The British Society of Special Care Dentistry awards a range of prizes annually to members of the society.
Categories are open to undergraduates, dental care professionals as well as experienced dentists.
Clinical Prize
BSSCD CLINICAL PRIZE Value of award: £300
Entry criteria: this competition is open to BSSCD members and seeks entries from non-consultant grade (or equivalent) clinicians. Clinical cases should demonstrate treatment provided for an adult patient with needs for Special Care Dentistry and should satisfy one or more of the following criteria:
- Involve dental treatment provision for a patient with a significant disability or medical history
- Involve a practical solution to a clinical problem
- Involve a multidisciplinary input to treatment planning and provision of care
- Resulted in improved clinical practice or service for other patients
It is expected that presenters will have personally performed some of the treatment, not just undertaken a diagnostic work up, for the patient they present.
Applicants should submit an abstract limited to 250 words and structured according to the guidance below via email to Gill Howie at
CLOSING DATE FOR RECEIPT OF ABSTRACTS: 31 January
The best 3 entrants will be invited to give a 15 minute oral presentation at the BSSCD Spring Conference.
Guidance and regulations for prize submissions
Updated 25.08.2023 FT
Clinical Audit Prize
BSSCD CLINICAL AUDIT PRIZE Value of award: £300
Entry criteria:this competition is open to BSSCD members and seeks entries from non-consultant grade (or equivalent) clinicians. Projects submitted under this category must demonstrate:
- The key aspects of the audit or service evaluation process
- What changes / improvements have been made to clinical practice or service delivery
Applicants should submit an abstract limited to 250 words and structured according to the guidance below via email to Gill Howie at
CLOSING DATE FOR RECEIPT OF ABSTRACTS: 31 January.
The best 3 entrants will be invited to give a 15 minute oral presentation at the BSSCD Spring Conference.
Guidance and regulations for prize submissions
Updated 25.08.2023 FT
Poster Prize
BSSCD (formerly BSDH) POSTER PRIZE
Value of award: £200
Entry criteria: this competition is open to BSSCD members and seeks entries from non-consultant grade (or equivalent) clinicians. The abstract should describe an aspect of the practice of special care dentistry.
Applicants should submit an abstract limited to 250 words and structured according to the guidance below via email to Gill Howie at
CLOSING DATE FOR RECEIPT OF ABSTRACTS: 31 January.
The best entrants will be invited to present posters at the BSSCD Spring Conference.
[Poster preparation: Posters will be displayed on a standard display board and should be A0 portrait (841 mm width by 1189 mm height)].
Guidance and regulations for prize submissions
Updated 25.08.2023 FT
Dental Care Professional Poster Prize
BSSCD Dental Care Professional Poster Prize
Value of award: £200
Entry criteria: this competition is open to Dental Care Professional BSSCD members from anywhere in the world. The poster should satisfy one or more of the following criteria:
- Involve subject related to provision of dental care for people with severe disability or medical history and demonstrate good team working
- An audit, service improvement or research of relevance to special care dentistry
- Resulted in improved clinical practice or service for special care patients
Applicants should submit an abstract limited to 250 words and structured according to the guidance below via email to Gill Howie at
CLOSING DATE FOR RECEIPT OF ABSTRACT: 31 January.
Posters will be displayed at the BSSCD Spring Conference.
Guidance and regulations for prize submissions
Updated 25.08.2023 FT
Undergraduate Essay Prize
BSSCD Undergraduate Essay Prize
Value of award: £300
Entry criteria: this competition is open to undergraduate dentists, therapists and hygienist. The essay should satisfy one or more of the following criteria:
- Involve subject related to provision of dental care for people with severe disability or medical history and demonstrate good team working
- An audit, service improvement or research of relevance to special care dentistry
- Resulted in improved clinical practice or service for special care patients
They should be original, clearly written. The winning essay will be considered for publication in the Journal for Disability and Oral Health.
Applicants should submit a 2500 word essay in English and structured according to the guidance below via email to Gill Howie at
CLOSING DATE FOR RECEIPT OF ESSAYS IS 31 JANUARY.
Instructions for an essay
Essays should also contain a short abstract no longer than 250 words which is able to stand alone and follows the general instructions and any relevant specific instructions above. The abstracts word count will not contribute to the essay’s word limit.
All submitted essay will be considered for publication in the Journal for Disability and Oral Health (JODH) and as such must meet the criteria set by JDOH. This information can be accessed via the following link https://www.bsdh.org/index.php/instructions-for-authors/16-journal/120-content-and-style
Updated 25.08.2023 FT
Travel Awards
BSSCD TRAVEL AWARDS
Value of award: £750
Entry criteria: The British Society of Special Care Dentistry has established these awards to support BSSCD members (excluding consultants and equivalent academic grades) who wish to present a poster or oral communication at scientific meetings of the International Association for Disability & Oral Health (IADH). £750 will be available on alternate years to coincide with the IADH conference.
Applicants should submit an abstract limited to 250 words and structured according to the guidance below via email to Gill Howie at
CLOSING DATE FOR RECEIPT OF ABSTRACTS: 31 January
The winning entry(s) will receive their certificate and cheque as part of the conference proceedings at the BSSCD Spring Conference or it can be sent in the post if the person is unable to attend. The winning entry(s) will present at the BSSCD Spring Conference. If a winning abstract is not accepted for the proposed conference, or the applicant is subsequently unable to attend the named meeting, BSSCD must be informed and the award may have to be returned to the Society.
Updated 25.08.2023 FT