Finbarr Allen graduated from UCC with a BDS degree with honours in 1988. Having worked in primary dental care in the UK for 4 years, he moved to the University of Manchester and received a masters degree in Prosthodontics and Oral Rehabilitation in 1993. Between 1993 and 1995 he completed a series of non-consultant hospital positions at Leeds Dental Institute and Leeds General Infirmary. He was awarded a Fellowship in Dental Surgery from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 1995. From 1995-2001 he was a Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry at Newcastle University Dental School and Specialist Registrar in Restorative Dentistry in the NHS Northern Hospitals Trust. He was awarded a PhD from Newcastle University in 1999. He completed higher specialist clinical training in 2000, and received a specialty fellowship [FDS(Rest Dent)RCPS] and certificate of completion of specialist training in Restorative Dentistry. Since 2001, he has worked at Cork Dental School and Hospital and been Professor of Oral Rehabilitation and Prosthodontics/Consultant in Restorative Dentistry since 2008. He was Dean of the Cork Dental School and Hospital from 2006-2013. From 2016-2022, he was Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at the National University of Singapore, and founding Executive Director of the National University Centre for Oral Health Singapore. He has held visiting professorship positions at the University of Toronto, Canada (1996, 2000, 2003), Hong Kong University (1999,2001),University of Otago, New Zealand (2008) and National University of Singapore [2023-].

His research is focused on the oral health of older adults, specifically, the impact of restorative treatment on health related quality of life and the evaluation of novel clinical treatments on the oral health of older patients, oral epidemiology and health services research. He has published in excess of 170 peer reviewed papers, three textbooks and 12 book chapters.

He received Distinguished Scientist Awards from the International Association for Dental Research in 2011 [Geriatric Oral Health] and 2026 [Behavioural, Epidemiologic and Health Services Research]

Restorative Dentistry, Prosthodontics, Oral Rehabilitation, Geriatric Dentistry/Gerodontology