Dental Tribune UK Edition, September 20-26, 2010, Vol. 4 No. 22

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 Advertising Director Joe Aspis Tel: 020 7400 8969 Joe@dentaltribuneuk.com Editorial Assistant Laura Hatton Laura..hatton@dentaltribuneuk.com Sales Executive Sam Volk Tel: 020 7400 8964 Sam@dentaltribuneuk.com Design & Production Ellen Sawle Ellen@dentaltribuneuk.com Dental Tribune UK Ltd 4th Floor, Treasure House, 19–21 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8BA Dentist to treat Berber Tribe in Morocco A dentist in Hull is travel- ling to Morocco to give vital dental treatment to the Berber Tribe. The tribe of 50,000 has just one doctor and no dentists. Chris Branfield, from Castle Park Dental Care in Cottingham, has helped to set up the charity to give dental treatment to people in remote parts of the world. He and seven other dentists will be taking part in the eight -day expedition to treat the Ber- ber Tribe in North East Morocco. In a Berber village by the Mediterranean Sea, the group of eight dentists will be treating both men and women whose biggest problem is gingivitis (inflammation of the gums sur- rounding the teeth). Dr Branfield said: ‘‘In ten years’ time, the day will come when the Berber Tribe, its land and its traditions, will be swal- lowed up into mainstream soci- ety - just as the Red Indians and Aborigines did before them. But today, the privilege to experience the tribe in their natural habitat, is available to a very few.’’ Money is being raised by Castle Park Dental Care for sup- plies and materials to help the Berber Tribe and the cost of the trip is being personally met by Dr Branfield. If you wish to sponsor the ex- pedition, go to www.castlepark- dental.co.uk. DT The Moroccan Berber Tribe Smile-on produces learning programme for dental nurses T he dental education provider, Smile-on, has produced an online/CD- Rom training programme spe- cifically for dental nurses. DNNET II is a learning pro- gramme produced by Smile-on - available on CD-Rom or online. The comprehensive programme is designed specifically for den- tal nurses studying towards the National Certificate, the NVQ level three in Oral Health Care Dental Nursing or as an update for established nurses. As a learning package, DN- NET II incorporates dynamic audio and video footage, ani- mations and detailed diagrams that immediately make learning more engaging. The DNNET II programme covers health and safety, in- fection control, oral health education, patient assessment, processing radiography, peri- odontics and restoration, equal- ity and diversity, minor oral surgery, surgical periodontal therapy, orthodontics, commu- nication, prosthetics and endo- dontic treatment. By using DNNET II, den- tal nurses are given full access to all of the knowledge that they will need to pursue a fulfilling career as well as preparing them for their exami- nation after registration at an accredited assessment centre. For more information on DNNET II call 020 7400 8989 or email info@smile-on.com DT Tenth anniversary of the Premier Symposium T his year, the risk man- agement conference, Pre- mier Symposium, will be celebrating its tenth anniversary. It is celebrating the event with a compelling line-up of speakers. Organised by Dental Protection, the leading indemni- ty organisation for dental profes- sionals in the UK and by schülke, the international name in cross- infection control, this year’s Pre- mier Symposium will take place on Saturday 5 December 2010 at Kings College, London. A spokeswoman for Dental Protection said: ‘‘The opportu- nity to hear well-informed and entertaining speakers in com- fortable and spacious surround- ings ensures that this meet- ing remains a highlight of the dental calendar. ‘‘The Premier Symposium 2010 will feature a range of topi- cal lectures including the trans- formation of dental care through the use of implants and the risks associated with them, nerve in- juries, their cause and manage- ment, and the HTM 01-05 guide- lines one year on.’’ The programme features the following speakers and lecture topics: Professor Richard Palmer on implants – new risks for old; Professor Tara Renton on nerve injuries – their cause and man- agement, Paul Jenkins on the HTM 01-05 watershed - where are we now; Paul Redmond, talk- ing ‘bout my generation (com- municating across ‘generation gaps’) and Peter Briggs on risks and responsibilities in periodon- tal care. The event will also include the presentation of the Pre- mier Awards, a series of six risk management prizes presented to dental professionals who have produced original work which aims to improve patient safety. The event is an ideal practice day out, with team tickets avail- able for DPL Xtra Practice Pro- gramme members, and a chance for all members of the dental team to attend this informative pre-Christmas symposium. Including six hours verifiable CPD, tickets are now on sale for this year’s Premier Symposium. The conference was a sell- out last year, and delegates are advised to order their tickets as soon as possible in order to avoid disappointment. Tickets are available from events@den- talprotection.org or telephone 020 7399 1339. Or for more information, please visit the Dental Protection website at: http://www.dentalprotection. org/uk/newsnevents/events/ premier2010 Tickets for this year’s Sym- posium are priced at £110 For DPL members and £255 for non-members. The team pack- age (available to DPL Xtra prac- tice programme members only) costs £190 for two places, or £280 for three places when booked to- gether. All prices include VAT at the standard rate. DT CQC extends opening hours to help dentists prepare I n order to help dentists prepare to apply for registra- tion, the Care Quality Com- mission is extending its national contact centre’s opening hours. The new hours are 8.30am to 8pm Monday to Thursday, from 8.30am to 5.30pm on Friday and from 8am to 4pm on Saturdays. In addition, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has also published ‘A new system of registration: Guide for pro- viders of primary dental care services’ to help practitioners. The new guidance provides more information on the ap- plication process, which was refined following a series of pilot projects in June/July of this year. General dental practitioners will be invited to start apply- ing soon, so that all providers are registered by 1 April 2011 and the CQC expects – from the available data – to register more than 8,500 providers. Due to this expected large amount of applications, dentists will be put into groups with each group given an application window within which to apply. Provid- ers (essentially ‘practices’) will be registered against the new essential standards of quality and safety that apply across the care sector; the British Dental Association has produced den- tal-specific guidance on this. The CQC’s director, Linda Hutchinson said: ‘‘We app- reciate that this type of reg- ulation is very new to the den- tal sector and that people will have a lot of questions. We publish regular updates on our website, but we know that some people would prefer to talk things through over the telephone. ‘‘We want to make sure our helpline is available to an- swer questions at times that are convenient to dentists, tak- ing their working hours into consideration. We’re also work- ing closely with the General Dental Council to avoid any overlap in our actions and to minimise any potential regu- latory burden for providers.’’ Ms Hutchinson added: ‘‘Ulti- mately, our objective is to pro- tect service users and to encour- age improvement in the care people receive.’’ The Care Quality Commis- sion will be also writing to den- tists to advise what will happen next and about what further ac- tion needs to be taken. DT 3NewsSeptember 20-26, 2010United Kingdom Edition