The British Association of Private Dentistry continues to raise awareness of the plight felt across our industry, particularly within the laboratory sector. This week, ceramist and BAPD member Phil Reddington, updates the dentists. He paints a dire picture of the state of dental technology being ‘more volatile than I have known it to be at any time in my 30 plus years in the trade.’
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Reports have recently emerged of some patients losing teeth after contracting the virus - with one woman from New York recounting how a tooth fell out of her mouth without any blood or pain. But dental experts have suggested that a more likely explanation for sudden tooth loss is illness hindering people’s rigorousness in oral hygiene.
The Scottish Government is to make a one-off £500 bonus to NHS staff for their work during the pandemic. SNP MPs have, however, criticised the Treasury for not exempting this payment from tax. BDA Scotland said that welcome though the payment was it will not make up for a decade of pay restraint.
Read more: Scotland to pay £500 to NHS staff including dental teams
The news that a vaccine has been approved has been widely welcomed by most of the country as an escape route from the pandemic, with front-line health workers given some priority. The BDA is now pressing the Government to give dentists clarity on when they can expect their teams to be vaccinated. Arrangements are also in hand for dentists and team members to apply to work as part of the vaccination programme.
The Oral Health Foundation is calling for urgent action around cancer diagnosis, following new data that shows mouth cancer referrals have fallen by a third (33%) since the beginning of the pandemic. New figures collected from across the UK, reveal the number of people being referred for possible mouth cancer fell from 2,257 in the six months prior to March 2020, to 1,506 in the six months after March 2020.
Read more: Mouth cancer referrals down by a third since start of pandemic
Even during this pandemic period dental practice goodwill prices have held up very well. Goodwill as a percentage of fee income in the period across all types of practice averaged 141% of gross fees – only down from 159% from the quarter to January 2020 – the last pre-Covid quarter. And, the level of deal activity is very much higher than many expected.