Rate My Professor Nicola Innes

Professor Nicola Innes is Dean and Head of the School of Dentistry at Cardiff University, holding the title of Professor of Paediatric Dentistry and serving as an Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry. Her academic journey began with qualification as a Registered General Nurse, followed by a BSc in Life Sciences from Napier University in 1991, an intercalated BMSc in Cellular and Molecular Pathology from the University of Dundee in 1995, and a BDS (Hons) from the same institution in 1998. She completed her PhD at the University of Dundee in 2011, focusing on a primary care-based randomised control trial of the Hall Technique, a minimally invasive method for managing carious primary molars. Prior to academia, she spent seven years in general dental practice in Scotland. Joining the University of Dundee as a Clinical Lecturer in 2005, she entered the General Dental Council’s Specialist List for Paediatric Dentistry in 2011. Appointed Head of Cardiff Dental School in 2020, she has also held interim roles as Head of the School of Healthcare Sciences in 2023/24 and Pro Vice-Chancellor for Education and Student Experience in 2024/25. As Oral and Dental Specialty Lead for Wales, she champions clinical research in dentistry.

Professor Innes's research specializations encompass evidence-based paediatric dentistry, minimally invasive caries management including the Hall Technique and silver diamine fluoride, behaviour change interventions for oral health, economic evaluations of caries interventions, and clinical trials in cariology, restorative, preventive, and paediatric dentistry. She has attracted over £8 million in grant funding, authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications, and led major UK-wide NIHR-funded trials such as FiCTION on caries management strategies, BRIGHT on school-based toothbrushing interventions (published 2024), and CALM on reducing dental anxiety. Key publications include 'Evidence-based pediatric dentistry: the first twenty-five years of transformation and the next' (Journal of Evidence-Based Dental Practice, 2026), the Cochrane review on topical silver diamine fluoride (2024), 'A century of change towards prevention and minimal intervention in cariology' (Journal of Dental Research, 2019), and foundational Hall Technique papers (2007, 2011, 2017). Her influence extends to co-authoring Cochrane reviews, contributing to SDCEP guidance, IAPD consensus recommendations, and international collaborations across Germany, the US, Australia, Brazil, Latvia, Lithuania, and New Zealand. Awards include the Health and Care Research Wales Senior Research Leader Award, Impact Award for the BRIGHT Trial (2024), and the 2025 IADR Giddon Award for Distinguished Research in the Behavioral Sciences.