Dr. Edwina Kidd is Emerita Professor of Cariology at King's College, London. She received her BDS at the Royal Dental Hospital in Lon- don in 1966, followed in 1967 and 1970 by her LDS RCS and FDS RCS degrees at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. In 1975 she did her PhD in Cariology at the University of London with Leon Silverstone, and since then her research interests have been in cariology. She held the Colgate Visiting Professorship in New Zealand in 1997. She received her DSc (Med) at the University of London in 2002. Dr. Kidd became a Professor of Cariology in 1995. Although she was a teacher of Conservative Dentistry, her general focus was on cariology and translation of new research findings into daily clinical practice.
She has published extensively in research journals and lectured worldwide. In addition to peer-review for many scientific journals, she has served as long-time member of the Editorial Board of our own journal, Operative Dentistry, and of the International Endodontic Journal, Dental Update, and the American Journal of Dentistry. Among the numerous honors bestowed for her work have been the Medical Writers Group of the Society of Authors Prize (1997), The Cartwright Prize of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (2000), the IADR Distinguished Scientist Award (2005), and the John Tomes Prize of the Royal College of Surgeons (2005). Edwina Kidd authored the handbook Essentials of Dental Caries (Oxford University Press) and co-authored the internationally acclaimed and widely-used handbook Dental Caries (Blackwell-Munksgaard) with Ole Fejerskov. As an acknowledged leader in the field, her principal aim in teaching and writing has been to base the practice of Conservative Dentistry on the science of Cariology.
Edwina Kidd qualified at the Royal Dental Hospital, London, in 1966 – almost 50 yrs ago!! After a lengthy and fulfilling career – teaching Conservative Dentistry in her beloved London, she retired in 2004 and is currently Emerita Professor at the joint London dental schools. Following are some special highlights to paint her unique persona, for those who never before had the pleasure to meet her.
As one of our English colleagues once mentioned when I made a remark about her writings: Edwina has a way with words. She is a gifted and prolific scientific writer. She received great accolades for her writings and essays. Her articles make an enjoyable reading, as she writes in an easy to understand manner and very clearly makes her point, connecting the science with its impact on daily practice. Even more importantly, she exemplified one of the pertinent qualities of an engaged learner and an inspiring teacher: that is: asking the right questions.
As no one else, Edwina was committed to create an active teaching environment and the assessment that comes with it. Not only focussing on student assessment, she created also an academic audit system to enable students to assess their teachers, with the idea that this may improve the quality of the teaching and thus student learning. No wonder, as one of the first among us, she taught integrated treatment planning teaching operative dentistry within the context of cariology so that students would apply both non-invasive and operative management appropriately.
Her first refereed publication appeared in 1974 and since then her publication flow has never ceased. Fast-forward to today, 10 yrs into retirement, Edwina is still making an impact in the field of Cariology, editing and contributing to 4 major handbooks that guide generations of students – future colleagues. Wonderful resources for the many academics among us!
As only the third women-scientist to receive this prestigious Prize (out of 40), it is especially notable that the long list of invited lectures in her CV starts with one entitled: “Women in Dentistry”. No one at that time, would have imagined that today - about 40 years later - we celebrate one of the great teacher-scientists who straddled the fields of Operative Dentistry and Cariology and had such an impact on our daily practice.
Soon after the “dental suffragettes and emancipation” starter, she focused on dental caries. Her interest and research led to the important question: “What constitutes dental caries?” followed by “How ‘clean' must a cavity be before restoration?” and in the end: “Does it matter?” … and then – based on evidence – she dared to conclude “Well, it doesn't!” But what does matter today is that we celebrate Dr. Kidd's outstanding contributions to the field of operative dentistry, laid down in more than 80 publications, more than 40 review papers, and 3 books. Her writings have become classics in Operative Dentistry. Through her research, teaching and writing, Dr. Kidd is best known for her continuing quest to find the evidence in support of our daily clinical practice.
Edwina's pursuit of excellence in Operative Dentistry has expanded the world of operative dentistry by embracing cariology. She has been, and still is, a beacon (sometimes a much appreciated feisty beacon) in the confusing world of caries removal and its management.
It is a tremendous pleasure and honor to present this award to Dr. Kidd, especially in front of this particular audience – members of the Academy of Operative Dentistry. We are elated to have Dr. Kidd with us and thank her for the numerous and truly remarkable contributions that keep our discipline grounded in science. The Academy is most pleased to recognize the exceptional work and lifetime achievements of Edwina Kidd. Her contributions have greatly advanced the field of Operative Dentistry and truly enhanced modern, quality dental practice. The Academy of Operative Dentistry is honored to announce Dr. Kidd as the most worthy recipient of the 2014 George M. Hollenback Memorial Prize.