That year he wrote a paper for the Royal Dental Hospital Magazine on "Tooth Erosion in a Boy Consuming a High Intake of Cola and Similar Drinks".

In 2002, Gelbier was awarded the BDA's John Tomes Medal, which honours members of the dental profession and of scientific importance.

Gelbier recalls in his memoirs that during this post, many years before other articles on the damage to teeth by sugary drinks, he was encouraged to write his first paper about a child with tooth decay who drank about 8 bottles of cola a day.

[11] In 2002, Gelbier was awarded the BDA's John Tomes Medal, which honours members of the dental profession and of scientific importance.

[13] In 2016, Gelbier was presented with the American Academy of the History of Dentistry's Hayden Harris Award by Dr Sheldon Peck.

In 1962 he wrote a paper for the Royal Dental Hospital Magazine on "Tooth Erosion in a Boy Consuming a High Intake of Cola and Similar Drinks".

[15] He has written biographies of notable dentists including Sydney William Garne of Ceylon[16] and James Smith Turner of the BDA.