Miss Sarah Murray

I am Reader in Dental Therapy Education in the School of Nursing, Midwifery, Allied and Public Health, bringing decades of clinical and academic experience to dental hygiene and therapy education. My career spans hospital dentistry, general dental practice, and higher education, giving me a uniquely grounded perspective on the profession I continue to shape.

With a career spanning 30 years, I am an Advance HE Senior Fellow and a Fellow of the Faculty of Dental Trainers (RCS Ed). My research has been around advancing the dental therapy profession, in expanding the scope of practice and professional practice.

In 2017, I was awarded an MBE for Services to Oral Health in the New Year's Honours List, in recognition of my sustained commitment to advancing the dental therapy profession over more than three decades of national advocacy, and curriculum innovation.

With more than three decades in dental hygiene and therapy education, I have led and developed GDC-approved programmes at three universities, designed curricula from the ground up, and worked to ensure that students graduate not only as competent clinicians but as confident, reflective, and ethically aware practitioners. For two of these programmes, I have successfully developed a primary dental care model for student clinical placements, which is the model to be used at CCCU.

Interprofessional education is a consistent thread across my teaching. I believe dental hygienists and dental therapists develop more effectively when they understand their role within the wider healthcare team, and when they learn alongside other health professions from the earliest stages of their training. This approach continues to inform my curriculum design at CCCU.

I am equally committed to embedding professional identity and social responsibility within the curriculum. Students are encouraged to understand the wider determinants of oral health, to reflect on their ethical obligations to patients and communities, and to see themselves as advocates for a profession that continues to grow in scope and influence.

My research aligns professional practice, workforce policy, and dental education, and is driven by a single goal to ensure that the dental hygiene and therapy profession is recognised to deliver the oral health care the UK population needs in the long term.

This has led my work to span across two interconnected strands. The first strand focuses on the dental hygiene and therapy future workforce, its current composition, geographic distribution, and future sustainability. My 2024 cross-sectional study mapped the UK and Irish DHT student population across all training programmes, identifying facilitators and barriers to workforce growth at a time of significant national pressure on NHS dental access.

The second strand addresses clinical practice and education innovation, including interprofessional models of student dental therapy in settings such as maxillofacial trauma, the use of teledentistry during the COVID-19 pandemic, and community oral health engagement. Across these strands, my research is designed to be useful to inform curriculum design, influencing national guidance, and contribute to the evidence base that supports my profession's continued development.

Selected publications

I have an active publication record spanning peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and professional contributions. My work is cited across dental education, workforce policy, and community oral health literature.

2025

A Perspective From the British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy Members Regarding the Need for Clinical Support by a Dental Nurse - Reed - International Journal of Dental Hygiene - Wiley Online Library - view here

Integrating Patient and Public Involvement in Dental Hygiene and Therapy: A Strategic Move Toward Patient-Centred Care DH MARCH 2025 x.indd - view here 

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 - Murray - International Journal of Dental Hygiene - Wiley Online Library - view here

Scoping an interdisciplinary model of student dental therapists in maxillofacial trauma | British Dental Journal - view here

2021

Crisis At Christmas Dental Service: Challenging, rewarding, and still necessary | BDJ In Practice - view here

2019

Pacey E, Murray S (2019) Uniting Students in Ethical Professionalism through Social Responsibility. Dental Health. 58 (4):18

2012

Murray, S. and Chana, B. (2012) 'Preventive Dentistry', in Noble, S. (ed.) Clinical Textbook of Dental Hygiene & Therapy. Wiley Blackwell, pp. 219-243

I have played a pivotal role in shaping national dental policy, most notably as a key contributor to the introduction of Direct Access for dental hygienists and dental therapists in 2013. This

landmark change enabled the public to access these key members of the dental workforce without a prior dentist referral, fundamentally transforming how oral health care is delivered across the UK.

My contributions to the 2024 Working Group on Dental Exemptions further demonstrate my continued influence at the policy level, ensuring the dental hygiene and dental therapy profession's voice is visible. I was invited to be one of a small number of writers for the national dental exemptions’ professional standards and guidance training.

Beyond my work at CCCU, I am actively engaged in shaping the dental therapy profession at both national and European levels. I co-developed and co-chair the Association of Dental Educators in Europe (ADEE) Community of Practice on the Professionalisation of Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists in Academia; this group was established to build an international network of educators working to advance the academic standing of the profession.

Nationally, I serve as Education Panel Member of the British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy (BSDHT), contributing to policy and standards in dental hygiene and therapy education across the UK, and as an Inaugural Board Member of the Faculty of Dental Hygiene and Dental Therapy at the College of General Dentistry (CGDent), where I play a role in setting the direction for professional education and recognition at the highest level. Together, these roles reflect my commitment to ensuring that the profession continues to move forward within clinical practice, academia and professional life.