Dr Cassandra Lewis, MMEd, BSc Hons, BDS Hons, PGDip, PGCAP, FHEA, MFDS, RCSEd, FDTFEd

Profile

I graduated my BDS from QMUL, following a BSc in Biological Sciences with Virology at Warwick University in 2008. My dental foundation and dental core training in London rotated through restorative, oral medicine, dental emergency and oral surgery clinics, as well as the community dental services (CDS). I remained in the CDS providing care for children and adults under sedation and general anaesthesia, while completing training in CBT for the Management of Dental Fear (2016) and the PGDip in Conscious Sedation for Dentistry from King’s College London (2017).

In 2017 I joined the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, QMUL, and was promoted to Clinical Senior Lecturer in 2023 following distinctions in both the PGCAP (QMUL, 2019) and master’s in medical education (University of Dundee, 2023). I currently hold lead roles for Child Oral Health (BDS3) and Dental Electives (BDS4), and provide undergraduate training in paediatric dentistry, including clinical supervision, curriculum planning, module design and assessment. I provide external examiner expertise for the BSc in Oral Health at Birmingham University and RCSEd Diploma in Paediatric Dentistry for Dental Therapists.

I have presented nationally and internationally and am honoured to have been awarded several academic prizes, including QMUL education excellence awards in 2020 and 2024, and nomination for the Ronald Harden award in 2023 for my master’s research in online dental education. As part of a team creating online resources to enhance and explore AI Literacy within the curriculum, we have been awarded £30,000 for President and Principal's Education Excellence Prize across 2023 and 2024.

 Centre: Dental Public Health and Primary Care

Teaching

• Clinical Senior Lecturer: teaching of undergraduate and postgraduate dental students in paediatric dentistry, including clinical supervision, curriculum planning, module design and assessment (internal examiner).
• Fellow with the Higher Education Academy.
• Lead for Child Oral Health for BDS 3. 
• Lead for Dental Electives and Erasmus for BDS 4.
• Academic Advisor 
• Joint Clinical Lead for 'Barts Community Smiles' : a student-led oral health promotion group (awarded funding through the Centre for Public Engagement large Grant in 2018).
• Training provision with the London Deanery (DFT training and CPD). 

Research

Research Interests:

My areas of interest include paediatric dentistry, dental anxiety management, conscious sedation, dental education, online education and GenAI in higher education.

Publications

1. Bassi, L., Lewis, C. (2024). Dental therapy: Evolving to meet modern oral health needs. BDJ Team. 11:426–428. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41407-024-2783-z
2. Langridge, M., Meehan, J., Roberts, J., Lewis, C., Ondhia, A. (2023). Supporting anxious children through dental care. Dental Health. 62(6):42-46.
3. Lewis, C and Bassi, L (2022). Minimal intervention dentistry for the child patient: The current landscape. Dental Health. 61. 30-36.
4. Toro-Troconis, M., Reedy, K., Voce, J., Bates, E., Mills, L., Lewis, C., Hurst, K., Williams, S., Perouli, C. and Vasant, S. (2022). Learning Design in Higher Education: Building Communities of Practice. In P. Isaias, T. Issa, & P. Kommers (Eds.), Measurement Methodologies to Assess the Effectiveness of Global Online Learning (pp. 259-288). IGI Global. http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/gmul-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6837903.
5. Lewis, C. (2020). Child Behaviour Management: Pharmacological Strategies (inhalation sedation). Dental Health, 59(6), 28-31.
6. Lewis, C. (2020). A Structured Approach to Online Learning Design in Dental Education. MedEdPublish, 9(1), 246. https://doi.org/10.15694/mep.2020.000246.1
7. Lewis, C. (2020). Child Behaviour Management: Non-pharmacological Strategies. Dental Health, 59(5), 34-36.
8. Lewis, C. (2020). Treatment Planning in Paediatric Dentistry - a Structured Approach. Dental Health, 59(3), 28-29.

Outstanding Publications 

Co-Author for case study:

1. Funnell, P, Lewis, C., Shado, R. (2024). Empowering AI Literacy in Higher Education: Co-Creating an Online Learning Resource with Medical and Dental Students. Oxford Brookes University ANTF Gen AI Innovation Project
2. Funnell, P, Lewis, C. (2024). AI Garage – AI for Student Learning & Research - A Co-created Student Resource. Advance HE.

Performance

In 2016 and 2017 I completed courses in dental anxiety management, including CBT for the Management of Dental Fear and PGDip in Conscious Sedation for Dentistry from KCL. I have worked in dental education since 2017 and have postgraduate training in higher education from QMUL (PGCAP, 2019) and a master’s in medical education from University of Dundee (2023). My current research involves exploration of student attitudes and beliefs around GenAI acceptance and use in their studies.

I have presented at BARDES (2023) and CODE (2022 and 2023) on subjects such as online dental education, online learning for preclinical courses, and belonging. Within paediatric dentistry I have presented for Oral B (2024) and at the BSDHT oral health conference (2021 and 2022) on minimal intervention dentistry, dental anxiety management and pain management for the child patient. I also provide training in paediatric dentistry for Health Education England.