A training programme in child protection which includes dental neglect as a core component is being rolled out across the South Yorkshire Police force from today. Thousands of police officers in the region, as well as support staff and other stakeholders, are being taught to understand why a lack of dental care is potentially a neglect issue and what actions they should take when they have concerns.
Sara Hurley, chief dental officer for England, released a new bulletin on September 21. It covers the Delivering Better Oral Health toolkit, the Advancing Dental Care review report and patient exemption checking.
TerraCycle’s Oral Care Waste and Packaging Zero Waste Box allows dental practices to offer staff and patients a recycling solution for their used toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and more.
The British Orthodontic Society and the Oral Health Foundation has launched a new campaign to help patients make safer choices when it comes to their dental treatment.
The impact of the pandemic and Brexit has created one of the biggest challenges facing NHS dentistry to date: a staff recruitment and retention crisis. With a surge of clinicians and the wider dental team feeling disillusioned with the profession, and in some cases leaving dentistry altogether for a less pressurised job, many NHS dental practices are experiencing high staff turnover and a lower than ever response rate to their recruitment advertising, which is only serving to deepen NHS dentistry access problems.
The British Dental Association NI and 500 high street dentists have written to Health Minister Robin Swann to call time on the dire situation facing Health Service dentistry, urging the Department of Health to set out tangible solutions to overhaul the decades-old General Dental Services (GDS) contract.
{my}dentist has announced a record investment of nearly £4m into the salaries of its frontline practice colleagues to ensure clinicians have access to the best support network in the sector.
The Dental Software Suppliers Association (DSSA) has been working alongside regulatory and industry bodies including the Business Services Authority, NHS X and the Office of the Chief Dental Officer, regarding the implementation of SNOMED CT.
The General Dental Council has announced the appointment of Baron Harris of Haringey (Lord Toby Harris) who will join the GDC as chair of council, and Angie Heilmann MBE, who joins as a registrant council member.
July 1 marked a momentous day in the history of dentistry in the UK, as the College of General Dentistry officially opened in a ceremony at the Barber-Surgeons’ Hall. Dentistry now has its own independent college. The new College of General Dentistry embraces the whole dental team, recognising the invaluable contribution made by every member of the dental profession in delivering high quality oral health care for patients and the wider community.
Children at Port Isaac Community Primary School and Nursery will be smiling brightly thanks to the generosity of local residents Mick Allen and Hannah Hutchison. The couple are generously funding Brighter Smiles – Cornwall’s oral health campaign – in this Cornish school community which will see over 70 children receive oral health care and education from September 2021.
The Department of Health has side-lined the essential role of dental professionals in the fight against mouth cancer. In answer to a recent parliamentary question, the under-secretary for health and social care, Jo Churchill, announced that there are no plans to promote dental professionals’ involvement in the fight against this disease – instead it will be left to already overworked general medical practitioners who generally, despite their best efforts, have less experience in this field.
A new study by GSK Consumer Healthcare in partnership with Ipsos has revealed the need to improve public awareness that good oral care can benefit people’s overall health. 85 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement “I believe good oral healthcare can benefit my overall health, beyond just my mouth” dropping to 80 per cent in the UK specifically, but the research showcased that the specific benefits were not well known.
Celebrating 50 Years with DD
The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry’s patients are among society’s most vulnerable. They may have a complex condition, a dental anomaly or extensive decay but whatever their needs, they are children and should be prioritised. Yet a workforce shortage which has been ignored for more than a decade makes access to a specialist in paediatric dentistry a challenge in many areas of the UK.
