Martin Craig Downer (1931-2017): Chief Dental Officer, dental public health professor, editor, musician and novelist

Professor Martin Downer was a leading public health dentist. He was an administrator, Chief Dental Officer of Kensington and Chelsea, and later to the Departments of Health in Scotland and England. Finally, he was Professor of Oral Health Policy at the Eastman Dental Institute. His research was wide-ranging, but he made a notable international mark with his work investigating oral cancer screening. Like many great men, there was another side to him; he was a musician and a saxophonist from his student days, which led to Top of the Pops and a recording studio. To top it all, he wrote novels.