Brian O’Riordan BDS(NUI) FDSRCS(Eng) FFDRCSI DDRRCR
With sadness we report the death of Brian O’Riordan, a specialist both in Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology and in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Brian was for many years a leading member of the British Society of Dental and Maxillofacial Radiology (BSDMFR), bringing his experience of oral and maxillofacial surgery to his teaching of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology at King’s College School of Medicine and Dentistry and around the world. His Irish roots and his wide interests in music, dance, history and the creative arts enriched his contribution to the society, to his lectures and to those lucky enough to be in his company.
Brian was born on 25th October 1935 in Charlesville, County Cork in the Republic of Ireland. His parents were Patrick and Bridget O’Riordan. He had a sister, Ide, and a brother, Declan. His father, Patrick, was the local dentist in the small town of Charlesville, which lay between Cork and Limerick.
Brian was first educated at the Christian Brothers School in Charlesville, but at the age of 14 he was sent to Blackrock College in Blackrock, Dublin which was a day and boarding Catholic secondary school for boys from aged 13 to 18. Brian enjoyed his education there as a boarder, being exposed to classical music and learning to play rugby, the school being the most successful rugby school in Ireland. Brian was a member of the junior cup team which won the Leinster Junior Cup at the famous Lansdowne Road rugby ground.
In 1953 Brian entered the Dental School of University College Cork where students were taught in a purpose-built facility adjacent to the North Infirmary Hospital; this provided Conservative care for poorer patients. It was at Cook Dental School that the first dental x-ray unit in the country was employed. Brian immersed himself in both his studies and the wider experience of university.
At this time he discovered in ballet the union of two personal joys, those of dance and classical music, and joined the Cork Ballet Company. He was a member of the company for 4 years, touring Ireland and performing at the Cork Opera House, achieving principal status by the end of his time with the company; he said it was the hardest work he had ever done. He became Auditor (Chairman) of both the Dental Students Society and the Choral Society. At this time he also toured Europe with friends, driving a small pre-war Morris M car, arriving back just in time for his final year of dental study.
Despite a very full undergraduate experience, he gained his BDS (National University of Ireland) in 1958.
Brian initially returned to his father’s dental practice where he worked as a locum. Patrick, Brian’s father, greatly valued the postgraduate courses which he attended, and encouraged Brian to study further for a postgraduate qualification. Brian thus left Ireland for London to train for the Fellowship in Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and undertook a residential House Surgeon post at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton where he discovered a passion for surgery – which subsequently changed the path of his career. He gained FDS in 1961.
Through various training posts over 10 years at the Royal Sussex Hospital, the Eastman Dental Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital in London, followed by a lecturer post at Birmingham Dental Hospital then later a Senior Registrar post at the London Hospital in Whitechapel, East London eventually Brian became a specialist and consultant in Oral Surgery. Brian was appointed consultant Oral Surgeon at the Central Middlesex Hospital, London in 1970. This was followed, two years later by an appointment as Consultant Oral Surgeon at the Mount Vernon Plastics and Jaw Surgery Centre in North London, and he remained a consultant at Mount Vernon until the end of his career.
At this time he met an influential character in his future career, that of Professor David Smith who was then a newly appointed Senior Lecturer in Dental Radiology at Kings College School of Medicine and Dentistry. David Smith had the foresight to see the role of Dental Radiology in the future practice of dentistry, and developed an MSc program in Dental Radiology which he launched in 1975. He recruited talented individuals, of whom Brian was one, to contribute to this program and to help him develop the specialty of dental radiology. This led Brian on an interesting lecturing career which took him all over the world, into communist Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary and to the Middle East. He made many friends among the dentists and their families which he met, fuelling his appreciation of different cultures and his love of foreign travel.
Brian continued to work as a practising Consultant Oral Surgeon and published on a wide range of subjects. He first reported the technique of coronectomy (also called intentional partial odontectomy) in 2004, reporting a 10 year retrospective study of his cases. This was the initiator of a now well-recognised surgical management technique for high-risk lower third molars.
Brian became widely involved in the profession, serving as Chairman of the North-West Thames Region Central Committee for Hospital Dental Services, on the Council of the British Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons (and Treasurer from 1986 -89), and President of BSDMFR (1981 – 82). He was Chairman of the Council of Middlesex & Hertfordshire branch of the BDA, and became President in 1994.
His interest in education and training led him to be dental tutor for the British Postgraduate Medical Federation for 23 years, and chairman of the Postgraduate Dental Committee. He helped set up and run the first London course for the new MGDS RCS Eng. He also chaired the British Society for the History of Radiology from 2008 - 11 and was on the council until 2023.
With Professor David Smith he was a member of the committee which established the Diploma in Dental Radiology of the Royal College of Radiologists in 1984. Brian was later awarded an honorary Diploma in Dental Radiology in 1984.
Brian remained deeply involved in the development of the specialty of dental radiology internationally, and was involved from the outset in the IADMFR and European collaborations. Until 2004 he helped organise various countries in holding a European Congress every two years, this then superseded by the establishment of EADMFR.
Brian was awarded honorary Life Membership of the BDA, the BSDMFR, the European Academy of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology and the Hungarian Society of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology. He was awarded Fellowship of the Faculty of Dentistry (FFD, ad eundem) of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in 1987.
A stroke in 1998. Brian to reduce his work commitments; he could no longer operate but carried on teaching. It also gave him time for his many other pursuits.
Brian had a lifelong love of history, and was involved in archaeological digs at Glastonbury, in Redditch and London. He developed a passion for collecting horse brasses through a friend of his wife, Valerie’s, in Birmingham, and went on to become a member of the National Horse Brass Society, serving on its committee and was treasurer and newsletter editor. His extensive travels allowed him to explore heavy horse decorations in many foreign countries. Brian and Valerie were keen singers, Brian as a tenor, Valerie as an alto. In London they joined several choirs which toured cathedrals in Europe. They sang yearly in the Malcolm Sargent Festival Choir in Notre Dame, Paris and also at the Royal Albert Hall, and in many cities in Western Europe. A highlight was singing in the Papal Mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, and at the Sydney Opera House in 2006.
Brian’s love of history, choral music and art naturally led to an interest in ecclesiastical stained glass. He joined the Worshipful Company of Glaziers and Painters of Glass. His involvement led to becoming a Freeman of the company in 2012 and a liveryman in 2013. At this point he exercised his right as a Freeman of the City of London to drive sheep across London Bridge.
Brian met his wife Valerie at the Royal Free Hospital in Gray’s Inn Road, London when she was training to be an anaesthetist. They eventually settled in Watford with their four children and, as a family, enjoyed travelling in their motorhome through Europe and the Scottish islands. Brian & Valerie continued to travel widely; to Namibia, the Silk Road, and to Easter Island and even to Antarctica where Brian performed some dentistry in the Southern Ocean.
Brian’s enthusiasm, wisdom, encyclopaedic knowledge, endless source of entertaining tales and sheer joie de vivre, particularly once on the dancefloor, will be sorely missed by his friends and colleagues in BSDMFR.
Brian’s funeral was a traditional Requiem Mass held on 20th November 2024 at Holy Rood Catholic Church in Watford, and it will be no surprise to hear that the church was full – a testament to how many people’s lives he touched.
Written with huge thanks to Professor Stanley Gelbier, and to Brian himself, for kindly sharing information and stories of Brian’s life.
Jackie Brown & John Rout