A chance encounter whilst on holiday in Burma in March 2012, has led to the foundation of a new UK dental charity thanks to the enthusiasm and dedication of practice owners Sharon Bierer and her husband, dentist Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen. Burmadent has been granted charitable status by the Charities Commission in double quick time thanks to the documented evidence that the organisation has already carried out important voluntary work.

Scientists have developed a new method of replacing missing teeth with a bioengineered material generated from a person's own gum cells. Current implant-based methods of whole tooth replacement fail to reproduce a natural root structure and as a consequence of the friction from eating and other jaw movement, loss of jaw bone can occur around the implant.

Health Minister Earl Howe has announced rise in NHS charges in England from April 1, 2013. He said: “Dental charges represent an important contribution to the overall cost of dental services. The exact amount raised will be dependent upon the level and type of primary dental care services commissioned by the NHS Commissioning Board and the proportion of charge-paying patients who attend dentists and the level of treatment they require."

The annual benchmarking statistics just issued by NASDAL show that dental practices have been contending with a significant increase in costs. In the tax returns of dentists in the year ending March 2012, the total average costs of running a dental practice equated to 67.6% of practice income. As a result, profits are almost back to the levels in the 2004-2005 NASDAL survey.