Handy Andes

Bob Cammack is a dental surgeon with Longlands Dental Practice in Hertfordshire. In May this year he took part in a trek along an ancient Inca Trail in Peru, in aid of the charity Scope. Now he is appealing to other dentists to do the same.

KaVo helps kids

KaVo managing director Richard Whatley recently presented a £500 cheque to ChildLine's Chief Executive Valerie Howarth OBE. The money was raised through a KaVo auction of laboratory equipment, with a percentage of the proceeds going directly to the children's helpline.

Reader response number 052

Numb gums

Optident Limited has been granted a license by the MCA for Ultracare Bubble Gum Topical Anaesthetic Gel.The product is the only licensed 20 per cent benzocaine gel for dental use in the UK.

The gel is sold in a 30ml syringe and is easily delivered directly onto a cotton swab or roll. The anaesthetic is rapid and profound. For details, phone 01943 605050.

Reader response number 053

Breathe easy with Dentyl pH

Dentyl pH Ltd claim that their new Microgel CPC toothpaste is the first toothpaste to clean in two phases, and the first toothpaste to contain CPC (cetyl pyridinium chloride), an antibacterial agent which combats bad breath.

The agent is suspended in micro-capsules in a gel formulation, keeping it fresh until brushing commences. The capsules burst on brushing, delivering CPC to the gumline. The formula also contains aloe vera and fluoride.

Reader response number 054

Coolgate

Making oral health fun for children is a challenge. Once the novelty of learning to brush with a parent has worn off it can become an uphill struggle to ensure kids look after their teeth properly.

Having conducted market research with dental professionals and children, Colgate developed the new Colgate Actibrush for Kids. The range of powered brushes have colourful designs that Colgate believe kids will go for.

The Colgate Actibrush for Kids can be pre-ordered during the London Dental Show. The product will be available to order direct or through the wholesalers from 9th October.

Also new from Colgate is Peroxyl Oral Rinse, designed to relieve minor oral irritations such as cheek bites, gum inflammation, soreness and burns.

The pre-diluted, mint flavoured cleanser uses a rapid release of oxygen to cleanse away oral debris, helping alleviate soreness and aiding the healing process.

For information call Colgate on 01483 401 901

Reader response number 055

Tailor made

Practice Plan, which provides all its private plan practices with a range of personalised and non-branded support literature, has launched a new practice poster.

Designed to give the impression the poster has been created solely for the individual practice, with no company branding, the poster complements the dental practice's own marketing of its private treatment plan and highlights the benefits for the patient.

In addition, Henry Schein Procare's Practice Plan Support Programme provides specialist expertise and objective advice tailored to the requirements of each individual practice. For further information, phone 01691 677 966.

Reader response number: 056

Advice available

The essential requirements for documenting and retaining clinical and practice records are underlined in the latest advice note from the Confederation of Dental Employers (CODE).

The Confederation wrote to all its members earlier this year to remind them of the plethora of rules that now apply to the keeping of records. The regulations not only apply to clinical records but also to Health and Safety and Business Records. Clarifying all of these, the advice note also details all the time limits and advises on the security of records.

CODE has also produced two new advice sheets on financial matters. The first advice sheet lists items of expenditure allowable for tax purposes for practice owners and associates.

The second contains the main information on tax, National Insurance rates and the latest social security payments for the year 2000/2001. The publication has been produced following numerous members' requests and will be updated annually.

For further information contact the CODE office, Penroses, Bodmin Street, Holsworthy, Devon EX22 6BB. Phone 01409 254 354.

Reader response number: 057

Web site update

A number of dental web sites have recently been launched and updated, including Astra Tech, Takara Belmont Ltd, Dentsure and CM Dental.

Astra Tech's site, www.astratechuk.com, introduces the company and contains product features and clinical features.

Takara Belmont at www.takara.co.uk features a company profile, dental equipment and salon equipment and provides examples of a free design service.

Dentsure's site can be found at www.dentsure.co.uk. The site seeks to provide answers to the questions that the public ask about dentistry.

CM Dental provides specialised articles, CM product instructions and PDF downloads at www.cmsa.ch/dental.

Dental web site smile-on.com, launched earlier this year, recently achieved its one millionth hit.

Almost 4,000 dental professionals are now registered with the site and the smile.on.com store has been a success.

Reader response number: 058

Flying high

A new low cost solution has been launched which allows dentists to discard their paper FP17s, saving time and money for the dental practice.

The product, called Red Kite, is priced at £595 including VAT, but the Dental Practice Board will still pay dentists £900 in grant aid for submitting their claims with it.

Dr Tony Lynn, who master-minded the project, says that Red Kite is simple and easy to use, allowing the generation and completion of electronic claims faster than on paper. Going on-line also means getting paid quicker and the error rate is reduced.

Call 0800 37 44 15 for further details.

Reader response number: 059

Don't be a dummy...

One of the major gripes of software users is that systems crash too frequently. Advanced Healthcare Computing Ltd claim to have a solution.

The Advance Practice Management system has over 1,000 dental users. Advanced Healthcare compare the system to Volvo cars – giving you a better chance of escaping unharmed in a catastrophe. Advanced Healthcare claim the Advance system rarely crashes, but if it does help is on hand to restore your system quickly and painlessly.

In addition, dentists using the Advance Version 6 system can have Internet access directly from within the Advance program, using The Dental Web. Advanced Healthcare can also provide practitioners with their own web site. For further information, contact 0800 37 44 15.

Reader response number 060

Try before you buy...

DICOM IMAGING UK claim their Dental Imaging Suite provides the clinician with the most powerful image manipulation tools available.

With an intraoral camera, digital camera or scanner, dental images can be stored and archived. Furthermore, the patients can be shown using ImageSimulator how they may look with any treatment modality before they have anything done.

Dicom's clinical advisor, Dr Daniel Kayongo, is pictured with aesthetic dentists Dr Goldstein and Dr Garber at at the BAAD meeting.

Check the Dicom web site www.dicom-imaging.co.uk or phone 0800 169 3209 for further information.

Reader response number 061

Lock out

The loss of patient records would be a disaster for any practice. Data Safe is a secure, incorruptible, safe data storage system available from Team Management Systems.

The Data Safe service provides secure archiving away from the practice premises. Clinical and patient records, intra-oral and X-ray images are all be saved on CD Rom, protecting against computer viruses, natural disasters, degradation, tampering or erasure.

For further information, contact 01296 616600.

Reader response number 062

Web friendly

Dental Network is a new web based interactive business-to-business information and services provider for dental practitioners.

The purpose of Dental Network is two-fold – to 'e-nable' dentists and to provide a full range of business information and services.

'E-nabling' means helping dentists to prepare for electronic communication and use of the worldwide web in dental practices. Dental Network offers practice e-mail addresses, dial-up accounts, web space and web site design and hosting for dental practices.

The managing director of Dental Network is Jonathan Haynes.

Dental Network is a specialist internet provider. Their web site can be found at www.dentalnetwork.co.uk.

Reader response number 063