Jason Wong has been appointed as chief dental officer (CDO) for England by NHS England and the department of health and social care.
This comes as Sara Hurley stepped down in June 2023 following eight years in the job. Since then, Wong has served as interim CDO while NHS England and the department of health and social care recruited for the role.
Prior to this, Wong had been deputy CDO for England since June 2020.
Previously, he has had a variety of positions, including chairing local dental networks across the Midlands and the East of England. He was also secretary of the Lincolnshire Local Dental committee for 16 years.
In addition, Wong was awarded an MBE for his services to dentistry and oral health in the new year honours list 2020.
‘Very proud’
As CDO, Wong will act as the the national professional lead for oral health strategy and dental care in England. According to NHS England, as CDO, he will ‘provide system-wide professional and clinical leadership by setting the strategic vision for England’s oral health and a system-wide approach to further improve NHS dental and oral health services.’
His role will also involve working in partnership with both local and regional teams across the UK to deliver better outcomes for patients.
Alongside his CDO duties, Wong will be keeping a day in clinical practice.
On his CDO appointment, Wong said: ‘I’m very proud to be appointed to the role of chief dental officer for England.
‘It’s a challenging time for NHS dentistry and I know there is more to do to recover and improve services for patients.
‘I look forward to working with colleagues across the system to support them to recover and improve, and to lead the transformation of NHS dental services.’
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