The Christian Dental Fellowship is governed by...
Karen Paterson
President
Raman Bedi
Vice President
Lynne Smith
CONNECT WORKER
Lynne is married to Keith and and they have a daughter. She has worked as a dentist in NHS, private, community and hospital dentistry. For twelve years she was a missionary working in West Africa, where she set up a dental service in areas where there was previously no dental provision. During that time, CDF kindly supported the dental work. She is now back in the UK and works for CDF as HMW/connect worker. In her spare time she is training for the ministry. She enjoys theology, caffeine and walking her dogs in the beautiful Scottish countryside.
Alistair Bartlett
students and newly qualified graduates coordinator
Alistair qualified from Newcastle in 1991 and runs two practices with his wife, Teresa, in the North East of England. A dyed in the wool GDP he has always enjoyed developing staff from raw beginners to high achievers. Passionate about both Jesus and teeth he is keen to help new members of the profession thrive and find joy in both their dentistry and their faith.
Jacqui Knowles
Dental Care Professionals rep
Malcolm Prideaux
Regional Group rep
Malcolm is married to Bridget, also a dentist, and together ran a small NHS practice in one of the poorest areas of Plymouth for over 30 years until 2016. Malcolm has been involved in Foundation Training from 1993 and teaching at the Peninsula Dental School since 2010. He is currently Associate Dean, supporting International Dentists in the SW, and Foundation Therapy for NHSE. Malcolm is on the PCC of the main city centre church in Plymouth and together with Bridget set up a dental surgery in Malawi with the charity Medic Malawi in 2010. They have been involved with CDF and have coordinated the annual regional events in the SW for many years. Malcolm enjoys supporting the local professional basketball team, Plymouth City Patriots with the family and runs regularly to stay fit.
Margaret Reynolds
Pastoral Care Coordinator
Margaret has been a member of CDF since she was a dental student at the London Hospital where she qualified in 1975. She has worked in GDP in South Woodford, Swansea, Hereford, and Llanelli and also in CDS in Bristol and Hereford. She is married to Trevor, a Baptist Minister, so has had plenty of experience in pastoral visiting in hospitals and homes.
Margaret enjoys cycling, swimming and studying foreign languages. She and her husband are
both ‘retired’ and live in Swansea.
Susie Matthew
Prayer Diary Coordinator & Safeguarding Officer
Susie is a Past President of CDF and began editing the Prayer Calendar in early 2021. She graduated BDS from the University of Dundee in 1982 and worked in general practice for a number of years before specialist training in Orthodontics. In 2003 she gained a MSc in Orthodontics and MOrth from the University of Manchester. After this she opened a small specialist orthodontic practice in 2003 serving the southern part of Cumbria. She also worked for the local NHS hospital trust as an Associate Specialist in Orthodontics in the Maxillofacial Department, retiring in 2019.
She joined CDF as a student in Dundee and is glad to continue serving CDF as Prayer Diary Coordinator. Susie is married to John and they have three grown up sons and two grandchildren. Susie worships at her local parish church in Ulverston where she is the Parish Safeguarding Officer. In her any spare time she has undertaken various horticulture courses, loves gardening and has too many books still waiting to be read!
Frances Vose
mission partner secretary
Frances is a GDP with her own small private practice in north Bradford, where she now lives. She has worked in several areas of deprivation in the north of England, and also overseas – for four years as a VSO dentist in Kisumu, Kenya, and then for almost ten years in Blantyre, Malawi, where she lived with her husband and three young boys. She was previously on CDF Council for several years from 2011 as Conference Secretary.
She hopes to use her experience, and bring empathy to her role as Mission Partner secretary. She worships at her local parish church and has various roles including teaching, worship leading and safeguarding. In between, she squeezes in some running, cycling, swimming, and (of course!) tennis.
Victoria Rushton
Conference Secretary
Victoria Rushton has been a member of CDF since being a student at Newcastle Dental School. She joined council, initially to develop the pastoral care scheme and then served as president. After a short break, she’s back as conference secretary. Enthused by her dental elective in South India, she has travelled widely and worked both in the Caribbean and Nepal and taken part in fundraising treks for Dentaid and Cancer Research. As a GDP she has been privileged to work in a variety of practices as an associate before settling in Norfolk and enjoying being part of a mixed private/NHS general practice in Norwich for almost 20 years.
She is a keen supporter of Bridge2aid, and has volunteered several times on their Tanzanian training programmes designed to train local health workers in safe emergency dental treatment. Victoria lives and worships in rural Norfolk and together with her new husband they enjoy providing hospitality and day retreats for local Christian and community groups. She is also the East Anglia regional rep. for CDF.
Peter Thornley
Treasurer
Peter Thornley has been a member of CDF since his days as a student at Manchester University. With his wife, Alison, who is also a dentist, they worked for the Church Mission Society in Kisumu, Kenya for a few years in the 1980s. Subsequently, Peter and Alison were partners in a General Dental Practice in Sutton Coldfield. Peter was also a Training Programme Director for the Coventry Dental Foundation scheme, but has now retired from that post, and just retired from clinical dentistry. He is currently the Local Dental Network chair for Birmingham and Solihull.
Karen Silcox
financial Administrator
Karen has spent the last 10 years supporting charities and other community groups with their accounting and administration. She is treasurer of her local church in Exeter where she worships with her husband Colin and two children. Colin has been a member of CDF since his student days at Sheffield University. He now works full time as an associate in Dawlish, Devon. Karen took up the post of CDF administrator in 2019 and became the CDF Financial Administrator in 2024.
Naomi Wilson
Three-in-One Editor and CDF general administrator
Naomi has been a member of CDF since Sheffield dental school and found the weekly student/staff prayer meetings really helpful for keeping focused on Jesus and putting dental-student-related problems in perspective. CDF kindly supported her during her elective in Uganda and later as a mission partner to Central Asia with her husband, where they adopted their son. Now back in England for the foreseeable future, Naomi is part of a team involved in outreach to unreached people groups in a Northern city in the UK. She loves reading and writing, in particular writing fanfiction for cult TV shows, and is enjoying editing the Three-in-One, exploring the difference that Jesus makes to us and our work in dentistry. She took over the role of CDF administrator in 2024.
