of Dental Surgery promotes excellence in global oral health through education, examination and engagement. Our Faculty mission is simple, for people across the world to have access to high quality dental care wherever they live. The College motto Hinc Sanitus (from here, health) is at the top of the College sigilium, or seal, for very good reason. The sigilium appears on all of our Diploma certificates and important documentation, and the College logo picks out the sun for clarity over ignorance, Edinburgh Castle to signify our roots in the Scottish capital, our founding year, 1505 and the unicorn, the horse of healing, favoured by King James IV and the national animal of Scotland. All of these symbols are important to the Faculty of Dental Surgery and through our activites, clarity over ignorance is a key principle of all that we do from our historic base in Edinburgh, but across the globe.
Established in 1982, over 40 years ago, the Faculty of Dental Surgery is the oldest, largest and most international of all of the surgical royal colleges in the UK with 8,000 Members and Fellows in over 100 countries throughout the world. Our Faculty is growing and dynamic, innovating continually. The Faculty is led by a strong and decisive Dental Council, with the dental office bearers forming the Dental Executive. We have a large network of Dental Ambassadors in the UK & Ireland and an even larger network of International Dental Ambassadors. Wherever you live, you will find an Ambassador who will help, guide and support you in your career with The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
Education: The Faculty has an ambitious programme of education for the whole dental team. A key part of this strategy is provision of education for, and by the Faculty, and we also accredit educational courses, and specifically programmes of study towards a number of key Faculty examinations. We are currently working with the International Postgraduate Deanery within RCSEd to develop a process for international dentists undergoing specialty training to work for a period in the UK.
Examination: The Faculty examines dental care professionals and dentists across 24 countries with over 2000 candidates per year presenting for our exams. We are the only UK Faculty of Dental Surgery that meets all of the UK General Dental Council Standards for Specialty Education. The portfolio incudes the following examinations:
- The Diploma of Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS)
- Membership in Advanced General Dental Surgery (MAGDS)
- Specialty Membership Exams in Endodontics, Periodontics, Prosthodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Implant Dentistry, and Orthodontics (Part A and Part B)
- Diplomas in Clinical Dental Technology, Orthodontic Therapy, Paediatric Dentistry for Dental Therapists and Special Care Dentistry
- Tri-Collegiate Specialty Membership Exams in Oral Surgery, Paediatric Dentistry and Special Care Dentistry. The Faculty works with its sister Colleges in London and Glasgow to deliver these
Engagement: The Faculty enjoys extensive links with a network of UK and international organisations including the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, the College of Dental Surgeons of Hong Kong, the American Board of Oral Medicine, and many international universities where we offer a variety of conjoint specialty and non-specialty exams. We link with a growing number of UK universities in providing a Conjoint Masters Degree and Specialty Membership examinations. In the UK, the Faculty links with the other three Royal Surgical Colleges (England, Glasgow and Ireland) for the Intercollegiate Specialty Fellowship Examinations. The Faculty advocates on behalf of Members and Fellows wherever you are based and has cordial relationships with a number of key governmental stakeholders worldwide.
Joining the College is simple Joining RCSEd | RCSEd and in joining RCSEd, you will have access to membership benefits that are unrivaled across the surgical royal colleges Dental Fellow and Member | RCSEd. The Dental Faculty also recognises senior members of the dental profession through the awards of Fellowship and Membership without Examination.
FDS have also established a network of Dental Ambassadors throughout the UK and across the globe, encompassing support for the whole dental team.
Since 1505, The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has been instrumental in facilitating excellence in patient care by providing quality-assured assessments and facilitating high standards of education for members of the surgical and dental professions.
To contact the Faculty of Dental Surgery, please email dental@rcsed.ac.uk.
