Students shortlisted for national dental professional awards

Nicole Elango

Nicole is a third year student dentist and took on the degree having already achieved a BSc in Biomedical Sciences and MSc Mental Health.

She has been 2019-20 President of Peninsula DentSoc, Dental Course Rep, Student Representative for the British Dental Association and a mentor for aspiring dental students. She has spent over 600 hours as a suicide hotline volunteer, and volunteered with a local Plymouth charity to produce an intervention to alleviate dental anxiety, and teach basic oral hygiene instructions to children with special educational needs and their parents.

In addition, she has created the first student-run online lecture series in collaboration with Kings College London (KCL) DentSoc. Since then, she has organised over 20 free dental education webinars and has launched her own series, “The Student Webinar Series” which hosts international speakers from Barts to Harvard.

Nicole is also passionate about promoting equality and diversity in dentistry, specifically fighting against racism, supporting the LGBT+ community, and reducing the negative stigma surrounding mental health. Within her roles, she has actively promoted access to student counselling services and created a social media campaign to celebrate the successes of Peninsula Dental School students.