Dentists across England must resist the bullying tactics of Primary Care Trust dental commissioning staff, General Dental Practice Committee (GDPC) Chair Dr John Milne has urged. Speaking at the LDC Conference he told delegates he was appalled at suggestions that some PCTs were challenging perfectly acceptable treatment patterns in an attempt to claw back money, using a veiled threat that practitioners might be referred to the GDC as a stick with which to beat them.

Research by Bupa has revealed that more than half of Brits believe that the quality of a person’s teeth has a major impact on a person’s career or romantic life. Three in five people (63 per cent) believe having bad teeth can prevent someone from finding a partner while over half (52%) believe having nice teeth can help someone get a better job.

Derek Watson has been reinstated in his role of Chief Executive of the DPA following the aborted takeover of the organisation by CODE Ltd. 

The DPA office is open and membership services continue as before, following a four month hiatus.

Results of inspections by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) show that  88 per cent of practices were meeting all the government standards. The 12 per cent not meeting at least one standard were required to produce an action plan telling the CQC how they were going to improve. They did not find any serious concerns which would have led them to take more urgent action.

The operator of a Sheffield dental practice has been fined for safety failings after a receptionist fell more than three metres through a roof light while spending her lunch break on the flat roof of the surgery. Integrated Dental Holdings (IDH) was found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was fined   £18,500 with costs of £71,632.79.