Sir, my letter to you Beyond the pale (BDJ 2009; 206: 188) was written in a personal capacity for good reason and not by somebody representing any commercial interest.

It is unfortunate that the emotive response from Messrs R. J. Crisp and F. J. T. Burke ignores the central issue of the paucity of science-based dental standards upon which dental professionals can assess the value of the products they buy. This is particularly ironic in the light of a recent article written by Professor Burke1 who reviewed 102 papers published on the subject of bond strengths and complains 'there is little standardisation of test methods and a number of potentially significant variables may not be reported or recorded'. Exactly my point Professor – a similar review of 102 CAD/CAM methods used in the manufacturing of ceramic artefacts may well come to the same conclusion owing to a complete lack of any relevant standards. General practitioners and patients have suffered too long from materials and products that fail and are not fit for purpose.

If Messrs Crisp and Burke are serious then they should prepare themselves for the issue of their P45 as I am aware of a software tool that will examine dental restorations and it is a necessary part of the R&D I carry out as a self employed dental consultant. It can be used as an audit tool to monitor the quality of clinical preparations and ensures that the digitising process conforms to the requirements of BS EN ISO 10360 Pt IV. In addition the dental manufacturing processes with which I am associated are all BS EN ISO 13485 compliant.