Sally Hanks

Sally Hanks is Professor of Primary Care Dentistry and Associate Dean for Education and Student Experience at Peninsula Dental School, University of Plymouth, within the Faculty of Health. She is a leading figure in dental education, with a strong focus on leadership, capability development, and patient-centered care.

Her research interests span Primary Care Dentistry, Dental Education, Leadership in Dentistry, Emotional Intelligence, and Behavioral Management of Anxious Patients. She emphasizes capability over competency, integrating personal and professional attributes into clinical training. Her work is grounded in qualitative methodologies, including ethnography and video reflexive methods.

Recent publications highlight her focus on dental education innovation, workforce development, and digital tools in patient engagement. Themes include leadership frameworks, educational supervision challenges, and capability-based curricula that prepare dentists for real-world practice.

• Reviewer for Medical Education, British Dental Journal, European Journal of Dental Education, BMC Oral Health, BMJ Quality & Safety
• Book proposal reviewer for Oxford University Press and Wiley
• Grant reviewer for NIHR
• Leadership Fellow, St George's House, Windsor Castle
• Founder and inaugural Chair, UK Council for the Dental Teachers of Professionalism

She has supervised multiple PhD and MSc students on topics such as dental admissions, patient decision-making, and environmental impacts in dentistry. She leads 'train the trainer' programs including Failing to Fail and Flipping the COIN for feedback, and is co-investigator on the project AI in Dental Services Provision. She co-leads the Oral Health Services, Workforce Development and Clinical Epidemiology Research Group, contributing to policy-relevant research in primary dental care.