Several dental professionals have been awarded orders in the King’s Birthday Honours this year – find out who is being honoured and why.
The King’s Birthday Honours list is released each year on the King’s official birthday on 14 June. Among those awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) this year were several members of the dental profession.
Jason Wong, chief dental officer (CDO) for England, said: ‘Congratulations to colleagues on the King’s Birthday Honours list. Delighted to see so many from the dental and oral health family.’
Sara Hurley, CBE
Former chief dental officer for England
Sara Hurley held the position of CDO for England between 2015 and 2023. She has been awarded a CBE for services to dentistry.
As CDO, Sara Hurley made updates to the UDA system including enhanced UDAs for higher needs patients, issued instructions to suspend and resume primary care dentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic, and advocated for greater use of skill mix in dental practice.
Before the civil service, she worked in the Royal Army Dental Corps and acted as chief dental officer for the army.
Peter Brennan, OBE
Consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon
Peter Brennan is both a consultant surgeon and an honorary professor of surgery at the Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust. He was awarded an OBE for services to surgery and patient safety.
He described the news as ‘extraordinary’, saying: ‘When I read the letter, I was dumbfounded and overwhelmed. I’m literally blown away by the news – it’s the most extraordinary thing that has ever happened in my career.’
Peter Brennan has collaborated with airline pilots, National Air Traffic Services, and the Red Arrows to apply their safety insights to healthcare. His research has helped reduce medical errors through a focus on teamwork, flattening hierarchies and mitigating the impact of human error.
He said: ‘We all make errors – it’s part of being human. But by understanding and addressing the causes, we can make the NHS safer for everyone.’
Roslyn McMullan, OBE
Chair, Probing Stress in Dentistry NI
A retired consultant orthodontist, Roslyn McMullan is chair of Probing Stress in Dentistry NI, working to raise awareness of mental wellbeing in the dental workforce. Her OBE was awarded for services to mental health and wellbeing in the dentistry profession in Northern Ireland.
Roslyn (Roz) is a past president of the British Dental Association (BDA), past secretary to the Audit Committee of the British Orthodontic Society and chaired the Hospital Training Committee of NIMDTA for nine years.
Peter Cranfield, MBE
Associate postgraduate dean, NHS England
Peter Cranfield is a dentist and training programme director and associate postgraduate dean for NHS England. He has been awarded an MBE for services to dental education.
Peter is regional advisor for Health Education East of England and is heavily involved in organising and teaching in dental foundation training.
Linda Greenwall, MBE
Dentist and founder, Dental Wellness Trust
Linda Greenwall is a dentist specialising in restorative dentistry and prosthodontics. In 2011, she founded the Dental Wellness Trust, a charity promoting dental wellness in children from less fortunate in the UK and worldwide. She was awarded an MBE for services to dentistry and to charity.
The Dental Wellness Trust put out a message congratulating Linda. It read: ‘We are immensely proud to announce that our founder, Dr Linda Greenwall, has been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by King Charles III in his Birthday Honours List 2025. This has been given in recognition of her longstanding, charitable work in community dentistry.
‘We wholeheartedly congratulate Dr Linda Greenwall MBE on this tremendous accolade and praise her unswerving passion and commitment to improving the oral health of children in underserved communities. She leads by example, motivating many to join her quest.’
Linda is also chair of the British Dental Bleaching Society (BDBS), which lobbies for changes in controversial bleaching legislation and educates dentists in tooth whitening.
Fiona Sandom, MBE
Former chair, British Association of Dental Therapists
Dr Sandom has been awarded an MBE for her outstanding services to dental therapy and the NHS in Wales.
In a release from the British Association of Dental Therapists (BADT), the association calls her contributions to the profession ‘truly remarkable’. She has held multiple roles within the BADT, including serving as both president and chair, and has been ‘vital’ in advancing the role and recognition of dental therapists across the UK.
‘Her dedication to education, policy development, and clinical excellence has left a lasting impact on our profession,’ the BADT release reads.
Fiona currently serves as the DPSU lead and north Wales regional lead for Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW). She completed her PhD at Bangor University in 2023, where she helped to introduce the dental hygiene program.
She also committed to the prescription-only medicine exemptions project spanned over 11 years – much of it in her own time – driven by her dedication to securing greater clinical autonomy for dental therapists and hygienists. This action resulted in in a pivotal change in legislation allowing dental therapists and hygienists to finally be fully autonomous clinicians.
Kirstie Moons, postgraduate dental dean at HEIW, said: ‘We are delighted that Fiona has been given this well deserved award, her work has and will continue to impact the dental profession in Wales positively for many years to come.’
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