Profile
I began my career gaining diverse clinical experience in both hospital and general dental practice before returning to Queen Mary to commence an academic career. I was appointed as Programme Lead for the Diploma in Dental Hygiene and Therapy (1997-2021) and developed the BSc in Oral Health that commenced in 2019.
My academic qualifications include an MA in Primary Health and Community Care: Towards Reflective Practice. I have extensive experience in undergraduate education, teaching dental hygienists, dental therapists, and BDS students. I am a Senior Fellow of Advance HE (SFHEA) and also a Fellow of the Faculty of Dental Trainers at the Royal College of Surgeons (FDTFEd RCS Edin). I was presented with an MBE for services to Oral Health from the late Queen in the New Years Honours list in 2017.
I currently hold the role of Academic Lead for Dental Quality Assurance within the Institute of Dentistry, leading on quality matters to improve the student experience. This is informed by my extensive experience as a quality assurance reviewer, both in the UK for the GDC, and internationally.
Beyond academia, I have made a substantial impact on the national profile of dental hygienists and dental therapists, influencing both higher education and clinical practice. I have been a strong advocate for expanding the scope of practice, by playing a pivotal role in the introduction of direct access in 2013 and contributed to the 2024 working group on Dental Exemptions. My leadership extends to various positions within the British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy, and I am an inaugural board member of the Faculty of Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy at the College of General Dentistry.
I am committed regarding student-led community initiatives and have supported Barts Community Smiles since its inception in 2018. This student-led programme, developed through Barts and The London Student Association (BLSA), raises awareness of oral health and provides basic oral health promotion in community and school settings.
Centre: Dental Public Health and Primary Care
Teaching
I have extensive experience of teaching all years of BDS and BSc students that includes the development and delivery of lectures/seminars, lab based clinical sessions as well as the supervision of student led clinics with patients. I am involved in leading and assessing students across all years of the BDS and BSc programmes; I am a personal tutor and an academic advisor.
I teach across a number of subjects that include prevention and periodontology. I lead on the Teamwork theme that forms part of the Professionalism, Teamwork and Social Responsibility (PTSR) for both for the BDS and BSc curricula. This enables dental education to be delivered in a truly integrated fashion, fostering shared teaching, learning and assessment with all future members of the dental team, so that a unique understanding of roles, skills and teamworking through skill-mix, is understood.
External examiner:
University of Portsmouth BSc in Dental Hygiene and Therapy, and
University of Kent MSc Advanced and Specialist Healthcare (Applied Dental Professional Practice
Publications
Reed D, McClune L, Murray S, Robinson F, Steeples M (2025) A Perspective From The British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy Members Regarding The Need For Clinical Support By A Dental Nurse. https://doi.org/10.1111/idh.12910
Murray S, Niggli J (2024) A Cross- Sectional Study of the Current and Future Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy Student Workforce in the UK and Ireland During 2022-2025: Considering facilitators and barriers to the growth of this workforce. https://doi.org/10.1111/idh.12849 DOI: 10.1111/idh.12849
Expert hearing at Quintessence Publishing: Recommend intuitively usable oral hygiene aids. Recommend intuitive oral hygiene tools | Quintessenz Verlags-GmbH. April 2024
Expert Hearings at Quintessence Publishing: "Personalized Biofilm Removal Solutions" Strong Recommendation for Electric Toothbrushes | Quintessenz Verlags-GmbH March 2024
Expert hearing at Quintessence Publishing: Scientific consensus provides practice teams with orientation in patient counselling – first topic: toothbrushes New format: Expert hearing at Quintessence Publishing | Quintessenz Verlags-GmbH Feb 2024
Murray S, Steeples (2024) BSDHT Strategy Survey: You spoke, we responded. Dental Health, Vol 63, No 3, Pp10-13
Sidhu S, Murray S, Chatzopoulou D, Holmes S Scoping an interdisciplinary model of student dental therapists in Maxillofacial trauma. British Dental Journal 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-024-7561-y
Murray S, Steeples M Providing oral health support through teledentistry during the coronavirus pandemic. Dental Health 2022; 61 (2): 30-35
Murray S. Christmas at Christmas Dental Service: Challenging, rewarding and still necessary. BDJ in Pract 2021; 34:24-25 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41404-021-0969-z
Pacey E, Murray S. Uniting Students in Ethical Professionalism through Social Responsibility. Dental Health 2019; 58 (4):18
Murray S & Chana B (2012) Preventive Dentistry in S Noble Ed Clinical Textbook of Dental Hygiene & Therapy. Wiley Blackwell. Chapter 11 ISBN: 978-1-118-36261-7