Dr Philip Mitchell, President of the British Endodontic Society (BES), reflects on the success of this year’s Spring Scientific Meeting, and shares his excitement for the year ahead, as well as his aims and aspirations for the society going forward:
I enjoyed hosting this year’s Spring Scientific Meeting on the theme of “Apical periodontitis: The psyche & the soma” in a new venue for 2026, The Royal College of Physicians. We received excellent feedback, with 130 people in attendance and two outstanding speakers: Professor Elisabetta Cotti and Dr Neha Patel, each presenting thought-provoking and unique sessions, offering audiences insights into their research and areas of expertise. People loved the venue, and our understanding is that they would be happy for this to be a permanent change for the Spring Scientific Meeting.
Each year, the BES hosts a Regional Meeting – a clinically-focused event with sessions presented by international speakers and experts in their field. Philip describes what attendees can expect this year, and highlights some of the other initiatives the society has been working on for its membership.
I am looking forward to the Regional Meeting, this year held at a fantastic venue – Rhodes House – in the beautiful and academic area of Oxford old town, organised by Suzanne McLean. I am very much looking forward to hearing from our speakers: Dr Fabio Gorni, Dr John Rhodes, Dr Massimo Giovarruscio, and Dr Tiago Pimentel. I am also happy to be speaking at the Early Career Group Study Day in June. Part of my vision for the future of the BES is reaching out to and making the specialty more attractive to undergraduates, new graduates and young dentists. Dr Phil Tomson has also been working very hard to create a series of webinars, which I am excited to see come to fruition, and I believe will be very helpful to provide useful information for our members, especially for Foundation Dentists.
The BES is a specialism society, but not exclusive to endodontic specialists, with much of its membership made up of general dental practitioners and clinicians with an interest in endodontology. Philip highlights the ways in which November’s meeting will be beneficial to those with limited endodontic knowledge too.
Whilst there are no dramatic changes planned for my presidential year, I am pleased to consolidate the work that Phil Tomson has started, and host an exciting restorative-based Regional Meeting on the theme “The impossible is nothing: pushing the limits of endodontic treatment”. I hope that this will broaden the scope of our clinical meeting, making it more accessible to a broad spectrum of clinicians.
Philip explores what it means to him to be elected BES president, after many years of involvement with the society.
It is a huge honour and a privilege to be the BES president. I have been attending BES meetings for 30 years, and have seen the baton being passed from president to president. I have had great respect for those academics and clinicians who have presided over the society in the past, and to join their ranks is a great honour. The society is now bigger, stronger, and more influential than ever, so I appreciate that a huge amount of effort is required to steer the ship.
I would like to say a special thank you to the other members of the council for their support so far, and I will certainly be taking advantage of their support going forward! I had been a member of council 15 years ago, and had re-joined more recently, so I appreciate that running the society requires a lot of people to work very hard.
For more information about the BES, or to join, please visit the website www.britishendodonticsociety.org.uk or call 07762945847
Dr Philip Mitchell, British Endodontic Society President
