Council members

The Dental Council is appointed by the Minister of Health.

The Council has ten members including seven practitioner members (one dental specialist/dentist, three dentists, two oral health therapists and one clinical dental technician/dental technician) and three lay members. Members are appointed for a term up to three years and may be reappointed for further terms, but may not serve for more than nine consecutive years. Each year the Council elects two of its members as Chair and Deputy Chair.

Dental Council members

Chair, Dental specialist

John Bridgman

John is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon based in Tauranga. He is a visiting consultant to Tauranga Public Hospital and also works in private practice.

Appointed in June 2021
Current term ends November 2027

Deputy Chair, lay member

Rosemary Fitzpatrick

Rosemary is a lay member on the Council and a Community Magistrate, her Development Consultancy is a provider of educational programmes for the Ministry of Education. Rosemary is based in the Auckland region.

Appointed in June 2021
Current term ends November 2027

Dentist

Chris Brooks

Chris is a dentist with general practice experience both in the UK and New Zealand over nearly 40 years. He has governance and training experience across general dentistry including his special areas of interest forensic odontology and disaster victim identification.

Appointed in August 2023
Current term ends March 2029

Lay member

Paula Baker

Paula is a lay member of Council with experience in governance roles in health, community and sports organisations. She is based in the Waikato region.

Appointed in November 2024
Current term ends March 2029

Dentist

Tihema Nicol

Tihema is a general dentist practising in both private and public practice. She has past governance experience with Te Ao Mārama Aotearoa Māori Dental Association and has contributed to work with the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons.

Appointed in August 2023
Current term ends September 2028

Clinical dental technician

Joanne Choi

Joanne is a clinical dental technician and dental technician based in the Otago region. Joanne has teaching, research, supervision and examination experience as an Associate Professor at the University of Otago.

Appointed in August 2023
Current term ends September 2028

Oral health therapist

Alaina Kalyan

Alaina is an oral health therapist in the Wellington region with previous Dental Council roles as a Professional Advisor and Registration Assessor.

Appointed in March 2026
Current term ends March 2029

Oral health therapist

Sarah Majeed-Gale

Sarah is an oral health therapist with a special interest in public health. She is currently working for Health NZ and is based in the Wellington region.

Appointed in March 2026
Current term ends March 2029

Lay member

Earle Wilkes

Earle is a lay member on the Council. He has regulatory, governance, corporate and public-sector leadership experience in New Zealand, Europe and the UK.

Appointed in September 2026
Current term ends September 2028

Dentist

Nicola Harrison

Nicola is a general dentist with experience in the UK and New Zealand, both in public and private sector, including the NZ Defence Force and Health NZ.

Appointed in September 2026
Current term ends September 2028

Operational team

We have an operational team of 22 full time equivalent staff members who support the Council to deliver on its statutory duties and strategic goals.

The operational team is led by Chief Executive Marie MacKay.

The Registrar is Courtney McCulloch.