Jason Wong has been appointed as the Chief Dental Officer (CDO) by NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care. This appointment follows the departure of Sara Hurley in June 2023, who had served in the role for eight years. Wong, who had been serving as the interim CDO during the recruitment process, now takes the reins to lead England's dental care into a new era. 

Prior to assuming the position of interim CDO, Wong served as Deputy CDO for England since June 2020. His extensive professional background includes chairing local dental networks across the Midlands and the East of England, along with a lengthy 16-year tenure as secretary of the Lincolnshire Local Dental Committee. Wong’s contributions to dentistry were further recognised with an MBE in the New Year Honours List of 2023 for his outstanding services to dentistry and oral health. 

In his new capacity as CDO, Wong steps into the role as the national professional leader for oral health strategy and dental care in England. He will be responsible for setting the strategic vision for the nation’s oral health and spearheading a system-wide approach to enhance NHS dental and oral health services. This will include implementing the NHS dentistry reform and recovery plan, which was published to great fanfare in February this year. Dentistry is expected to feature heavily in the main party’s manifestos ahead of an expected Autumn general election – meaning the role of CDO is more pivotal and high profile than before. 

Jason 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.”  

The chief dental officer represents the entire dental profession across England. It is a joint appointment between the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, with its base in NHS England. 

Jason will be speaking at the British Dental Conference & Dentistry Show co-located with Dental Technology Showcase at the NEC Birmingham on 17-18 May in his first major appearance since being appointed full-time CDO. 

The session will explore what the priorities are for dentistry and oral health. Jason will speak about policy issues affecting the whole dental team, provide an update on the dentistry recovery plan and dental contract reform as well as highlighting the importance of patient safety and proper regulatory oversight.