I graduated with a dental degree from UCC in 2006. Following this I spent two years in Scotland completing General Professional Training. My time was divided between a year in a general dental practice in Edinburgh, six months in the oral surgery/oral medicine department in Glasgow Dental School and Hospital and then six months in the Community Dental Service in Stirling and Falkirk. I returned to Galway in Ireland in 2008 and spent the next three years working as a dental surgeon in Abbeytrinity Dental Practice in Tuam. I took up a position as a Clinical Fellow in Restorative Dentistry in August 2011 and I completed my PhD on the Epidemiology, Risk Assessment and Treatment of Root Caries in Older Irish Adults in 2017. In October 2017 I took up my current position as Senior Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry. I completed a HRB Clinician Scientist Postdoctoral Fellowship looking at the oral health of adults with Cystic Fibrosis. I worked in Trinity College Dublin as Associate Professor/Consultant in Restorative Dentistry until 2024 and returned to UCC in 2025. I am currently a Professor/Consultant in Restorative Dentistry and my primary research focus is the integration of oral health and healthcare provision into the wider medical model.

Following ten years post-graduate experience, patient oriented research has emerged as the area which interests me. In particular, as a result of my work in UK and Irish nursing homes, gerodontology has become a personal interest. Most populations are experiencing an aging trend and, in addition, surveys indicate that substantially more people are retaining their natural dentition into old age. Unfortunately research has also shown that the oral health of the elderly population is poor and characterised by high disease prevalence. Poor oral health impacts directly on the diet and quality of life of our elderly and a key challenge for policy makers is to plan cost-effective and acceptable oral healthcare programmes for the expanding population of dentate elderly adults. My research focus will assist future policy makers by developing methods to highlight at-risk individuals and groups within the elderly population, and to target resources accordingly.