DTUK2910

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. Editor Lisa Townshend Tel: 020 7400 8979 Lisa@dentaltribuneuk.com Advertising Director Joe Aspis Tel: 020 7400 8969 Joe@dentaltribuneuk.com Sales Executive Sam Volk Tel: 020 7400 8964 Sam.volk@ dentaltribuneuk.com Editorial Assistant Laura Hatton Laura.hatton@dentaltrib- uneuk.com Design & Production Ellen Sawle ellen@dentaltribuneuk.com Clinical Editor Liviu Steier Dental Tribune UK Ltd 4th Floor, Treasure House, 19–21 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8BA E arlier last week, the Brit- ish Dental Association (BDA) warned that grow- ing bureaucracy is destroying the morale of high street dentists in England and could be driving ex- perienced practitioners to retire early or leave the NHS. According to their research, excessive ad- ministration is the primary factor behind a downturn in dentists’ confidence and this could be driv- ing many experienced practition- ers to consider early retirement. Nearly half of all high street dentists are reporting that their morale has fallen during the past twelve months. More than 60 per cent of those said that growing administration was to blame for the decline in mo- rale. Rising expenses and con- tinuing problems with the 2006 dental contract, including a lack of time to provide preven- tive care to patients, were also cit- ed as major factors in the declin- ing confidence of the profession. Worryingly, more than ten per centofdentistsaged55andoverare alreadyleavingtheNHSeachyear. The BDA is concerned that the registration of dental practices with the Care Qual- ity Commission in 2011 could exacerbate the problems that are already being seen, and drive many dentists into early retirement. This would be a se- rious concern both because it could affect patients’ ability to access dental care and because it would deprive dentist- ry of a generation of highly expe- rienced dentists. John Milne, Chair of the BDA’s General Dental Practice Committee, said: “Mo- rale amongst family dentists in England is becoming a real problem. My fear is that many of our most experienced practi- tioners, the dentists that families have relied on for generations, could feel so wrapped up in red tape that they simply choose to walk away. That would be a disaster. “The Government is taking steps to address the problem- atic contract that was introduced in 2006 and we are looking forward to an announcement of how new arrangements will be developed. But it’s also clear that red tape is becoming a major issue, with CQC regis- tration a real concern for den- tists. If the new contract is to be a success the Government must look at this carefully, untangle the red tape and free dentists to do what they are trained for: care for patients.” DT Fear of red tape A study that will inves- tigate the effect of so- cial deprivation on oral health in outer north-east Lon- don has won a grant of more than £88,000. The study, which will in- vestigate whether people living in deprived communities define oral health differently from their peers living in less deprived areas, beat off competition from eleven other proposals to secure funding from the Shirley Glasstone Hughes Trust Fund. The study, which will consid- er the populations of Redbridge, Waltham Forest and Barking and Dagenham, will assess whether individuals’ concepts of oral health affects the way they care for themselves and what barriers exist to individuals accessing care and adopting healthy behaviours. Patient concepts of oral health will be used to find out whether deprivation can explain why some individuals engage in behaviours such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and irregular visits to a den- tist, which increase their risk of oral diseases. The study aims to assess the strengths and shortcomings of the way oral health serv- ices are provided, providing evidence on how to adapt existing structures and develop new services and interventions that overcome barriers to care. It will also provide evidence to underpin models of commis- sioningcare. Prof Liz Kay, Chair of the Trustees of the Fund, said: “Despite an overall improve- ment in the oral health of the UK over the past four dec- ades, a persistent and unac- ceptable chasm between those with the best and worst oral health persists. Understanding why we have this gap is crucial to addressing this situation. The trustees hope that this piece of work can make a significant contribution to expanding that understanding and helping to develop practical tools to address it.” The project will be led by Dr Russ Ladwa, Dean of the Faculty of General Dental Prac- tice at the Royal College of Sur- geons of England in London. It will be hosted by the Institute of Dentistry at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. Thanking the trustees, Dr Ladwa said: “The award of this grant represents a great boost to research in primary care. The FGDP(UK) will work in collaboration with the host institution, Barts and The London SMD, Queen Mary University of London, which has a tradition of research in health inequalities. Both the Institutions are delighted to be given the op- portunity to carry out research that will provide evidence to develop cost effective mod- els of delivering prevention and treatment in primary dental care.” For further information about the Shirley Glasstone Hughes Trust Fund visit www. dentistryresearch.org DT Study secures SGH funding A survey carried out by the North West Public Health Observatory (NWPHO) and The Dental Observatory (TDO) working with the De- partment of Health (DH) and the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry (BAS- CD) has provided information on the caries prevalence and se- verity of 12 year olds attending state schools. Additional reports provided information about the demand and need for orthodontic inter- vention in this age group, ex- perience of oral discomfort and the impact it has on quality of life, self-perception of enamel opacities1 of front teeth and brushing habits. The data was collected by trained and calibrated exam- iners employed by PCTs. The data collection involved visually detecting missing teeth, filled teeth and teeth with obvious dentinal decay. In addition the need and demand for orthodontic intervention were measured along with self-perception of enamel opacities, self-report- ing of oral symptoms and the impact they had on quality of life, brushing frequency and the presence and absence of plaque. The Results At a national level, the study revealed that 33.4 per cent of pupils had experience of car- ies, having one or more teeth which were decayed to dentinal level, extracted or filled because of caries. The remaining 66.6 per cent were free from visually obvious dental decay. Over- all, the study revealed that on average, 12 year old children in England have 0.32 teeth decayed into dentine. At a national level, the av- erage number of filled teeth is 0.35 and the average number of missing teeth is 0.07. The results also showed that reducing levels of disease are in alignment with those found in previous years. The geographic distribution of disease levels is also consistent with previ- ous surveys. The northern SHAs, Yorkshire and The Hum- ber, North West and North East show higher prevalence and severity of disease than SHAs in the Midlands and the South West. The more southern and easterly SHAs, South Central, South East Coast and London, along with East of England, have the lowest levels of disease. The full tables of results at PCT, LA and regional level are available at www.nwph.net/ dentalhealth. DT Survey: Experience of decay at age 12 Average number of dentinally Decayed, Missing (due to decay) and Filled Teeth (D3MFT) in 12 year old children including 95% confidence limits.Strategic Health Authorities, 2008/09 Dentists face a mountain of paperwork November 29-December 5, 20102 News United Kingdom Edition