Miss Ulpee Darbar

Ulpee Darbar is a consultant in restorative dentistry and is the director of dental education for the Eastman Dental Hospital. She is leading the dental education team and also plays an active role in the safe and quality assured provision of clinical service in the restorative division, in particular periodontology. She played a key role as one of the leaders in the stepwise change in the restorative division for the hospital move to the new site in Huntley Street and is currently leading a number of clinical educational initiatives driving learning for general dental practitioners at different levels and is also a coach and mentor for junior staff and others.

Ulpee graduated from the University of Wales College of Medicine in 1986 and after a brief period in general dental practice started her hospital career in 1987. She successfully completed her training in Restorative Dentistry in 1996 and took up her consultant position in 1997 including the role of clinical lead for the Department of Periodontology and successfully implemented a change in the department improving patient care and experience as well optimising opportunities for training and trainee experience. Shortly after being appointe,d she also lead the academic training programme and was part of the core team that worked towards gaining European Accreditation for the Specialist Training Programme in Periodontology. Since her appointment, she has held several leadership positions at the Eastman which have included clinical audit lead, lead for referrals and clinical lead for dental implants, during which time she had made extensive changes to service delivery to improve patient care. She was the divisional clinical director for the Eastman for a period of seven years until 2014 when she stepped down and took on her current role as director of dental education in 2015. She also held the position of programme coordinator for specialists in restorative dentistry for a period of four years and was deputy director for clinical education for UCLH during 2014-5 for one year and was the training programme director for dental core trainees until 2018.

Ulpee has maintained an active clinical practice despite her management roles and focuses on the management of patients with complex and integrated treatment needs involving the failing dentition and rehabilitation. Her key interests clinically are in the management of patients with aggressive forms of periodontal disease, those with complex and integrated treatment needs including the replacement and reconstruction of soft and hard tissues, dental implants and the diseases associated with these as well as those with recession defects and soft tissue loss.

Her research interests lie in the use of bone and alternative bone replacement materials for the replacement of soft and hard tissue, disease pathogenesis and treatment outcomes including tooth replacement with dental implants particularly in patients with aggressive periodontal disease and oral mucosal disorders. She maintains an active role in clinical research, has published widely and is a peer reviewer for many journals. She has initiated the patient pathways for patients being recruited into clinical research. Her private practice is based in Harley Street.

Since her consultant appointment, she has been extensively involved in education and training at postgraduate level for dentists, specialists and dental care professionals focussing on periodontal diseases, soft and hard tissue management and tooth replacement with dental implants. In recognition of her contribution to education, she was awarded the UCLHT Chairmans medal for Excellence in Medical Education in 2011 and was the joint recipient of UCLPs award for Director of Medical Education in 2016.

She is widely recognised for her specialist interests and lectures and teaches widely in topics of soft tissue management, augmentation in the field of implant dentistry and periodontology and management of failures and treatment planning.

She also holds a number of external positions for the Royal Colleges and Specialist Societies and has previously been the Chair of the Advisory Board in Implant Dentistry for the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. She is also a Fellow of the International Team of Implantologists and holds a position as Clinical Executive Trustee on the National Examining Board for Dental Nurses.