• Webpages designed to help dentists improve their practice through evidence-based information and to provide financial support for research where evidence is lacking are now available. The 'Curious about' webpages are from the Shirley Glasstone Hughes (SGH) Trust Fund. The launch of the webpages coincides with a call for applications to investigate the question: Do dental restorative materials containing plastics act as environmental pollutants? Research teams with a primary care dental practitioner are invited to apply for up to £200,000. Visit www.bda.org/curiousabout.

  • The BDA has welcomed the approach of a United Nations treaty that aims to reduce mercury pollution. The treaty was agreed in January in Geneva at a meeting of the UN's Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee and will require nations to phase down the use of dental amalgam fillings over an appropriate time period.