Staff Profile

Introduction

I am Head of the academic and clinical sedation service in Newcastle. This is a major provider of education, research and patient care in the field of conscious sedation for dental care.

Background

I have been an academic consultant in sedation dentistry for 17 years. During that time I have developed world class research and teaching programmes in sedation and anxiety management.

Roles and Responsibilities

Head of Sedation Department, Newcastle Dental School & Hospital.
Degree Programme Director, Postgraduate Diploma in Sedation in Dentistry.
Consultant Clinical Tutor, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust/Northern Deanery.
Chair Sedation Advisory Group, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust.                                                               Fellowship Assessor, Faculty of Dental Surgery.                                                                                        Faculty Tutor (FDS), Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Qualifications

PhD, BDS, BSc, FDSRCS, FFDRCS, FSB, CIBiol

Previous Positions

Lecturer/Senior Registrar in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Guys & St. Thomas' Hospitals NHS Trust, London.

Honours and Awards

Journal of Disability & Oral Health Prize, 2006.
Hunterian Professorship, Royal College of Surgeons of England, 1995-6.
Shirley Glasstone Huges Prize, British Dental Association, 1998.
British Society for Oral Medicine Prize, 1995.

Research Interests

My research interests are focused in the field of anxiety management and conscious sedation in dentistry. I lead a research team which is investigating new methods of sedation, which will provide an alternative to dental general anaesthesia.

Current Work

My current research programmes include evaluating pre-operative dental anxiety, cognitive effects of sedation agents, investigation of new paediatric sedation techniques, complications and morbidity of sedation, seeking alternative sedation techniques to avoid dental general anaesthesia, and clinical trials of new anxiolytic agents.

Postgraduate Supervision

I supervise doctoral and masters students undertaking projects in paedatric sedation, intravenous sedation and pre-operative anxiety. One of my students was the first ever dental recipient of a National NHS R&D Training Fellowship.

Funding

Funding of over £500,000 has been forthcoming from NHS R&D and the Pharmaceutical Industry over the past five years.

Undergraduate Teaching

I lead the undergraduate programme in dental sedation in Newcastle School of Dental Sciences.

Postgraduate Teaching

I am Programme Director for the Postgraduate Diploma in Conscious Sedation in Dentistry. The Diploma programme has been externally endorsed as "A gold standard in the UK". I also organise regional sedation/life support courses for postgraduate practitioners.

• Articles

  • Nolan A, Girdler NM, Seymour RA, Thomason JM. The prevalence of dysplasia and malignant lip lesions in transplant patients. Journal of Oral Pathology & Medicine 2012, 41(2), 113-118.
  • Hierons RJ, Dorman ML, Wilson K, Averley P, Girdler N. Investigation of inhalational conscious sedation as a tool for reducing anxiety in adults undergoing exodontia. British Dental Journal 2012, 213, E9.
  • Wilson KE, Thorpe RJ, McCabe JF, Girdler NM. Complications associated with intravenous midazolam sedation in anxious dental patients. Primary Dental Care 2011, 18(4), 161-166.
  • Kime S, Wilson KE, Girdler NM. Evaluation of objective and subjective methods for assessing dental anxiety. Journal of Disability & Oral Health 2010, 11(69-76).
  • Croft-Barnes NP, Girdler NM, Brough E, Wilson KE, Beddis AJ. Anxiety and Quality of Life in Phobic Dental Patients. Journal of Dental Research 2010, 89(3), 302-306.
  • Prabu NT, Nunn JH, Evans DJ, Girdler NM. Access to dental care: parents' and caregivers' views on dental treatemnt services for people with disabilities. Special Care in Dentistry 2010, 30(2), 35-45.
  • Wilson KE, Dorman ML, Moore PA, Girdler NM. Pain control and anxiety management for periodontal therapies. Periodontology 2000 2008, 46(1), 42-55.
  • Prabu NT, Nunn JH, Evans DJ, Girdler NM. Development of a screening tool to assess the suitability of people with a disability for oral care under sedation or general anaesthesia. Special Care in Dentistry 2008, 28(4), 145-158.
  • Wilson KE, Welbury RR, Girdler NM. Comparison of transmucosal midazolam with inhalation sedation for dental extractions in children. a randomized, cross-over, clinical trial. Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica 2007, 51(8), 1062-1067.
  • Wilson KE, Girdler NM, Welbury RR. A comparison of oral midazolam and nitrous oxide sedation for dental extractions in children. Anaesthesia 2006, 61(12), 1138-1144.
  • Allen EM, Girdler NM. Attitudes to conscious sedation in patients attending an emergency dental clinic. Primary Dental Care 2005, 12(1), 27-32.
  • Averley PA, Lane I, Sykes J, Girdler NM, Steen N, Bond S. An RCT pilot study to test the effects of intravenous midazolam as a conscious sedation technique for anxious children requiring dental treatment - An alternative to general anaesthesia. British Dental Journal 2004, 197(9), 553-558.
  • Averley PA, Girdler NM, Bond S, Steen N, Steele J. A randomised controlled trial of paediatric conscious sedation for dental treatment using intravenous midazolam combined with inhaled nitrous oxide or nitrous oxide/sevoflurane. Anaesthesia 2004, 59(9), 844-852.
  • Wilson KE, Girdler NM, Welbury RR. Randomized, controlled, cross-over clinical trial comparing intravenous midazolam sedation with nitrous oxide sedation in children undergoing dental extractions. British Journal of Anaesthesia 2003, 91(6), 850-856.
  • Wilson KE, Welbury RR, Girdler NM. A study of the effectiveness of oral midazolam sedation for orthodontic extraction of permanent teeth in children: A prospective, randomised, controlled, crossover trial. British Dental Journal 2002, 192(8), 457-462.
  • Wilson KE, Welbury RR, Girdler NM. A randomised, controlled, crossover trial of oral midazolam and nitrous oxide for paediatric dental sedation. Anaesthesia 2002, 57(9), 860-867.
  • Girdler NM, Lyne JP, Wallace R, Neave N, Scholey A, Wesnes KA, Herman C. A randomised, controlled trial of cognitive and psychomotor recovery from midazolam sedation following reversal with oral flumazenil. Anaesthesia 2002, 57(9), 868-876.
  • Girdler NM, Fairbrother KJ, Lyne JP, Neave N, Scholey A, Hargaden N, Wesnes KA, Engler J, Rotherham NA. A randomised crossover trial of post-operative cognitive and psychomotor recovery from benzodiazepine sedation: Effects of reversal with flumazenil over a prolonged recovery period. British Dental Journal 2002, 192(6), 335-339.
  • Wilson K, Girdler NM, Welbury RR. Oral midazolam sedation for orthodontic extractions in children. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 2001, 11, 388-389.
  • Speirs AF, Taylor KH, Joanes DH, Girdler NM. A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, comparative study of topical skin analgesics and the anxiety anc discomfort associated with venous cannulation. British Dental Journal 2001, 190(8), 444-449.
  • Neave N, Reid C, Scholey AB, Thompson JM, Moss M, Ayre G, Wesnes K, Girdler NM. Dose-dependent effects of flumazenil on cognition, mood, and cardio-respiratory physiology in healthy volunteers. British Dental Journal 2000, 189(12), 668-674.
  • Leitch JA, Girdler NM. A survey of the teaching of conscious sedation in dental schools of the United Kingdom and Ireland. British Dental Journal 2000, 188(4), 211-216.
  • Girdler NM, Rynn D, Lyne JP, Wilson KE. A prospective randomised controlled study of patient-controlled propofol sedation in phobic dental patients. Anaesthesia 2000, 55(4), 327-333.
  • Girdler NM, Smith DG. Prevalence of emergency events in British dental practice and emergency management skills of British dentists. Resuscitation 1999, 41(2), 159-167.
  • Thomason JM, Girdler NM, Kendall-Taylor P, Wastell H, Weddel A, Seymour RA. An investigation into the need for supplementary steroids in organ transplant patients undergoing gingival surgery: A double-blind, split-mouth, cross-over study. Journal of Clinical Periodontology 1999, 26(9), 577-582.
  • Girdler NM, Sterling PA. Occupational exposure of dental personnel to nitrous oxide during paediatric inhalational sedation. International Journal of Paediatric Dentistry 1998, 8, 93-102.

• Authored Book

  • Girdler NM, Hill CM, Wilson KE. Clinical Sedation in Dentistry. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009.

• Reviews

  • Shearer J, Wilson KE, Girdler NM. A survey of the opinions of consultant anaesthetists in Scotland of sedation carried out by dentists. British Dental Journal 2004, 196(2), 93-98.
  • Thompson JM, Neave N, Moss MC, Scholey AB, Wesnes K, Girdler NM. Cognitive properties of sedation agents: Comparison of the effects of nitrous oxide and midazolam on memory and mood. British Dental Journal 1999, 187(10), 557-562.