DTUK1210

T he Shirley Glasstone Hug- hes (SGH) Trust Fund recently announced that a £200,000 research budget has been made available to fund re- search into primary dental care. The SGH Trust Fund invites ap- plications from research teams that include practitioners cur- rently working in a primary care setting to conduct research in answer to the following question: Do people living in deprived areas define oral health differ- ently from people who live in less deprived areas, and what influences their oral health- related behaviours? Commenting on the topic, Peter Ward, Trustee of the SGH Trust Fund said: “Much-needed evidence cen- tres around the attitudes of peo- ple from different socio-econom- ic groups towards oral health. No substantive evidence currently exists and the Trust is now look- ing to commission primary re- search in this important area.” The closing date for applica- tions is 31 July 2010. The topic for research was se- lected by dentists and dental care practitioners who were offered an opportunity to vote for their preferred area of research via the Trust’s website, the Primary Care Dentistry Research Forum. Meanwhile, voting on the web- site is ongoing to select questions for consideration for the next call for funding applications. In 1990, Shirley Glasstone Hughes, a dentist, researcher and BDA member, left her legacy to a charitable trust. This trust was established as The British Dental Association Shirley Glass- tone Hughes Memorial Prize for Dental Research. For further information, ple- ase contact Beth Caines at b.c- aines@bda.org, by phone at 029- 20 436 184, or log-on to www. dentistryresearch.org. DT £200,000 offered for research into primary care concerns D entists, who are members of the Dental Defence Un- ion, can now get free ex- pert advice on tax and VAT. The Dental Defence Union has joined forces with Taxwise, one of the UK’s leading providers of advice on tax and VAT, to give members the opportunity to con- sult a team of professionals. The Taxwise telephone hel- pline is available in office hours until 30 June 2010, when the deadline to declare undisclosed tax liabilities, under the HMRC’s tax Health Plan, expires. Rupert Hoppenbrouwers, he- ad of the DDU, said: “We know that HMRC is now carrying out targeted investigations aimed at medical and dental professionals who they believe have not made a full declaration. “We anticipate that this will be a concern for dentists, even if they have nothing to declare, and they may need to seek advice on how to respond to an approach from an HMRC inspector. At the same time, those who have already notified HMRC that they plan to make a declara- tion may need advice about how to do this.” DDU members who wish to use the service should call Taxwise on 01455 852 589 and quote the reference TXDDU1, as well as their DDU member- ship number. Free tax advice May 3-9, 20108 News & Opinions United Kingdom Edition