The Royal Society for Public Health is an independent charity formed in October 2008 with the merger of the Royal Society of Health and the Royal Institute of Public Health. Its more than 6,000 members include food safety specialists, public health doctors, health promotion specialists, pharmacists, environmental health officers, nutritionists, civil engineers, health and safety specialists and many others. Almost 100,000 public health professionals take the society’s qualifications each year in such subjects as food hygiene, health and safety, nutrition and health improvement. The society also runs conferences in food safety, hospital hygiene, water, infection control, occupational medicine and nutrition for the elderly.
Nigel Carter, OBE, BDS, LDS (RCS), is treasurer of the Royal Society for Public Health and chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation. Previously, he was a trustee for the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health. Combining the two oldest public health bodies in the United Kingdom, Carter believes, has given the Royal Society of Public Health a 375-year strong platform on which to build and to continue the vital work in improving health and supporting the public workforce in educating and informing the public.
He was awarded on OBE in Queen’s Birthday Honours — an award given to those who have made a difference to their community — recognizing his services to dental and oral health. To congratulate Carter on that honor, John Siebert, president of the British Dental Health Foundation, said, "Nigel is a great advocate for the dental health profession, and he has helped to shape and challenge the way we think about oral health in this country."
Carter has been chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation since 1997 and was previously chairman and trustee, giving him a 35-year link to the foundation. The foundation is dedicated to improving the oral health of the public by providing free and impartial dental advice, by running educational campaigns and by informing and influencing the public, dental profession and government on many issues, including mouth cancer awareness and fluoridation. In overseeing the foundation’s work including National Smile Month and Mouth Cancer Action Month, Carter works with health departments and representatives of major health, cancer, dental and medical organizations.
Carter trained as a dentist at Birmingham University, had a dental practice in Birmingham and ran a company that trained dental nurses and dental technicians. He has a strong interest in public health, particularly with regard to the current National Health Service reorganization and the social determinants of health.