Shiv PabaryClinician

Biography

Shiv Pabary MBE is a general dental practitioner who was elected Chair of the British Dental Association's General Dental Practice Committee (GDPC) on 7 February 2025. He qualified in 1985 from Newcastle Dental School and has been a provider and owner of several NHS practices in the North-East, serving as the GDPC representative for Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland since 1996. He also holds a Bachelor of Law degree (LLB Hons, 1995) and is employed as an Associate Clinical Lecturer, Clinical Dental Adviser, and Postgraduate Dental Tutor within Health Education England. He was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Honours List in 2009 for services to NHS dentistry locally. As GDPC Chair, he leads the body that is the only official representative recognised by government in negotiations and consultations on behalf of all general dental practitioners in the UK. He is known for arguing that the current NHS dental contract is broken and that fundamental reform — including scrapping the Unit of Dental Activity (UDA) payment system — is urgently needed.

References

1. 1.Shiv Pabary elected new General Dental Practice Committee Chair – BDA — Confirms election as GDPC Chair on 7 February 2025
2. 2.General Dental Practice Committee – BDA — Provides professional background: qualified Newcastle 1985, NHS practice owner North-East, GDPC representative since 1996, LLB 1995, Health Education England roles, MBE 2009
3. 3.Services to dentistry honoured – British Dental Journal — Confirms MBE awarded in 2009 Queen's New Year Honours for services to the NHS in Newcastle/Gateshead
4. 4.NHS dental contract changes released – Dentistry.co.uk — Press quote by Pabary as GDPC Chair on NHS contract reform, December 2025
5. 5.New NHS dental contract: taking the case to Parliament – Dentistry.co.uk

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking
• Dentistry access

Stated areas of expertise

• NHS dental contract reform
• General dental practice
• Dental workforce and recruitment
• NHS dentistry funding and pay
• Dental regulation and education
• Access to NHS dental care

Notable achievements

• Elected Chair of the BDA General Dental Practice Committee on 7 February 2025, the official government-recognised negotiating body for all UK general dental practitioners. Source ↗
• Awarded an MBE in the Queen's Honours List in 2009 for services to NHS dentistry locally in Newcastle/Gateshead. Source ↗
• Chaired a parliamentary session on NHS dentistry at Westminster in June 2026, bringing together industry experts and MPs from multiple parties. Source ↗
• Participated in GDPC webinar briefing dentists on proposed NHS UDA contract changes in July 2025, as part of government consultation engagement. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “We do hope changes can make things easier for practices and patients in the interim, but this cannot be the end of the road. We need a response proportionate to the challenges we face, to give NHS dentistry a sustainable future.”

  Chair of the British Dental Association's general dental practice committee · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Dentists in England to be paid more for emergency NHS appointments ↗

• “the direct result of choices made by successive governments”

  chair of the British Dental Association's General Dental Practice Committee · Dentistry access · 27 Aug 2026 · How easy is it to find an NHS dentist? It depends on where you live ↗

• “the elephant in the room regarding reform, which he describes as the 'F-word' (funding), has yet to be addressed”

  BDA chair of the GDPC · Dentistry access · 12 Aug 2026 · Funding: the ‘F word’ missing from government contract reform plans ↗

Source references

1. Dentists in England to be paid more for emergency NHS appointmentstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. How easy is it to find an NHS dentist? It depends on where you livebbc.co.uk · 27 Aug 2026
3. Funding: the ‘F word’ missing from government contract reform plansdentistry.co.uk · 12 Aug 2026

Contact & links

• Staff pagehttps://www.bda.org/about-us/our-structure/representative-committees/general-dental-practice/general-dental-practice-committee/
• Press office emailmediaprandparliamentary@bda.orgpublished here ↗
• Press office phone020 7563 4145published here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.