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PUBLISHED IN LONDON T he future of dentistry took centre stage at an event in London where the necessity of piloting and the burden of bureaucracy was dis- cussed. Key figures from the den- tal profession and the Depart- ment of Health, such as Prof Jimmy Steele, Dr Sue Gregory, Dr Nigel Carter, Dr Susie Sand- erson and Dr Mike Warburton, debated the issues of piloting, reforming the dental contract, overburdening of the profession with red tape and legislation and the implementation of suc- cessful practices within a pilot framework. The main message was one of positivity, with many of the speakers looking to a bright fu- ture for NHS dentistry. In par- ticular, much was made of the potential benefits of the National Commissioning Board, due to take over the reins from PCTs in the next few years. Another issue discussed was the piloting schedule and the commitment made by the Coa- lition government to piloting prior to any reform of the cur- rent NHS dental contract. Dr John Milne, chair of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee, looked at the cur- rent situation with pilots and said: “I fully support an hon- est attempt to create meaning- ful pilots. Dentists are looking to be recognised as responsible clinicians, with the opportunity to run successful businesses. “Dental professionals need the chance to do what they are trained to do; and be en- gaged with, not dictated to, with imposed contracts and red tape. We are all working for the same thing: to make things better, not worse.” Justin Ash, Chief Executive of Oasis Healthcare, discussed the pilots being run at five of the company’s practices in Cum- bria. He said: “There are many positive elements being found in the pilots, but they will only make a positive future if we turn them into real action. “In the pilots we have been running in Cumbria, we have highlighted a fundamen- tal need to use the wider skills mix of the whole dental team to provide the health check-type approach which can deliver patient-focused care.” Dr Sue Gregory, Deputy CDO for England, reiterated the Government’s publicised stance on dentistry that it is not an also- ran to the more frontline health- care services and brought the top-line view of the current situation to the fore. She said: “The Government have four key priorities for dental services: Improvement of access, preven- tion, oral health of children and reform of the dental contract. “Within the framework of the pilots, capitation variables and the use of oral health path- ways need to be tested. We must assure quality, underpinning practice with guidelines and support. We have to change the culture within dentistry so we will need to do a lot of work’’. DT Apple iPod nano 8GB** Free (5th Generation, 6th Generation option also available)** Free Vouchers Receive a £10.00 voucher every time you spend £150* Special Offer Gifts with our Biggest Christmas Offers Ever !! Prices you can smile about OUR BIGGEST EVER CHRISTMAS OFFERS, CALL 0800 132 373 OR DOWNLOAD FROM www.topdental.org Offers close Thurs 23th Dec 2010 * excluding orders for adult X-ray films and gloves and all other offers ** Free iPod comes as part of package, for details see page 12 of offer sheet Dental Tribune_Dec2010.indd 1 23/11/10 13:45:38 November 29-December 5, 2010 VOL. 4 NO. 29 Fewer smokers quit since recession The number of people giv- ing up smoking has dropped since the start of the reces- sion, new figures show. Ac- cording to a study by Profes- sor Robert West, director of tobacco studies at the Cancer Research UK Health Behav- iour Research Centre, the proportion of smokers try- ing to quit has fallen from 32 per cent in 2007 to just 17 per cent in 2010. Fewer than five per cent use the NHS quit smoking services, de- spite research showing that they are four times more ef- fective than other methods. Invasive dentistry Recent research undertak- en by researchers from the UCL Eastman Dental Insti- tute (UCL EDI), UCL Epide- miology and Public Health Department and the London School of Hygiene and Tropi- cal Medicine and funded by the Wellcome Trust and the British Heart Foundation, suggests that invasive den- tal treatment such as extrac- tions, carries a small, but sta- tistically significant increase in the risk of stroke and heart attack over the short term. In a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers examined data from the claims database of a US Medicaid programme to investigate whether impair- ment to blood flow resulting from invasive dental treat- ment created a higher risk for cardiovascular events. The records suggested that in the month following in- vasive dental treatment, the risk of a heart attack or stroke is increased by 50 per cent. However, the risk then returned to normal in the weeks. The researchers are keen to stress that any risk increase is likely to be out- weighed by the long-term benefits of dental treatment. An evolutionary edge A sophisticated new exami- nation of teeth from 11 Ne- anderthal and early human fossils shows that modern hu- mans are slower than our an- cestors to reach full maturity. The research, led by scien- tists at Harvard University, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (MPI- EVA), and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facil- ity (ESRF), is detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The current study involves some of the most famous Neander- thal children ever discovered, including the first hominin fossil, discovered in Belgium in the winter of 1829-30. www.dental-tribune.co.uk Festive fun Dental Tribune joins forces with the BDA in our Competition Fantastic Plastic? Richard Lishman provides op- tions to manage your money Application of PAD Liviu Steier takes a closer look at photo activated disinfection News in Brief Money Matters Perio TribuneCompetitionNews Radioactive dentists Guidance on radiation is introduced in the practice page 4 page 6 page 9 pages 15-18 The future’s bright... the future’s dentalKey figures look to the future as issues surrounding piloting and patient care are discussed by the profession and politicians