Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has said he is considering scrapping a dental health scheme, which has been used by around one million children since it was introduced. He told Parliament that the scheme — which gives children $1000 worth of free dental care every two years — was failing to live up to expectations and confirmed earlier reports that the future of the program was under review.
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Average profits in the UK’s private dental practices are beginning to leave those of NHS practices behind, according to the latest annual statistics from NASDAL – the National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers. 2015 saw the gap between the two widen considerably – an average private practice making a profit of £140,129 per principal, compared to an average NHS practice profit of £129,265. Indeed, private practices have seen an increase in fee income of over 8% compared to 2014.
Read more: Private practice profits leave NHS behind - NASDAL
The British Dental Health Foundation will be changing its name to the Oral Health Foundation from 4 April. The charity believes this will allow it to address the growing demand to deliver support, information and education on oral health around the world. Chief executive Nigel Carter said. ‘Under our new brand our focus and commitment will remain as strong as ever, and our core mission and goals will remain much the same.”
Important changes to the FP17 form are being introduced from April 1, 2016. The changes are the addition of new clinical items, addition of a new exemption category and a change to evidence of exemption seen. The BDA has raised concerns with NHS England over these changes.
The British Dental Association (BDA), the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD), Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP(UK)), Denplan and the British Association of Dental Therapists (BADT) have all responded to the Chancellor’s proposal to introduce a sugar levy on the soft drinks industry from 2018. All welcomed the initiative as a first step on the road to an effective preventive strategy.
Read more: Positive response from profession to sugary drinks tax
In his budget, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced that he would introduce a levy on soft drinks manufactruers who produce high sugar content drinks. It will come into force in 2018 and the expected £520m to be raised will help support school sport.