THE BACD, AN ACADEMY FOR ALL Forging Relationships and Building bridges – the year ahead for the BACD

In November, Zaki Kanaan was elected as the new President of the BACD. Here, Zaki speaks about his aims for his upcoming year in office.

I joined the BACD back in 2004, and have been involved in one way or another ever since. I’ve always felt strongly about representing the profession and the BACD is an organisation that I firmly believe in. My first role was to set up the Regional Study Clubs after which I moved to sponsorship and trade. For the last couple of years I have sat on the Board as Scientific Director, where it’s been my great privilege to work alongside some really dedicated, passionate individuals helping to grow the BACD into the organisation it is today. Now, in my new role as President, I hope to continue the good work done by my predecessors by strengthening our ties with other societies and organisations so we can offer our members even more opportunities to grow and develop within their careers.

The BACD has come a long way in a relatively short space of time. We started out in 2003 with only 80 members, and now 10 years on we have almost 800 members and continue to grow year on year. When I look back and compare the Academy in the early days to where it is now, it is like chalk and cheese. I remember we used to pay a PR company for exposure in the national press – now the media come to us! This goes to show the strong reputation we have built over the years, and this is something I hope to continue and grow over my coming year as President.

An Academy for all

I truly believe that the BACD is not just an academy for ‘the cosmetic dentist’. There is a cosmetic element to everything we all do everyday and in almost every clinical situation, be it a single tooth or several. It is therefore an academy for ALL dentists.

Forging relationships

Over the years we have created some strong links with various organisations and this year we are also looking to strengthen our relationships in other areas as well. Implant dentistry is my particular area of interest and like me, many BACD members are also members of the Association of Dental Implantology. So with my good friend Philip Friel, my counterpart at the ADI, I feel some synergy with our organisations. There are a number of interesting opportunities in the pipeline that I hope to bring to fruition in the coming year. After all, dental implants and cosmetic dentistry go hand in hand.

Another area in which I hope to expand the BACD’s role is in the field of teeth whitening. As an organisation we already get approached quite a lot about teeth whitening, but this is not something we can tackle on our own. Illegal whitening is a major problem at the moment, and we really need a national strategy to deal with this challenge. The BACD is an active member of a new initiative, The Tooth Whitening Information Group which also consists of all the major bodies involved in teeth whitening such as the BDHF, BDTA, GDC, BDA, BDBS and all the major dental whitening companies. I hope in the coming year we will be able to disseminate more information to our members on how to tackle local businesses offering teeth whitening illegally.

Orthodontics for the GDP

As well as forging relationships, we hope to build bridges. Many colleagues will be aware of the ongoing debate in the profession regarding orthodontics and the role of general practitioners in the provision of orthodontic treatment. When the British Orthodontic Society (BOS) placed their controversial advert in the Guardian earlier in the year, it caused quite a stir among certain groups of the profession. 

As an organisation we have always tackled adversity head on in the past and invited those concerned to our conferences to show them what we are really about. In response to these ongoing concerns we’ve worked hard to build bridges with our orthodontic colleagues, and we were delighted that the BOS accepted our invitation to speak at our recent Annual Conference.

During my year as President, I hope to nurture this relationship, and together with our orthodontic colleagues, aim to develop ways to help educate general dentists, as well as orthodontists, on how we can work together in a more synergistic way. As with all dentistry, if done within one’s competency, orthodontically facilitated smile design will aid the clinician in keeping treatment as minimal as possible and this can only be for the benefit of our patients.

A fantastic proposition

BACD membership today represents fantastic value for the dental professional, with discounted rates for students, technicians and DCPs. As well as offering a well structured ‘career pathway’ through our tiered membership system and Accreditation process, we offer a number of excellent benefits that I think really make the BACD an attractive proposition, no matter what stage you are at in your career.

The BACD has always been an excellent resource for education, and in the early part of 2013 we struck a deal with Dental XP – a leading educational website with over 1,600 videos and tutorials available to watch. As part of the BACD membership package, all our members are now able to access Dental XP for free – a saving of over $400 per year on subscription to the site.

Another achievement we are particularly proud of is our work to establish Regional Meetings at 11 different locations across the UK. We used to charge £35 per member for these excellent evenings, but thanks to our main sponsor Coltene, as well as sponsorship from Orascoptic and local laboratories and practices, we are now able to offer these meetings for just £1 each. This is absolutely fantastic value, and even better value when you consider the quality of education on offer at these events. Not only that, but they are also a great way to network with colleagues in your region and pick up useful hints and tips to take back and apply to your work the very next day.

All of these things mean that there has never been a better time to be a member of the BACD. With our fantastic member benefits, Regional Meetings, Social Events, Day Courses, the BACD Roadshow and of course our Annual Conference in November, the BACD offers a fantastic opportunity to help dental professionals of all levels of experience learn and grow within their careers. With the prospect of building closer ties with our sister organisations over the coming year, I hope that my time as President will help to further cement the BACD’s position as the leading light in comprehensive aesthetic dentistry today.

For further information about the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, call 0207 612 4166, fax 0207 182 7123, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit www.bacd.com

About the author:

Zaki Kanaan is a highly experienced and respected implant and cosmetic dentist, and is well-known in the dental community. He is a key opinion leader and mentor for Nobel Biocare Implants and he lectures widely on all aspects of cosmetic dentistry with a special interest in dental implants. Zaki gained a Master's Degree from the world-renowned Guy's Hospital in 2001. He also has Diplomas in Sedation and Hypnosis and is a Licenciate of the Faculty of Homeopathy.

Zaki was appointed UK Dental Advisor to Philips Oral Healthcare as a result of his expertise in all aspects of tooth whitening. After being voted second in Private Dentistry's poll of the top 20 Elite Dentists in the UK in 2011, he was voted "UK Dentist of the Year" at the Dental Awards in 2012.  He is also Immediate Past President of The London Dental Fellowship. He sits on the editorial board for the International Journal of Cosmetic Dentistry and was an editorial consultant for Dental Implant Summaries.  Zaki regularly appears on Channel 4's Embarrassing Bodies programme carrying out complex implant treatments.

Zaki lectures on all aspects of cosmetic and implant dentistry. He is Director of K2 Dental Seminars and has trained hundreds of dentists, hygienists and therapists in the art and science of power and home whitening techniques. He runs K2 Dental, an award-winning private practice in the heart of Fulham Palace with his wife Dominique.