Helping to make Christmas no Crisis

Crisis, the national charity for homeless people, is appealing for dentists, dental nurses and dental hygienists to work voluntarily in their Christmas shelters.

Crisis' famous network of Christmas shelters provide vital companionship and support to some of the most vulnerable groups of people in today's society.

The shelters not only house rough sleepers, but take in people who are living indoors, but are at risk of returning to the streets or committing suicide because they cannot cope with Christmas.

Open from 23 December to 30 December, the shelters offer a range of services, including access to dentists, doctors, chiropodists, hairdressers, opticians and housing and benefit advice.

Debbie Hilton, Head of the London Services, said: 'All our volunteers are important, but it is particularly difficult to get those with specialist skills.'

Volunteers for the London Open Christmas should call Crisis on 0207 655 8312.

Braced for success

Dr Christopher Hogg, a London orthodontist, has won a highly commended award in the national science photographic competition Visions of Science, organised by Novartis and The Daily Telegraph.

Walmsley appointed to Chair

Damien Walmsley (right) has been appointed to the Chair of Restorative Dentistry at the University of Birmingham.

Damien qualified from the University of Manchester in 1981 and later took up a MRC Fellowship there, laying the foundation for his research into Dental Ultrasound.

In 1985 he left Manchester to work as a lecturer at the School of Dentistry at Birmingham, gaining rapid promotion to Senior Lecturer and Consultant. In academe ultrasounds remained a major research interest and Damien's work was supported by the EPSRC Funding Council and various commercial companies.

Damien is a prolific contributor to the dental literature.

A great supporter of postgraduate education, he has been involved with the BDA on the UDT & RW group and the BSSPD as treasurer.

Facility opened

A new postgraduate facility at the University Dental Hospital of Manchester was recently opened by Sir Martin Harris, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Manchester.

The facility comprises a working area with 12 network points and is designed for hot-disking laptop computers.

Pictured: Professor David Gordon, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy, outlines the Faculty's web page to Sir Martin and his wife Lady Barbara.

Hudson receives fellowship at 102

James Hudson is pictured (right) with the Dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery, David Barnard.

James Hudson was admitted to the Fellowship of Dental Surgery-by-Election during a recent Board meeting of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at The Royal College of Surgeons. The election is unique as James is 102 years of age.

James is the longest standing dentist on the UK Register. He fought in the First World War and in 1998 he was awarded the Legion d'Honneur in recognition of his bravery.

James qualified as a dental surgeon in 1922 and was appointed as Specialist in Oral Surgery at Redhill Hospital upon its opening in 1928, becoming the very first salaried oral surgeon working in the UK.

In 1947 James became a founder member of the BDA's Hospitals Group and remains a member to this day. It was only after his 100th birthday in 1998 that he finally relinquished his role as Honorary Auditor.

The use of non-precious metals

The British Dental Association and Dental Laboratories Association have issued a joint statement on the use of non-precious metals.

The range of non-precious alloys permitted for use in the General Dental Services includes only stainless steel, cobalt chromium casting alloys or nickel chromium casting alloys.

Other non-precious dental casting alloys which carry the CE mark, and this may include alloys containing more than 70 per cent copper, are not permitted for use in appliances provided in the General Dental Services.

Dentists should always prescribe clearly what metals they want used in or outside the GDS and are warned that choosing materials on the basis of CE marking may not be enough.

Setting the standards

The staff of Durgan & Ashworth Dental Care in Glossop, Derbyshire and Priory Dental Care in Leamington-Spa are celebrating after achieving the 'Investor in People' standard.

The staff of Durgan & Ashworth, pictured right, were presented with their award by Terry McCabe, Chairman of West Pennine Health Authority. On receiving the award, Brian Durgan paid tribute to the team, promising that he and Tim Ashworth were committed to further development of the practice.

Priory Dental Centre owner and principal dentist Chris Nicoll was delighted to receive the Investors in People accreditation, the culmination of 18 months of work towards achieving the standard.

'Investors in People means happiness, in that we can get up in the morning and come to work with friends and not just colleagues,' says Chris.

Practice manager Dawn Boynton (far right) and principal dentist Chris Nicoll (seated) are pictured celebrating with Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber officers Sue Long and Jane Walton and Sally Romeo-Wade, who helped Priory Dental Centre work towards the standard.