Rate My Professor Richard Holmes

Richard Holmes is a Senior Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Dental Public Health in the School of Dental Sciences within the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Newcastle University. A qualified dentist, he earned his BMedSci (Hons) in 2001 and BDS (Hons) in 2002 from Newcastle University, followed by MFDS RCS in 2005, MPH from the University of Manchester in 2009, PhD from Newcastle University in 2012, FDS (DPH) RCPSG in 2016, SFHEA in 2021, and FDTFEd in 2024. His career trajectory includes roles as General Dental Practitioner and Community Dental Officer (2002-2005), NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow and Specialist Registrar in Dental Public Health (2006-2009), NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow (2009-2012), NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer and Specialty Registrar (2012-2014), before assuming his current position in November 2014. He also holds an Honorary Public Health Consultant Clinical Academic contract with the Office for Health Improvement & Disparities.

Holmes' research focuses on oral epidemiology, health services research, qualitative methods, and dental education. He has led Newcastle University's contributions to major national surveys, including the Adult Oral Health Survey (2021 and 2023) as a clinical examiner and co-author, and the Children's Dental Health Survey (2013). His PhD investigated decision-making and priority setting tools in NHS dentistry. Notable publications include "Social accountability in undergraduate dental education: a narrative review" (Community Dental Health, 2025), "Specialists' management of permanent dentition traumatic dental injuries in 7–16-year-olds: A qualitative study" (Dental Traumatology, 2024), "Barriers to Accessing Primary Dental Care in Adults with Alcohol Dependence: A Qualitative Study" (JDR Clinical & Translational Research, 2024), "Resource Allocation in a National Dental Service Using Program Budgeting Marginal Analysis" (JDR Clinical and Translational Research, 2023), and "Primary Care Dentists’ management of permanent dentition traumatic dental injuries in 7-16-year-olds: a sequential mixed-methods study" (Dental Traumatology, 2021). He received the NIHR Doctoral Research Fellowship (2009-2012) and the Australian Bicentennial Fellowship in 2018. Through consultancy and survey involvement, his work informs national oral health policy and epidemiology.