Barry Cockcroft

Barry Michael Cockcroft CBE was the Chief Dental Officer (CDO) for England.

Early life Cockcroft qualified from the Dental School at the University of Birmingham in 1973. before he took up the CDO post in July 2006. While Chief Dental Officer for England, Cockcroft launched the "if in doubt, get checked out" Mouth Cancer Awareness Week campaign in November 2006.

In 2015, after leaving the post at the Department of Health, Cockcroft became a non-executive director at UK Corporate dental provider MyDentist (Formally Integrated Dental Holdings), one of the largest providers of NHS and private dentistry in the country.

Cockcroft was "instrumental" in developing two new dentistry schools in the United Kingdom, the Peninsula Dental School and the dental school at the University of Central Lancashire.

After Steve Bedser stood down from the role, Cockcroft became interim chair of the British Fluoridation Society having previously been elected to its executive body. Cockroft now continues to serve as chair of the society. As chair of the society, Cockcroft promotes the public health benefits of water fluoridation and supports dentists in sharing this information with their patients. Cockcroft has commented that "fluoride really helps us close this gap between those that are less well off and those from more affluent backgrounds".

Personal life Cockcroft is married and has three children.