The recent Westminster Health Forum policy conference, ‘Priorities for dentistry in England - contract reform, professional regulation, integrated oral healthcare, training and education, and post-pandemic recovery and support’, may not have registered in many UK practices.
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Many dentists will not have heard of Professor Rebecca Harris. She is the Professor of Dental Public Health at the University of Liverpool, and Honorary Consultant in Dental Public Health, Liverpool University Hospitals. But that is not all. Following a mixed academic and NHS career she is now providing clinical leadership on Dental System Reform in England in her capacity as Deputy Chief Dental Officer.
“Finding a dentist in Lincolnshire is like finding the Holy Grail” an MP told fellow Members of Parliament at the Commons yesterday.
Dentists will not need telling about the likely results of failing to plan. Despite the majority of new dental graduates being female, many of whom become very successful, a recent survey has produced some surprising results as well as some more predictable concerns.
Read more: Survey Reveals Gender Gap In Dentists' Financial Planning
The self-employed status of associates may have survived for decades, but there have been regular threats. A recent court case will be of interest and the judgment has potential wide-reaching implications for thousands of dentists.
Read more: New Case Threatens Employment Status Of Associates
The heavily publicised £50 million pounds additional funding for dentistry that was announced earlier this year has turned out to be nothing of the sort. It seems likely that £25 million or less will have been spent, and that this will have bought far less than the claimed 350, 000 appointments. Much of this reduced spend has occurred outside the GDS.
Read more: Now You See It, Now You Don’t. The £50 million NHS Dentistry Trick