Long waiting lists for children and young people needing orthodontic treatment are unacceptable and may reflect underfunding of services, said Guy Deeming, Chairman of the British Orthodontic Society’s Orthodontic Specialists Group, speaking on the BBC last week. In East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, there are long waits for children to get the treatment they need and some are having to travel out of the area.
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A class-action lawsuit has been taken out against Benco Dental in the USA which accuses the dental supplies distributor of conspiring to impede competitors in an illegal effort to boost the price of its own sales. The lawsuit accuses Benco of conspiring with Patterson Companies and Henry Schein in a scheme to inflate prices of dental supplies above competitive levels by pressuring dental associations not to deal with newer, cheaper distributors.
Read more: US dental supply companies accused of anti-competitive practices
With an estimated 1.7 billion cups of coffee sold each year in the UK from over 18,000 outlets and one in five of the population visiting a coffee shop daily, campaign group Action on Sugar has warned of the dangerously high sugar content of certain hot beverages found in many high street coffee shop chains. FGDP(UK) says that the ‘shocking’ amount of sugar in some hot drinks is further evidence of the need for bold action to make it easier for people to make healthy dietary choices.
Read more: Shocking amount of sugar found in many hot flavoured drinks
New research has found that at stages during the night, acidity levels in the mouths of individuals who breathed through their mouths fell well below the threshold when tooth enamel begins to break down. Lead author Joanne Choi said: “"This study is the first to continuously monitor intraoral pH changes in healthy individuals over several days. Our findings support the idea that mouth breathing may indeed be a causal factor for dental diseases such as enamel erosion and caries.”
Read more: Mouth breathing when asleep increases risk of tooth damage
A Scottish dentist has been removed from the GDC register for the second time, for ‘for serious misconduct and dishonesty by putting the health of his patients at risk from cross-contamination.’ At the same hearing, his practice manager was also stuck off and his dental nurse had conditions imposed on her registration for 12 months.
The BDA has warned the government that it risks shutting students from poorer backgrounds out of the profession, following media coverage suggesting that the Government plans to cut bursaries for student doctors and dentists. Paul Blaylock, Chair of the British Dental Association's Students' Committee said: “If the funding is cut for student dentists, the government will shut talented young people out of the dental profession.”
Read more: BDA tells ministers: don’t cut bursaries for dental students