The deadline for the annual research competition for foundation dentists in the UK has been extended to 31 July 2024.
Dental Protection, in partnership with The MPS Foundation, launched the competition in September 2023 to recognise, celebrate, and reward excellence demonstrated in patient safety and risk reduction.
The competition aims to raise the profile of research among foundation dentists to generate interest and build research capability and capacity for the future in the dental sector.
Dr Graham Stokes, Chair of the MPS Foundation said: “We have extended the deadline to ease any potential stress that foundation dentists have at this time as they complete their milestone 3 reviews and come to the end of their training.
“We would also like to give foundation dentists the opportunity to maximise any feedback they might receive from their supervisors on projects or cases they may want to submit as competition entries. If you got a good mark on your perio project, you should consider submitting it for the competition.”
Over £8,000 worth of prizes could be won in the competition. There will be regional winners and an overall national winner. Each regional winner for each category will receive £200 and a certificate. Commended entrants will also receive a certificate. The regional winners will compete for the national prize of £1,000 and a certificate for the overall winner.
The competition will focus on periodontal care, and foundation dentists can submit their competition entries under one of three categories:
- A quality improvement project that can be applied to periodontal care, could potentially be identified through audits, and can be undertaken during the foundation year.
- A presentation of a case managed during the foundation year with periodontal care as the main component, preceded by a mini systematic review that could be identified through audits.
- Small-scale practice-based research on periodontal care that could be identified through audits and undertaken during the foundation year.
All winners and commended entrants will be invited by Dental Protection to publish their research for MPS members and the wider dentistry community.
The competition is open to foundation dentists who are undertaking their training in the UK during 2023 to 2024. Foundation dentists can enter either as an individual or as part of a team of up to three, and can view the criteria for each competition category and register their interest via the competition portal:
The MPS Foundation Research Competitions Portal (smapply.org)