Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

T he British Dental Practice Managers’ Association welcomes new president, Jill Taylor, to the helm. The 34-year-old prac- tice manager from Kilwin- ning, Ayrshire, Scotland was voted in by members at the BDPMA’s AGM at the BDA’s Dental Conference and Exhibition in Manchester on Saturday May 21. Jill, practice manager at Bo- tanics Dental Care in Glasgow, said she is delighted with her prestigious role within the BDP- MA, which provides support, ex- pert advice and information to practice managers and admin- istrators. “It is an honour to become president of the BDPMA and I am very much looking forward to my two years in office. There are some exciting changes tak- ing place within the organisa- tion, which will be revealed in more detail at the BDTA Show- case in October.” Jill started her career as a dental nurse in 1994 and joined the BDPMA in late 2008, where shebecamearegionalco-ordina- tor within a year. Hannah Hume, a practice manager in London, has become vice president. The BDPMA was formed in 1993 and now has more than 800 members. Furthermore, members have agreed to a change of name for the Asso- ciation and as has been posted on both Twitter and Facebook, BDPMA is going to be renamed The Association of Dental Ad- ministrators and Managers, or ADAM for short. A spokesperson for the BDPMA said that the change of name will take effect in October with an official launch to the profession at Dental Showcase in October when there will be a press briefing to tell everyone all about it. DT Changes welcomed D entists across the coun- try were called to use their creativity in a competition designed to show off the power of social media. Dhru Shah, dentist and founder of website dentinal tubules and Mark Oborn, con- sultant in online and social media marketing, came up with an idea to run a compe- tition for dental professionals to take pictures of the web- site’s ‘#iamatubulite’ badge in weird and wonderful places. The prize was a free place on Mark’s next Social Media Kick-start course, worth £250. Mark commented: “I set up the competition #tubulite badge to find the best, most fun, most exotic, most dar- ing and most creative photo people could take of their badg- es. We had many entries in- cluding Darth Vader wearing a badge and photos of the badge on the moon (thank goodness for Photoshop huh?), but the final winner was chosen for sheer entertainment and crea- tivity. And the winner was Rachel Webb, a trainee dental ce- ramist. Her photo (left/right/ delete as appropriate) saw toy icon Barbie getting involved in the tubulite trend. For more information go to www.dentinaltubules.com DT I am Tubulite Barbie One of the competition ideas N early half of the popu- lation (47 per cent) has admitted to regularly skipping brushing their teeth at bedtime putting their oral health at risk. Women are the most likely to break one of the three golden rules for clean and healthy teeth, with nearly six out of ten (59 per cent) regularly skipping brush- ing their teeth at bedtime, com- pared to just over a third of men (35 per cent). In contrast, rela- tively few people skip brushing their teeth in the morning with just one in ten people starting the day without looking after their teeth. The findings have been re- vealed by the British Dental Health Foundation as part of its National Smile Month cam- paign, which has been running since 1977. The survey – which looked at the nation’s brushing habits – also found that over a quarter of the population (28 per cent) have admitted to not brush- ing their teeth for 24 hours and around one in seven people (15 per cent) have not cleaned their teeth for more than two days. During National Smile Month, the Foundation seeks to remind everyone of the three golden rules for good oral health: brushing for two min- utes twice a day using a fluo- ride toothpaste; cutting down on how often you eat and drink sugary foods and drinks; and visiting your dentist regularly, as often as they recommend. Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, said: “Anyone who regularly skips brushing their teeth – morning or night-time – is storing up oral health prob- lems for the future such as tooth decay and gum disease – the biggest cause of tooth loss often resulting in the need for bridg- es, dentures or implants. Gum disease has also been linked to other medical problems such as heart disease, strokes, diabetes and respiratory disease. “Good oral health cannot be maintained by brushing once a day as each brushing session has a specific purpose. Brush- ing first thing in the morning coats the tooth’s enamel with fluoride to strengthen and pro- tect the tooth surface against acid attacks throughout the day. “Brushing last thing at night removes the deposits which have built up from eating and drinking during the day, as well as removing plaque – the cause of gum disease. The last brush of the day also coats the teeth with fluoride, which is not washed away through eating and drink- ing, and continues to protect the tooth’s surface further dur- ing sleep,” advised Dr Carter. DT Nearly half of population admit skipping bedtime brush A ‘Tobacco Amnesty’ which has been supported by TV doctor Hilary Jones has seen hundreds of smokers ditch their old cigarettes in favour of healthier E-Lites electronic ciga- rettes. According to reports, the pio- neering initiative took place on World No Tobacco Day. By bin- ning their old cigarettes in ex- change for one of E-Lites’ revolu- tionary new disposable electronic cigarettes, the event gave com- muters at Liverpool Street Station in London an opportunity to try smoking without tobacco or tar. The report stated that E-Lites rep- licate a smoking experience, by not only being a realistic-looking device, but by turning a pure nic- otine solution into a vapour that is inhaled like a cigarette. E-Lites director Adrian Ev- erett was quoted as saying: “The response on the day was astound- ing and far beyond our best ex- pectations. People were fasci- nated to find that there’s now a credible alternative to real ciga- rettes that is healthier, cheaper and unrestricted for use in public places. The interest in our Tobac- co Amnesty proves beyond doubt that smokers who are struggling to stop, or simply don’t want to quit, are open to new ideas, and just as VHS videotapes have been overtaken by DVDs and digital downloads, we believe E-Lites will render cigarettes out-dated before too long.” DT Tobacco Amnesty June 13-19, 20116 News United Kingdom Edition Have you ordered your free Patient Referral Lea ets? Call 0844 335 6354 or visit www.waterpik.co.uk 5 ,000 islanders who are about to lose their den- tist have been calmed by NHS Shetland who are pledging a solution for the crisis by September when Alan Owen ceases practising. The organisation’s chief ex- ecutive Ralph Roberts said that the issue was being discussed “day in, day out”. He hoped that some answers would be known by the end of this month or early in July with a replacement serv- ice in place “by September or shortly afterwards”. People across the islands have begun receiving letters in- forming them they are being deregistered by the practice in Lerwick, which Mr Owen is re- quired to do before retiring on 2nd September. The business, which is con- tracted to the NHS and run from a dental surgery in St Olaf Street leased from NHS Shetland, has not been brought by a new buyer. For the moment, patients seek- ing emergency treatment are advised to contact the Montfield clinic or NHS 24. DT Islanders lose their dentist