Skip to main content
J. Tim Newton

Professor J. Tim Newton

Professor of Psychology as Applied to Dentistry

  • Honorary Consultant Health Psychologist

Research interests

  • Dentistry
  • Psychiatry, psychology and neuroscience

Biography

Tim Newton is Professor of Psychology as Applied to Dentistry at King’s College London Faculty of Dentistry, Oral & Craniofacial Sciences. He also holds Honorary Consultant Health Psychologist positions with Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust and The Office of the Chief Dental Officer, and is Honorary Professor of Psychology at University College London.

In 2016 Tim was awarded the Behavioural, Epidemiological and Health Services Research Distinguished Scientist Award by the International Association of Dental Research. He is an honorary member of the British Orthodontic Society and was the Webb Johnson Lecturer, Royal College of Surgeons of England, as well as the Otago Community Trust visiting professor of dentistry, University of Otago.

A founder member of the King’s Dental Institute Health Psychology Service, Professor Newton allocates 50% of his week to clinical commitments. In particular providing Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to support individuals with dental phobia to overcome their fear, and support for individual’s facing challenging dental procedures. The wider service provides psychological support for individuals with chronic oro-facial pain as well as other long term oral conditions.

Professor Newton's research interests lie particularly in theory based interventions to change behaviour in relation to oral health and the management of dental anxiety and phobia. His research in the area of behaviour change focuses largely on the design, implementation and testing of brief interventions to enhance the oral health behaviour of  patients attending primary dental care settings, in particular the feasibility and acceptability of such interventions. Dental Phobia is common in adult and child populations – with approximately 10% of all people affected by dental phobia worldwide, and a further 30% displaying moderate anxiety when attending the dentist. Tim has designed and championed a proportionate intervention model for dental anxiety and phobia, which has been widely disseminated – training in the KCL model of dental anxiety management is available (https://www1.kcl.ac.uk/prospectus/shortcourses/list/keyword/dentistry).

He is committed to ensuring that research is of the highest scientific and ethical standards in protection of the rights of research participants and the wider public served by the research community. In pursuance of this he is Chair of the King’s College London Research Ethics Committee (https://www.kcl.ac.uk/research/support/research-ethics/index.aspx).

Professor Newton is Trustee of two charities. He is Vice Chair of Hammersmith & Fulham MIND – dedicated to improving the mental well being of the people of that area of London. He is also Trustee of the Alliance for a Cavity Free Future – a global charity committed to talking the world’s most prevalent disease, through promoting integrated clinical and public health action to confront the disease burden resulting from untreated caries (www.acffglobal.org).

    Research

    cariology project 3
    Cariology & Operative Dentistry

    Cariology & MI Operative Dentistry Research Programme

    psychology about us
    Psychology in Dentistry

    Psychology in Dentistry: We are a collaborative team involved in research and service provision applying psychology to the dental setting.

    1800x500 dentistry_video_hero
    Centre for Oral, Clinical & Translational Sciences

    From toothwear to oral pathology, from facial reconstruction to oral surgery, there's one thing that all our research shares: an underlying desire to make a difference to patients and bring benefits to society. We’re particularly strong in prosthodontics and endodontics research, and our work in this field feeds into our postgraduate programmes.

    News

    Winners announced at inaugural King's Engaged Research Awards ceremony

    The inaugural King’s Engaged Research Awards ceremony brought together staff, students and community partners to celebrate public and community engagement...

    aerial photo of all winners of king's engaged research awards 2024 looking upwards, some holding awards and certificates

    Using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for dental phobia

    The King’s and GSTT Dental Psychology Service provide an update to their successful training service.

    CBT-updated-manual-dental-phobia-news

    Do dentists treat people with extreme dental fear (phobia) differently?

    In a study recently published in the British Dental Journal, researchers from King’s College London set out to test whether the presence of dental phobia...

    Dental phobia

    Dental patients with phobia and anxiety may receive reduced treatment

    A study from the King’s College London Dental Institute has found that dental patients suffering phobias, who constitute over 11% of the population[i], not...

    Dental patient

    Chewing sugar-free gum could help reduce tooth decay

    New evidence shows relationship and effect on slowing dental caries

    Chewing gum

    Features

    Helping patients face their fears

    How cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is helping many people overcome their fear of visiting the dentist

    Dr Jennifer Hare and Professor Tim Newton

    Spotlight

    Helping patients face their fears

    How cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is helping many people overcome their fear of visiting the dentist

    Dr Jennifer Hare and Professor Tim Newton.

      Research

      cariology project 3
      Cariology & Operative Dentistry

      Cariology & MI Operative Dentistry Research Programme

      psychology about us
      Psychology in Dentistry

      Psychology in Dentistry: We are a collaborative team involved in research and service provision applying psychology to the dental setting.

      1800x500 dentistry_video_hero
      Centre for Oral, Clinical & Translational Sciences

      From toothwear to oral pathology, from facial reconstruction to oral surgery, there's one thing that all our research shares: an underlying desire to make a difference to patients and bring benefits to society. We’re particularly strong in prosthodontics and endodontics research, and our work in this field feeds into our postgraduate programmes.

      News

      Winners announced at inaugural King's Engaged Research Awards ceremony

      The inaugural King’s Engaged Research Awards ceremony brought together staff, students and community partners to celebrate public and community engagement...

      aerial photo of all winners of king's engaged research awards 2024 looking upwards, some holding awards and certificates

      Using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for dental phobia

      The King’s and GSTT Dental Psychology Service provide an update to their successful training service.

      CBT-updated-manual-dental-phobia-news

      Do dentists treat people with extreme dental fear (phobia) differently?

      In a study recently published in the British Dental Journal, researchers from King’s College London set out to test whether the presence of dental phobia...

      Dental phobia

      Dental patients with phobia and anxiety may receive reduced treatment

      A study from the King’s College London Dental Institute has found that dental patients suffering phobias, who constitute over 11% of the population[i], not...

      Dental patient

      Chewing sugar-free gum could help reduce tooth decay

      New evidence shows relationship and effect on slowing dental caries

      Chewing gum

      Features

      Helping patients face their fears

      How cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is helping many people overcome their fear of visiting the dentist

      Dr Jennifer Hare and Professor Tim Newton

      Spotlight

      Helping patients face their fears

      How cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is helping many people overcome their fear of visiting the dentist

      Dr Jennifer Hare and Professor Tim Newton.