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Published by Dental Tribune UK Ltd © 2010, Dental Tribune UK Ltd. All rights reserved. Dental Tribune UK Ltd makes every effort to report clinical information and manufacturer’s product news accurately, but cannot assume responsibility for the validity of product claims, or for typographical errors. The publishers also do not assume responsibility for product names or claims, or statements made by advertisers. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and may not reflect those of Dental Tribune International. Managing Director Mash Seriki Mash@dentaltribuneuk.com Director Noam Tamir Noam@dentaltribuneuk.com Editor Lisa Townshend Tel: 020 7400 8979 Lisa@dentaltribuneuk.com Features Editor Ellie Pratt Ellie@dentaltribuneuk.com Advertising Director Joe Aspis Tel: 020 7400 8969 Joe@dentaltribuneuk.com Sales Executive Sam Volk Tel: 020 7400 8964 Sam@dentaltribuneuk.com Marketing Manager Laura McKenzie Laura@dentaltribuneuk.com Design & Production Keem Chung Keem@dentaltribuneuk.com Dental Tribune UK Ltd 4th Floor, Treasure House, 19–21 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8BA Clinical Innovations Conference April 26-May 2, 20102 News United Kingdom Edition E ducation and training pro- vider, Smile-on, is host- ing this year’s Clinical In- novations Conference, along with the AOG and the Dental Di- rectory. Now in its seventh year, the Clinical Innovations Conference (CIC) will be held on the 7-8 May at the Royal College of Physicians in Regent’s Park, London. Promising to be the big- gest conference yet, the CIC programme has been put to- gether in consultation with a panel of international experts with the aim being to update participants on new technolo- gies, materials and techniques in dentistry. The 2010 conference will host a line-up of highly pres- tigious international speakers alongside exhibitors offering the latest dental technologies from around the world. A spokeswoman for Smile-on said: “Together with the AOG we have brought together an impres- sive programme that will be both inspirational and motivating, pre- paring your practice for the fu- ture and ensuring that you too are at the leading edge of dentistry.” After the success of last year’s CIC, the Clinical Innovations Conference is growing and the 2010 conference is expecting del- egate numbers in excess of 300 highly motivated dentists who are passionate about learning. For more information call 020 7400 8989 or email info@ smile-on.com. DT P eople suffering from pho- bia could be helped by acupuncture, according to new research. The study found that five minutes of acupuncture treat- ment in the top of the head cut anxiety levels by more than half. Twenty people with an aver- age age of 40 took part in the re- search, published in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine. All had suffered from fear of the dentist for between two and 30 years. On previous visits to the dentist, three patients had had to have general anaesthetic, while six others had needed sedatives. In 14 cases, the treat- ment had to be cancelled be- cause the patient could not go through with it. The patients received the acupuncture from their own dentists, who are all members of the British Dental Acup- uncture Society. They had ac- upuncture needles inserted into their heads at acupunc- ture points GV20 and EX6, which have been reported to aid relaxation. Using a well-known anxiety reporting scheme, the Beck Anx- iety Inventory (BAI), the patients’ levels of distress were measured. Scores fell from 26.5 to 11.5 after acupuncture and all 20 patients were able to undergo treatment. Statistics suggest that, in western countries, phobias afflict seven to 13 per cent of the popu- lation and that women are twice as likely to suffer from a pho- bia as men. However, as many people do not feel comfortable talking about their phobias, it is thought that this figure could be a lot higher. Dr Palle Rosted and col- leagues from Weston Park Hospi- tal in Sheffield and other centres in the UK and Denmark carried out the research. They said more studies are needed but conclud- ed ‘acupuncture prior to dental treatment has a beneficial effect on the level of anxiety in patients with dental anxiety and may of- fer a simple and inexpensive method of treatment’. However, the NHS Choices website noted that the study did not include a control group of people not receiving acupuncture to com- pare against. This made it dif- ficult to determine whether any reduc- tion in fear seen in the treated individuals would have occurred naturally over time. As no other anxi- ety treatment was com- pared, it is also not pos- sible to say whether acu- puncture would be any bet- ter than other approaches, such as hypnotism. DT D ental therapist and hygienists are to be al- lowed to administer local anaesthetics and supply fluoride supplements, under new changes. The Medicines and Health- care products Regulatory Agen- cy (MHRA) is to allow dental therapists and dental hygienists to perform new functions under a Patient Group Direction. These are the administra- tion of local anaesthetics plus the sale, supply or oral admin- istration of fluoride supple- ments and toothpastes with high fluoride content. The Department of Health hopes to make the necessary amendments to the Medi- cines Act 1968 within the next three months. Kevin Lewis, dental director for the indemnity and risk man- agement advisers Dental Pro- tection, welcomed the change and said: “As an organisation, that is very much at the heart of the profession, Dental Protec- tion has long been aware of the frustration and dento-legal dan- ger created for dental hygienists and dental therapists created by existing legislation. I am de- lighted to hear from the chief dental officer that this unint- ended consequence will soon be removed.” DT Changes for dental therapists and hygienists T he UCL Eastman has joined forces with the London Sports Institute of Middlesex University and is of- fering a course for dentists wish- ing to treat athletes. The course will made up of lectures, seminars and clinical sessions along with practical and laboratory skills. It will explore: • The recognition of neurological injury • Healing of hard and soft tissues to include suturing • Stress and TMJ dysfunction • Tooth surface loss and the relationship with sporting activity • The aetiology, prognosis and treatment of dental and maxillo-facial trauma In addition to the dental and maxillo-facial subjects, there will be lectures and demonstrations on sports physi- ology, psychology of sports in- jury, diet and nutrition, thera- peutics and drugs in sport plus medico-legal aspects of dental injuries. The course may be taken as either an optional module of the Restorative Dental Prac- tice programme, or as a stand- alone course. For further information or to register for September 2010, please contact the programme administrator on 020 7905 1281 or visit www.eastman.ucl. ac.uk/cpd. DT Course in sports dentistry Sport courses in dentistry Clinical Innovations Conference website Acupuncture can help dental phobes