Assistant Clinical Director
Unscheduled Dental Care, Access & Vulnerable Groups
Salary: PDS Band C Dentist (Pro rata where applicable and dependent upon previous experience)
Location: Chalmers Emergency Dental Centre
Employment type: Permanent, 1 WTE (37.5 hours per week)

NHS Lothian Dental Service is seeking an experienced and motivated dentist to provide clinical leadership, operational oversight and high-quality patient-centred dental care across our Unscheduled Dental Care, Access and Prison Dental Services.

This is an exciting opportunity for an individual with significant clinical experience who is passionate about improving access to dental care for vulnerable populations and supporting service development across a diverse portfolio.

The Role
The successful candidate will provide care to a wide range of patients, including those with:

• Physical, sensory, intellectual or learning disabilities
• Mental health conditions
• Complex medical conditions
• Social vulnerability and exclusion
• Significant dental anxiety
• Paediatric dental care needs

You will provide treatment independently whilst supporting, mentoring and supervising less experienced clinicians, including Dental Core Trainees and Dental Officers, within urgent care, prison and outreach settings.

A high degree of competence in the diagnosis, assessment and immediate management of urgent and emergency dental conditions is essential. Applicants should demonstrate familiarity with current national guidance, including:

• SDCEP guidance for the Management of Acute Dental Problems
• Dental Trauma Guidance
• Relevant Scottish Government, NHS Scotland and NHS Lothian guidance relating to urgent dental care

You will work closely with colleagues across Unscheduled Dental Care, Special Care Dentistry and Paediatric Dentistry to ensure seamless and equitable access to services.

Leadership and Management Responsibilities
The post holder will:

• Provide clinical leadership and support to multidisciplinary teams
• Support the Clinical Director and Clinical Service Manager in service delivery and development
• Deputise for the Clinical Director when required
• Line manage members of the clinical team
• Conduct appraisals and support professional development
• Lead service improvement projects and quality initiatives
• Contribute to strategic planning for services across the portfolio
• Provide clinical governance leadership across the service, ensuring compliance with NHS Lothian and national standards
• Lead and participate in clinical audit, quality improvement and service evaluation activities
• Support the investigation of incidents, adverse events and complaints, ensuring lessons learned are embedded into practice
• Contribute to risk assessment, risk mitigation and patient safety initiatives across the service
• Ensure that appropriate clinical policies, protocols and governance processes are implemented and maintained

The post holder will have a key role in maintaining and developing high standards of clinical governance across the service. This will include supporting quality assurance, clinical effectiveness, patient safety, risk management, audit activity, incident review, complaints management and the implementation of local and national policies and guidance. The successful candidate will be expected to promote a culture of continuous quality improvement and reflective practice across all service areas.

Access & Vulnerable Groups
A key aspect of this role involves supporting dental services for underserved and vulnerable populations. This may include providing care within:

• HMP Edinburgh
• HMP Addiewell
• Homeless healthcare settings
• Drug and alcohol recovery services
• Other outreach locations across Lothian

Previous experience working with socially excluded populations is desirable.

Dental Anxiety Management
Improving access to dental anxiety management services has been identified as a key priority within NHS Lothian. Responsibility for this portfolio sits within this Assistant Clinical Director role.

Applicants with experience in:

• Dental anxiety management
• Conscious sedation
• Behaviour management
• Service redesign and development
• Realistic Dentistry principles

will be particularly welcomed.

Base and Travel Requirements
The principal bases for this post are:

• Chalmers Emergency Dental Centre
• Sighthill Health Centre

The successful candidate will also be required to work at other NHS Lothian locations, including satellite clinics, HMP Edinburgh, HMP Addiewell and other sites across the Board area as service needs dictate.

External Working
The post holder will work closely with equivalent services across Scotland, including collaboration with NHS 24, the Scottish Emergency Dental Service and neighbouring Health Boards, to support service development and national consistency of care.

The majority of clinical activity will be delivered under General Dental Services regulations.

Essential Criteria
Applicants must:

• Hold a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) or equivalent dental qualification
• Be registered with the General Dental Council (GDC)
• Hold a current NHS List Number
• Have substantial experience in General Dental Practice and/or Public Dental Service settings
• Demonstrate experience in the management of urgent and emergency dental conditions
• Evidence of leadership, service improvement and multidisciplinary working
• Demonstrate excellent communication, leadership and patient management skills
• Be adaptable, self-motivated and capable of working within a busy service environment

Desirable Criteria

• Experience within Special Care Dentistry
• Experience within Paediatric Dentistry
• Experience in conscious sedation
• Experience providing dental care within custodial settings
• Experience supervising trainees or undergraduate/postgraduate dental students
• Experience working with vulnerable and socially excluded groups
• Evidence of service development and quality improvement work
• Postgraduate qualifications relevant to the role, such as: Special Care Dentistry, Oral Surgery, Conscious Sedation, Medical Education, Leadership and Management

Additional Information
This post is subject to a satisfactory Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme check.

Informal Enquiries
For an informal discussion please contact: Dr Christopher Carter BDS MFDS RCPSG MBBS, Clinical Director, Public Dental Service. Email: Christopher.Carter@nhs.scot. Tel: 0131 537 8805

We cannot accept CV's as a form of application and only a completed online application form will be accepted. Personal information will not be sent with the application for short listing. The application form will be identified by the candidate number only to ensure that all applicants are treated equally.

PLEASE NOTE: We cannot accept late applications so please ensure your application is submitted early.

Interview Date: 16th December 2026

NHS Lothian is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. We will fully support disabled candidates, and candidates with long-term conditions or who are neurodivergent by making reasonable adjustments to our recruitment policy and practices.