Looking back--Dean's address.

General dental practitioners have been part of The Royal College of Surgeons of England since the LDS RCS examinations in 1860. For 87 years, it was the general dentists who were part of the College. Later, the political necessity of introducing hospital dentists to the National Health Service changed the ethos for dentists with the formation of the Faculty of Dental Surgery in 1947. Secondary care dentists became entrenched within The College at the expense of the majority of those who practiced dentistry to the same level as secondary care dentists. It took a further 45 years before general practitioners could return to their home. The Faculty of General Dental Practitioners (UK), within a short space of time, has become the largest Faculty for dentists within any of the Royal Colleges. This article includes excerpts from the Dean's address at the Ceremony of Presentation of Diplomats held on 3rd March 2001 (see page 75). It unveils the accidents of history which formulated a Royal College, the perseverance of committed dentists which took them into the fold of The College. It describes the beginning of the Faculty of Dental Surgery and unravels the story of the Advisory Board in General Dental Practice which later became the Faculty of General Dental Practitioners (UK). The next article 'Looking Forwards' will describe a way forward for this Faculty, which has grown up all too quickly in a rapidly changing world.