Dentist's trip to Chile raises £6000
New guide for young practitioners
A new guide for GDPs has recently been re-edited and re-printed by the British Orthodontic Society. The publication 'Young Practitioners Guide to Orthodontics' is a particularly useful guide to the newly qualified Vocational Trainee.
The booklet is designed to help practitioners examine children from an orthodontic point of view. It highlights the assessment of patients at different stages of dental development and outlines the interceptive procedures and treatments available to deal with the conditions most commonly encountered in general practice.
It covers topics such as how to refer, managing the developing occlusion, treatment planning and case selection for treatment.
To obtain a copy of the new guide contact Ann Wright at the British Orthodontic Society, Administration Office, 291 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1 XQF at a price of £4.00 per copy. Alternatively E-mail on awrightbos@msn.com or telephone tel/fax 020 7837 2193.
Dentists welcome NHS spending
Following the recent Budget announcements, Dr John Renshaw, the BDA's chairman of the Executive Board said that dentists will welcome news of NHS spending and emphasis on information technology.
He said that the BDA is working with the Government on plans to improve NHS dental services which, if they are to succeed, must be properly backed through a fair share of funding.
Dr Renshaw also welcomed the recently-published Wanless report on NHS funding and said that it was right to focus on the importance of information technology to the health service. Better information technology, he said, would mean better information for patients and better support for dentists. He said that there is now a real chance to build on the work that the profession and Department of Health have begun.
However, he did express some disappointment that the Wanless report makes no mention of either the National Service Framework for dentistry and workforce review.
Bristol dental alumni take note
This year's 'Newsletter of the Bristol Dental Alumni Association' has been recently published and distributed to its members. Members not receiving a copy, or non-members interested in joining, contact the Clinical Dean's office by post (Dental School, Lower Maudlin Street, Bristol, BS1 2LY), telephone 0117 928 4308 or e-mail (Theresa.Munns@bristol.ac.uk).
Top dental nurses award
Joanne Flanagan is presented with her certificate and cheque by BDA President Peter Swiss, and Canterbury and East Kent BDA Section Chairman Chris Cox. Joanne, of King Street Orthodontics Practice, Canterbury, achieved the highest marks among the candidates for last year's National Examination from the Canterbury College course. The local BDA section are sponsoring this award for five years and the college course has a very high success rate in the national exam.
BDA General Meeting notice
An Extraordinary General Meeting of Members of the British Dental Association will be held at 64 Wimpole Street, London W1 on Saturday 22 June 2002 at 10.00 am to consider the following resolution which is proposed as a special resolution:
"The new draft Memorandum and Articles of Association of the British Dental Association be adopted. The Memorandum and Articles to take effect from January 1 2003."
The proposed changes will be sent to members of the Representative Body and to Branch and Section Secretaries and will be posted on the BDA Website.
Copies can also be obtained from Skye Voveris on 020 7563 4579.
Better patient protection
The Government and regulators have reached agreement on the powers of the proposed new council which will co-ordinate the work of the regulators to dentists as well as other healthcare professionals. Proposals sent out in the NHS Reform and Healthcare Professions Bill to establish the new Council for the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals have been welcomed by the General Dental Council.
The new Council will act as an overarching body which will oversee the individual regulators, but will not get involved in the direct regulation of healthcare professionals. Instead, it will ensure consistency in the work of the regulators. As a last resort, it will be able to require a regulator to change its rules in the public interest provided the Houses of Parliament agree.
GDC president Professor Nairn Wilson said that the health regulators welcome the establishment of a Council for the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals and are already working to promote greater effectiveness and co-operation with each other.
British success at San Diego IADR annual meeting
The IADR (International Association for Dental Research) had its annual meeting in San Diego recently, and there was some British success in the categories for Distinguished Scientist Award, Young Investigator Award and Unilever Hatton Awards.
Professor John Garrett of the Rayne Institute, London, was the recipient of the Salivary Research Award. Dr Garrett had made an outstanding contribution to the knowledge of the control of the salivary gland secretion in several species and published over 400 articles on the subject.
Rachel C. Hall was one of two recipients of the Young Investigator Award. Dr Hall qualified from University of Wales College of Medicine, Cardiff, where she now works as a clinical periodontist and teacher in oral biology. Her research identified several proteoglycans in teeth and has helped to determine the structure and function of the extracellular matrix in teeth and their role in tooth development.
British Unilever Hatton Awards competitors included Owen Addison (who came second place), Angela Nobbs and Christopher W. Stokes.
Reform programme is good news says GDC president at Newcastle lecture
Professor Nairn Wilson, president of the GDC, recently fronted the 51st Founders' and Benefactors' Lecture at the Dental School, University of Newcastle upon Tyne. Professor Wilson explained how the GDC, as the regulatory body of the dental profession, has embarked on a much needed long awaited programme of reform. He outlined developments concerning the periodic re-accreditation and the creation of the Council for the Regulation of Healthcare Professionals and said that it was essential that the profession understands the need for change and appreciates the increasing expectations of professional regulation. A successful outcome, he said, would be good news for patients, members of the dental team and the future of the dental profession.
Be on e–Alert
This week, the BDJ has launched a new service for readers – BDJ e–Alerts. Each time that the BDJ is published, you will receive an email which includes the Table of Contents from that issue with links directly to the BDJ web site enabling you to quickly and easily scan the contents of the issue.
Signing up for BDJ e–Alerts is quick, easy and free – simply go to www.bdj.co.uk, click on 'BDJ e–Alerts' and the registration process will take less than a minute.
Dentistry attracts top students
According to a survey which examined the degree options chosen by the highest-flying A-level students, dentists appear to be cleverer than doctors, and all kinds of people are cleverer than lawyers!
When researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University tracked two million applications over five years to a wide range of universities they came up with some interesting findings.
The highest-scoring A-level candidates chose courses in pre-clinical dentistry, followed in second place by classics and in third place, pre-clinical medicine.
Those studying for social work had the lowest grades and law courses came in 45th place, well below subjects such as English in 28th place.
Professor Derek Leslie said that the research was more than just a 'beauty contest' – it could provide information about the perceived attractiveness of courses important to the economy. The survey revealed a strong diversity, however, and Professor Leslie said that good students appeared to spread themselves across a wide range of subjects.
Investors in People success stories
Achieving the 'Investor in People' standard has encouraged teamwork at many of the practices taking part in the scheme.
At the dental surgery of J. N. Butterfield, N. J. A. Slater and Associates in Selby, individuals have clear training and development roles. Practice manager Sue Hall says that management realise the need to keep 'good people' and are investing in learning to progress and be an even more successful organisation, with focused and motivated staff. Dentists are also involved in ongoing learning, with CPD as their standard.
Shropshire's largest dental practice felt that their award reflected the high level of staff development and efficiency. No mean feat since Madeley Dental Practice was established in the 1960's and has since grown significantly to meet the needs of Telford's expanding population. The practice now has a total payroll of 42, including dentists, administrative and support staff.
The Orthodontic Centre in South Yorkshire (pictured left, top) were also braced for success when they received their 'Investors in People' plaque. The practice offers extensive individual staff training programmes and encourages team effort in the day to day running of the practice. The centre was also awarded the BDA's Good Practice Award, for showing commitment to quality care and reaching an excellent standard of patient care.
Work-life balance compliment IiP
According to research commissioned by Investors in People (IiP), 75% of UK employees feel they would be more productive at work if they could tailor their hours to suit their lifestyles. At a recent awards ceremony to celebrate the achievement of 47 Hertfordshire organisations, including the Grange Street Dental Practice in St Albans, John Collier of Business Link Hertfordshire spoke on the Investors in People standard and what it can achieve for local companies.
He said that the Investors in People standard "is a way for business to show its employees and, indeed the outside world, that it takes its most valuable asset seriously." Businesses he said, once they have achieved the standard, continue to review their HR procedures as the business evolves.
The IiP standard, says Mr Collier, is a continuous process and introducing a work-life culture is increasingly the next step for many companies. By introducing such a culture, businesses often find that there is a connection between flexible working hours and improved performance; something that could significantly raise productivity, lower staff turnover rates and increase bottom line profits.
Diary
July 2002
Irish Society for Disability and Oral Health Conference on Special Needs Dentistry Date: 04.07.02 Venue: Dublin Dental Hospital Contact: Professor June Nunn, Dublin Dental Hospital, Lincoln Place, Dublin 2. Tel: +44 (01)6127303 isdh@eircom.net
September 2002
European Association for Cranio-Maxillofacial Congress 2002 Date: 03.09.02–07.09.02 Venue: Münster, Germany Contact: Ariane Minarik, ABC Congress Service, Arberstr. 18, D-81679, München. Tel: +49 (0)189 23115015 Fax: +49 (0)189 263167 ABC-Congr-Service@t-online.de
BDA/MDDUS 2002 Scottish Young Dentist Conference Date: 06.09.02–07.09.02 Venue: Dunblane Hilton Hydro Contact: Fiona Angus, Deputy Scottish Secretary, 4 Atholl Place, Perth PH1 5ND. Tel: +44 (0)1738 441 040 Fax: +44 (0)1738 441042 f.angus@bda-dentistry.org.uk
British Society of Paediatric Dentistry 50th Annual Scientific Meeting Date: 11.09.02–14.09.02 Venue: University of Sheffield Contact: Dr Helen Rodd, Department of Child Dental Health, School of Clinical Dentistry, Claremont Crescent, Sheffield, S10 2TA. Tel: +44 (0)114 2717885 Fax: +44 (0)114 271 7843 h.d.rodd@sheffield.ac.uk
Euopean Festival of Oral Science Joint Meeting of the IADR Date: 25.09.02–28.09.02 Venue: Cardiff, Wales Contact: PEF Conference Secretariat, World Trade Center, Cardiff International Arena, Mary Ann Street, Cardiff, CF10 2EQ. Wales. Tel: +44 (0)2920 232322 PEFOFIADR@global-meeting.co.uk Website: www.global-meeting.co.uk
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News. Br Dent J 192, 555–558 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4801427
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4801427
