If you’re a practice principal you’ll no doubt be familiar with the term ‘exit strategy’. What you may not know is that your plan should be in place at least five years before you actually intend to leave. This gives you time to get all your accounts in order, identify the appropriate exit strategy and identify your personal goals for the future. Not to mention that it will help you secure a smooth exit and gain maximum return on your practice.

If you plan on selling the business as a way of securing monetary funds for retirement, then that time can be used to implement strategies that will help to maximise turnover and profits. Advertising and branding can help with this, as can having a dental practice valuation from a specialist valuations company.

As part of your exit strategy you should also decide whether you want to sell the practice outright or stay on part-time as part of a deferred consideration deal. Admittedly the eventual outcome may be outside of your control, but it’s definitely something to give thought to and plan. Especially if your intention is to depart immediately and settle for a smaller sum, as you may need to start your exit plan even earlier.

Of course, the better the planning, the more likely you are to achieve your personal and business goals. So if your heart is dead set on walking away from the practice and avoiding being tied into a part-time contract for several years after the sale, you’ll need to plan in advance to make that happen. Naturally, it’s best to contact a specialist dental acquisitions and sales agency that can help you to establish the most appropriate exit strategy that matches your objectives.

They will also be able to warn you of potential pitfalls to avoid. For instance, don't make the mistake of taking on fewer patients and reducing working hours too soon. All too often practice principals make this mistake, resulting in stagnation of growth and loss of income. As your profits decrease, so will the practice’s attractiveness to potential buyers and banks.

In regard to your staff, be sure to look at the way in which your associates are remunerated in your exit strategy to create an accurate overview of your practice’s performance and potential. Official associate agreements will be needed as well to protect the goodwill of the practice and assure potential buyers that the clinical team plans to remain with the business for the foreseeable future.

If retirement is on your mind or you’re thinking of moving on, then it may be time to start thinking about an exit strategy. Call Dental Elite for a free valuation, healthcheck and expert advice that will help you to achieve your long-term goals and realise your practice’s potential.

For more information contact Dental Elite. Visit www.dentalelite.co.uk, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01788 545 900

By Chris Tapper

Six years ago, I attended a two-day residential course. It was a CPD course I hasten to add, not the usual anger management or ‘appropriate behaviour in the workplace’ type of thing I used to have to attend before they found the right tablets for me.

Anyway, it was very interesting, although I freely admit I never put a single thing I learned into practice – mainly because the dental corporate I work for wouldn’t shell out for the equipment I needed unless I could produce a business plan that proved I could earn them at least a tenner for every quid they invested. But that is by the by.

On the evening of the first day (a Friday if I recall correctly), the ten participants plus the lecturer and two representatives of the sponsoring company, enjoyed a meal in the hotel where the course was being held. After a very pleasant starter and main course, I moved to where a gaggle of four youthful dentists were sitting and enquired as to where they were in terms of their careers. It transpired that all four had graduated from the same Northern dental school and had all been qualified roughly two years. They were all general dental practitioners and had all taken up associateships in NHS practices.

As the most experienced dentist on the course – actually, why mince words, the oldest – I was interested to see if the youngsters were enjoying their chosen profession so far. I think I was trying to vicariously re-establish myself with my early enthusiasm for dentistry.

I posed, what I felt, was a fairly innocuous question to the group:

"How’s it going?"

One female dentist confessed that she cried every night when she arrived home from work, and sometimes did it during surgery sessions. One of the males said he was so anxious about work that he threw up most mornings and that brushing the lingual aspects of his teeth was impossible, while the other female said she had trouble sleeping and had been put on antidepressants six months earlier.

Perhaps the most troubling response was from the other male, who confessed that he had on a number of occasions, thought of ‘ending it,’ having realised that he had made a dreadful mistake in going into dentistry, and couldn’t see any way out. My concern for him diminished a little when I saw that he had an incredibly healthy appetite, demolishing his own rhubarb crumble and a female colleague’s lemon sorbet in less than three minutes.

When I questioned them more closely, the reason for their universal despair was not down to the pursuit of ridiculous UDA targets or the student debts they were saddled with, but the fear of dental litigation.

All four were constantly worried that they would see their careers end either in a GDC meeting, or more likely, through the bad publicity and financial ruin brought about as a result of a civil action facilitated by a dental litigation firm. They felt that the chances of those events happening to them were high, since one of their fellow students had already found himself in the middle of litigation as a result of an NHS root-filling having not worked.

Now that was six years ago, and I would argue that since then, the UK dental profession has slipped into a febrile anxiety that I have never previously witnessed in the 30 years or so that I have been working in dentistry.

Never have I seen dental colleagues (and even strangers) so jaded and so preoccupied with fears of dental complaints and ‘the dreaded letter’ from a certain Northern dental litigation firm.

I will freely accept that I have no scientific evidence for my observations and that my views are based purely on the empirical, but I personally know of no dentist who has not recently entertained thoughts that a patient might ‘turn legal’ if the wind blows the wrong way.

Over the past 18 months, I have been offering support to a close young colleague, being pursued by an extremely aggressive young solicitor (she IS young, I looked her up) who is alleging ‘negligence’ after her client developed dry socket after a routine extraction of an upper first molar. Rightly or wrongly, my colleague decided she did not want to consult her defence organisation and so I have been (rightly or wrongly) equally aggressive in demanding expert witness or consultant reports in support of their absurd claim. So far, the solicitor has failed to provide any evidence of negligence or give any reason why an expert assessor’s report has not been provided. All I know is, it has been fun ‘having a go’ back, but it to me illustrates a sad fact – nobody in the UK-based dental profession is safe from opportunistic punts from patients who want to make a quick quid from the no-win-no-fee mob.

A few months ago, a solicitor I know told me that during a local meeting of his legal colleagues, a speaker said that a lucrative and growing new source of business was dental litigation and that it was “something to think about” since the clampdown on spurious ‘whiplash’ claims and ‘Benidorm Belly’ – where package holiday tourists claim compensation for stomach upsets caused by dubious calamari and fries - had resulted in less opportunity for successful claims.

Recent experience has taught me that dental litigators are a tenacious and avaricious species and are unlikely to give up easily on an area of medical law that they consider to be easy pickings. Certainly, according to my legal friend, lawyers see it as a much easier area to be successful in than medical litigation.

Soon, the cost of dental defence subscriptions will be prohibitive to viable practice, and the profession, once all our European colleagues go back home, will find itself unable to cope with patient demand. What is the answer? Your guess is as good as mine.

Until then, I am going to have a rhubarb crumble and some sorbet.

Ahead of the impending Soft Drinks Industry Levy on 6^th April, one in five UK adults (21%) say that potentially paying a little bit extra won’t bother them if they want a sugary drink.

According to survey figures* released today by YouGov and Simplyhealth, the experts behind Denplan payment plans, just over half of the nation (59%) supports the new tax, but a significant number of people would not be deterred by potential price hikes of sugary beverages. In the same survey, 20% of adults admitted they are addicted to sugar.

Nicknamed the ‘sugar tax’, the Soft Drinks Industry Levy is a completely new measure that comes into force on 6^th April 2018. Plans for the tax were announced in the Government’s 2016 budget in response to the nation’s alarming levels of obesity and poor oral health.

The tax primarily targets manufacturers and importers of sugary soft drinks and encourages them to adjust their recipes and reduce the levels of sugar in their drinks, thereby avoiding the tax or paying a lower level. However, consumers could also be affected and be forced to pay more for sugary drinks if manufacturers decide to not reformulate their recipes and pass on the tax to consumers.

Under the new levy, drinks with a sugar content over five but below eight grams per 100ml will see 18p added to the price of the drink per litre, and drinks containing over eight grams of sugar per 100ml will face an increase of 24p per litre. 

“It’s encouraging to see that the majority of people support the new levy and understand the urgent need to address the alarming levels of obesity and poor oral health – particularly those of children - in the UK,” said Henry Clover, Chief Dental Officer at Simplyhealth, the experts behind Denplan payment plans. “However it’s concerning that one in five people say they would not be deterred by potential price increases of sugary drinks, suggesting that sugary beverages are seen as a staple item in some people’s daily diets. Sugary drinks are a leading cause of tooth decay and acid erosion and offer little to no nutritional value.”

Encouragingly, 53% of respondents in the survey claimed they don’t drink sugary drinks, and 17% would consider choosing less sugary and potentially less expensive options, of which 10% didn’t like the thought of paying extra and 7% who definitely don’t want to pay extra.

“It will be interesting to observe consumer buying behaviour over the next year as well as seeing how many manufacturers have adjusted their recipes,” says Henry. “Reducing access to high sugar drinks options and encouraging people to choose less sugary options is likely to have a positive effect on the nation’s oral health, particularly in children and young adults. Sugary drinks should always be seen as an occasional treat and only drunk as part of a meal. Water and milk are far more tooth-friendly options.”

The survey also revealed that one in four adults (25%) admit to struggling to understand the sugar content on food and drink packaging labels, highlighting that many people may be unwittingly consuming much higher levels of sugar than they realise. Worryingly, amongst these, only 56% of 18-24 year olds knew that honey is a sugar, and only 41% of the same age group knew that molasses, fruit juice concentrates (44%) and maltose (50%) are also types of sugar.

“Confusion over food and drink labelling and a lack of awareness of the recommended daily limits almost certainly contribute to the nation’s high sugar consumption,” says Henry. “It’s important that manufacturers and retailers make it as easy as possible for consumers to know what they’re purchasing and are transparent with their ingredients and labelling. There is also a role for dental teams and other healthcare professionals to help patients understand the effects of a high sugar diet on their health and help them make more informed choices.”

*Online survey conducted YouGov on behalf of Simplyhealth. Total sample size was 5,264 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 12th -19th February 2018.  The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).

About Simplyhealth:

For 145 years we’ve been helping people to make the most of life through better everyday health.  In 2017, Simplyhealth and Denplan united under one Simplyhealth brand and today we’re proud to be the UK’s leading provider of health cash plans, Denplan dental payment plans and pet health plans.

We help over three million people in the UK access the health and care products, services and support that they need, when they need them and at a price they can afford.

• 1m health cash plan customers
• 1.5m patients with a Denplan payment plan
• 6,500 member dentists
• 1,900 member vets
• 879,600 animals covered
• 11,000 corporate clients

We’re proud to donate 10% of our pre-tax profits to health-related charitable activities every year, and this amounted to over £1 million in 2017. Our Simplyhealth Great Run Series partnership raised an additional £42.6 million for charity.

Simplyhealth is a trading name of Simplyhealth Access, which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

www.denplan.co.uk

www.simplyhealth.co.uk       

Implants & Beyond Symposium 2018

Friday 20th April

Double Tree by Hilton Hotel, 2 Bridge Place, London, SW1V 1QA

FREE TO ATTEND (5 CPD Hrs)

 Further details on the website.

To register for this free event, just fill out the form on the website

http://www.implantsandbeyond.org/

Carestream Dental is delighted to announce that Mark Garner is its new national sales manager, based in the UK.

Mark has over 20 years of experience working in the dental industry having previously managed large sales teams at other companies. Based in Leicester, he brings with him a wealth of dental knowledge and business leadership experience, with a strong focus on meeting and exceeding standards.

Carestream Dental is committed to delivering an exceptional standard of customer service to every dental practice it works with. Building a highly experienced and skilled sales team is part of this, ensuring all its customers receive the information, advice and support they need.

For more information please contact Carestream Dental on

0800 169 9692 or visit www.carestreamdental.co.uk

For all the latest news and updates, follow us on Twitter @CarestreamDentl and Facebook

Carestream Dental is delighted to announce that it has been shortlisted in two categories for the National Sports Technology Awards 2018.

This is an internationally-recognised accreditation that celebrates technology-led innovation throughout the world of sport.

It is thrilled to be a finalist in the following groups:

• Best Participation Technology

• Most Innovative Sports Equipment or Apparel

In collaboration with the mouthwear suppliers and dental laboratories involved – Forcetech Mouthwear, Rhino Mouthwear, Fairbanks Dental Laboratory and Wessex Dental Laboratory – the company has also been shortlisted in the Most Innovative Sports Partnership category.

We look forward to the awards ceremony and are hopeful for a win!

For more information please contact Carestream Dental on

0800 169 9692 or visit www.carestreamdental.co.uk

For all the latest news and updates, follow us on Twitter @CarestreamDentl and Facebook

Simplyhealth Professionals has produced a range of templates and draft policies to support its practices in preparation for meeting the enhanced data protection requirements, coming into force on Friday 25 May 2018. The company has also been providing detailed information and guidance on the implication for practices of the new data regulations with a three part blog written by Roger Matthews, Honorary Life President and former Chief Dental Officer (https://www.denplan.co.uk/dentists/blog).

Between now and Friday 25 May, the recommendations are that practices will need to:

• Complete their data audit (as recommended by The Information Commissioner’s Office (www.ico.org.uk/gdpr)

• Check where back-ups are stored (ask your software provider/s)

• Consider how to present Privacy Notices to patients

• Consider revising their Data Protection and Information Security policies

• Update their Cookie policy if they have a website

• Carry out and document a Legitimate Interest Assessment (in simple terms how you lawfully process personal data)

• Draw up a Data Breach policy and procedure (if not already done)

• Appoint a Data Protection Officer

To help with preparation, Simplyhealth Professionals has published several templates for members on their web portal in a GDPR toolkit.  There are templates available for a Legitimate Interest Assessment, a Privacy Notice and a Data Breach. However, in each case it will be necessary for practices to consider how these templates should be adapted for their own particular circumstances and practice.  Further resources will be published on the portal in the coming weeks in the form of a Cookie policy, a Data Retention policy, a Data Protection policy and an Information Security policy.

As the new law is still a Parliamentary ‘work in progress’ and subject to some further amendments, Simplyhealth Professionals intends to keep members fully updated on any further developments.

Henry Clover, Chief Dental Officer at Simplyhealth Professionals, said: “We shouldn’t forget that confidentiality, consent and security of sensitive information – to name but three factors – have already been an integral part of dental practices for a long time. This is the embodiment of data protection in our professional lives, so much of this is not actually new.  

“However, there is still some preparation required by practices and they will need to become familiar with some different language.  Similar to the support we provided with regards to CQC inspections, we have again attempted to simplify the complex and make generic data protection requirements relevant to dental practices.”

About Simplyhealth Professionals:

In February 2017, Denplan rebranded as Simplyhealth Professionals.

Dental

Simplyhealth Professionals is the UK’s leading dental payment plan specialist with more than 6,500 member dentists nationwide caring for approximately 1.7 million patients registered to a Denplan product.

Simplyhealth Professionals provides the following range of leading Denplan dental payment plans under the Denplan name:

• Denplan Care: all routine and restorative care + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover

• Denplan Essentials: routine care only + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover

• Denplan for Children: routine and other agreed care + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover

• Denplan Membership: registered with the dentist + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover

• Denplan Hygiene: A dental payment plan without dental insurance for all types of practice from NHS, mixed and private to support patients commit to a consistent hygiene programme.

• Denplan Emergency Insurance: worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover only

Simplyhealth Professionals also provide a wide range of professional services for its member dentists and their practice teams, including the Denplan Quality Programme and Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme.  Plus regulatory advice, business and marketing consultancy services and networking opportunities.

Dentist enquiries telephone: 0800 169 9962.

For patient enquiries telephone: 0800 401 402   

For details of all of our products, visit www.denplan.co.uk

Adam Christie the CEO of CALCIVIS was interviewed by BBC Scotland this week. He spoke comprehensively about the development of the CALCIVIS imaging system and told viewers how this innovative new dental device is helping to revolutionise preventative dentistry.

Filmed at a dental practice in Edinburgh, Adam showed how the CALCIVIS imaging system works and explained:

“Using a recombinant photoprotein, the CALCIVIS imaging system identifies free calcium ions released from actively demineralising tooth surfaces.”

Viewers saw how the CALCIVIS imaging system produces a very short, low-level flash of light that is detected by an integrated intraoral sensor and presented as a glowing, digital map at the chair side. It was agreed that CALCIVIS offers dental practitioners an early detection device to identify enamel demineralisation in the earliest, most reversible stages, which enables them to plan prompt management to prevent dental caries.

In addition, the non-invasive CALCIVIS system helps patients to understand their risk of dental caries more easily and motivates them to improve oral hygiene levels.

As Adam Christie explained to the BBC, “CALCIVIS is a first for British Dentistry. Never before has it been so easy to detect areas of active demineralisation so efficiently.”

If you would like to know more about this remarkable technology, contact the CALCIVIS team today.

To find out more about CALCIVIS visit www.CALCIVIS.com

or call 0131 658 5152

A recent Court of Appeal judgment has criticised the fairness and scope of the former Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s procedure for investigating clinical complaints against healthcare professionals. The GPs in the case were jointly represented by the MDU and another medical defence organisation but the judgment will also have positive implications for dental professionals.

The court considered exactly how the Ombudsman applied her discretion to investigate a complaint. It found an investigation should not begin where a complainant has another legal remedy open to them (other than complaining to the Ombudsman) unless the Ombudsman “is satisfied” that it was not reasonable to expect the complainant to use the alternative legal remedy. The Ombudsman must obtain and analyse information related to the complainant’s particular circumstances and not simply refer to general criteria. 

The court also provided welcome clarity on the standard applied by the Ombudsman to determine whether or not the exercise of clinical judgement was reasonable.

The judge commented:

“The standard chosen by the Ombudsman is beguilingly simple but incoherent. It cannot provide clarity or consistency of application to the facts of different cases. There is no yardstick of reasonable or responsible practice, but rather a counsel of perfection that can be arbitrary. It runs the risk of being a lottery dependent on the professional opinion of the advisor that is chosen. It is unreasonable and irrational and accordingly, unlawful.”

John Makin, Head of the DDU said: “This judgment will have positive implications for dental professionals. When their clinical judgement is criticised, the Ombudsman can investigate what happened, reach conclusions and make recommendations if service failure is found. It is essential that the standards used by the Ombudsman to judge the clinical care provided to a patient are appropriate. Dental professionals should not be held to unreasonably high standards. It is also important that the Ombudsman stays within its legal powers and does not investigate exactly the same facts as a court would consider as this could present double jeopardy for dental professionals.  

“Those facing an investigation into their clinical practice should have reassurance that the processes being followed by the Ombudsman are fair and just. This judgment is good for healthcare professionals, and will also benefit patients who can be assured that the investigation was properly and fairly carried out.”

The DDU, the specialist dental division of the MDU, is a not-for-profit organisation wholly dedicated to our members’ interests. Our team is led and staffed by dentists with real-life experience of the pressures and challenges faced in practice.

We offer our members expert guidance, personal support and robust defence in addressing dento-legal issues, complaints and claims. Our customised services range from legal assistance to indemnity to appropriate CPD.

theddu.com

Carestream Dental’s Application Specialist, Kirsty Morrison, was one of several lucky people to receive a ‘Golden Envelope’ from Practice Plan at the BDIA Dental Showcase last year. It contained a £20 note and a dare – make it count!

Kirsty decided to use her £20 to help a gentleman who had battled and overcome his fight with alcoholism. He was honing his technology skills on a tablet with his social worker, but was devastated when it broke and he was unable to replace it.

The story inspired the whole team in the Carestream Dental Head Office, who decided to donate to the cause as well. The amazing £230 raised enabled Kirsty to buy the gentleman a brand new tablet, as well as a cover and other accessories, enabling him to continue working on his skills from his own home for the very first time.

This is just one example of how a little incentive like the £20 from Practice Plan can really make a difference to someone. Thank you to everyone who donated!

For more information please contact Carestream Dental on

0800 169 9692 or visit www.carestreamdental.co.uk

For all the latest news and updates, follow us on Twitter @CarestreamDentl and Facebook 

One year after taking ownership of the UK’s third largest dental group, Zurich-based Colosseum Dental Group unveils a £5M comprehensive modernisation programme focused on clinical excellence and best practice.

Southern Dental, the nation’s third largest chain of dentists, is now known as Colosseum Dental UK Ltd. The name change coincides with the first anniversary of Zurich-based Colosseum Dental's acquisition of Southern Dental, which made it not only Europe's fastest growing dental group, but also the only one with a network spanning the continent.

With a patient base in excess of 500,000, the majority of Colosseum's 80 practices in the UK will undergo an extensive refurbishment programme, introducing a new look and feel to waiting rooms with upgraded treatment areas and clinical facilities as part of a £5,000,000 investment in the company. Peter Keegans, CEO, explains, “Our new owners have a long-term, 20-year vision which is enabling us to invest in upgrading our clinics to be state-of-the-art practices offering the highest standards.” Colosseum Dental Group’s ambition is to be Europe’s leading dental provider within five years.

LOCAL PRACTICES SERVING THEIR COMMUNITY
One of the pillars of Colosseum’s recipe for success in the UK will be embedding each practice as a “good neighbour” in its local community. Peter continues, “We want to break with convention from other dental chains. Each of our 80 practices will be known by the local name patients have always referred to it. If, for example, ‘Hollybush Dental’ is how a practice has always been known colloquially, we've no intention of simply re-badging it as ‘Colosseum Dental’. In this way, each practice will retain its connection as an integral part of its community."

In addition to being a good neighbour, Colosseum has two other refreshingly simple cultural values; to be a provider of exceptional patient care and to be a great employer. As Peter explains, “Our name change marks a new era: a renewed energy and focus, an opportunity for cultural change and to align ourselves with the values of our European colleagues. Armed with a long-term vision, we can now invest in our practices and staff with confidence, knowing our patients will be the ultimate beneficiaries. Everyone wins.”

EUROPEAN SCOPE FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PATIENT CARE
Being part of a European group means dentists have the chance to provide best practice based on the ability to observe long-term clinical outcomes in a huge, European-wide patient base. Treatment protocols, guidelines and KPIs are currently being developed across the group to provide highly informed patient care, and present the best possible treatment options to patients. Ravi Rattan, Clinical Director at Colosseum Dental UK, who joined in 2016, is excited to be part of these changes: “At Colosseum Dental, we’re committed to raising clinical standards and offering more advanced treatment options and procedures to our patients. Our new specialist referral centres in Kettering and Kingston offer private as well as NHS treatments such as orthodontics, implants and facial aesthetics. Patients there will benefit from 3D CBCT scanners to enable better, safer treatment planning. Having new investment means we can continue to set up such centres: Our European colleagues are highly experienced in managing large referral centres, and we are learning from their success.”

The group’s aim is for no differences to exist between treatments available at, say, a practice in Switzlerand, and those available at one in Southern England. Lars Armbäck is Chief Dentist at Colosseum Dental Group. Armed with 30 years’ general practice and a special interest in prosthetics, implants, quality and treatment strategy, his focus is on best practice, dentist development and quality assurance. He’s excited by the addition of the 80 English clinics, noting, “Patients everywhere should be able to benefit from digital technologies that enable them to make informed choices about their care. Hence, as a group, we recently chose to invest in intraoral scanners for all patients, and our size means we can negotiate to help keep diagnostic and treatment prices affordable.” He adds, “Dentists at our UK practices will benefit from committees we have set up to examine best practice in treatment planning and workflow. With time, we’ll be able to compare patient outcomes across Europe, and thereby identify best treatment strategies and best practice overall. It’s this type of sharing which sets us apart from any of our competitors.”

COMMITTED TO PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Career choices at various levels are being made more flexible, in line with changing lifestyle requirements such as increased female and part time dentists in post. Samaneh Nezamivand-Chegini, a dentist who practises in Central London, having joined in 2012, now sits on the Clinical Board. She says, “It’s great to see my suggestions have been noted, despite my being relatively newly qualified. Peter [Keegans] and his team have listened and acted, which is in turn inspiring my clinical colleagues. On a personal level, I’m being supported to further my career and income via training in implantology.”

Sharyn Wilson, HR Director at Colosseum Dental UK, notes, “Our improved ways of working and communicating are being appreciated by all our staff, from receptionists to dental specialists.” Career progression for non-clinical staff is also being strengthened. For example, the new Advanced Treatment Co-ordinator has progressed from earlier roles as nurse, Practice Manager, then Resourcer. As a sign of its commitment to professional development, Colosseum Dental UK will hold its first Annual Conference on 20th April, where keynote speakers will include Seema Sharma, an expert in transforming dental practices, Joe Bhat, a Fellow of the International Team for Implantology and Jas Gill, who was voted in at No.12 in the Top 50 most important people in UK Dentistry.

ABOUT COLOSSEUM DENTAL UK LIMITED
Colosseum Dental UK Limited is the third largest chain of dental practices in the UK, with 80 clinics spanning 19 counties. The company supplies high quality general dental care, as well as specialist services for NHS and private patients. It has more than 900 employees and Associates, including over 250 dental professionals, serving more than 500,000 patients. Its mission is to be the ‘best in class’ dental group in the South of England by providing modern, quality dentistry services for the benefit of patients, dentists, employees, shareholders and striving for continuous growth and excellence. www.colosseumdental.co.uk

Michael Lansdell is a founding partner of specialist dental and medical accountants Lansdell & Rose and a chartered accountant. Here, he gives an overview of Philip Hammond’s first Spring Statement, and the key points for dental practice owners…

We had two Budgets and three Financial Bills in 2017, which for many, was more than enough! The Spring Statement lasted a grand total of 25 minutes, and was essentially a review of the public finances. It was also an opportunity to publish consultations before any announcements in the Autumn Budget.

So, nothing headline grabbing, but here’s a glance over the Spring Statement and how it may relate to your business.

VAT

From April, the VAT threshold will remain at £85,000 for the next two years, as per a previous announcement. Mr Hammond said he would consult on whether growth could be incentivised by looking again at how VAT is structured.

Digital payments

Payments/settlements systems (including the Bank of England’s) are to be renewed in order to harness the power of the latest technologies. The government pledged its support to these changes, and it will be consulting on them.

On a related note, views will also be sought on how online platforms could help users comply with their tax obligations.

Entrepreneur’s relief

If an individual now owns less than 5 per cent interest in a company, because the company has issued trade to raise capital, they should be able to claim Entrepreneur’s relief, says the government.

Business rates

Views had previously been sought on this topic. It was announced that the first of more frequent, three-yearly revaluations for business properties would be in 2021.

Self-funded work-related training

Have you – or a colleague – undertaken this? Well, the government is going to look at how tax relief can be extended and how the system can be both simplified and protected from misuse.

Coming up in April…

No new tax measures were introduced, but some previously announced changes are coming into force in April. The personal allowance is rising to £11,850 (for basic rate, to £34,000 and higher rate, £46,350). This excludes Scotland, who will have five new tax bands for 2018/19. If you are on a higher rate in Scotland, this isn’t great news as the threshold is going to start at £2,920 below the rest of the UK. As previously announced, the dividend tax allowance will be reduced to £2,000.

The national insurance contributions (NICs) threshold is also increasing by 3 per cent and Class 2 NICs will now be phased out for 2019/20.

If you have a company car, tax will rise for all by the highest emission vehicles.

The residence nil rate band for Inheritance tax (IHT) will rise; the main rate band will remain unchanged. There could be changes afoot by the Autumn Budget, however, a review of IHT conducted by the Office of Tax Simplification is due to report around then.  

As for pensions, the minimum contributions for workplace pensions under automatic enrolment will increase. The lifetime allowance will rise in line with inflation (it’s been on a downward path since 2012).

Finally, both income tax and NICs will apply on all payments in lieu of notice (PILONs) in 2018/9.

If you want specific data, or clarification, contact Lansdell & Rose. We can help your practice to stay ticking away efficiently and profitably during the next financial year and beyond.

Other dental accountants also available. Nasdal.

Lansdell & Rose on 020 7376 9333,

Or visit www.lansdellrose.co.uk

On 29^th November 2017, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) handed down its decision in the case of King v Sash Windows. It is another case in a long line on holiday pay and has opened the flood gates for workers to claim unpaid holiday dating back 20 years.

Why is this relevant to dental practices?

At present most associates are working under a self-employed contract and as such will not be paid holiday pay. However, there is a risk, especially for those associates employed by a dental corporate, that in fact the reality is that associates are workers and therefore entitled to holiday pay.

Mr King’s case does not change the legal test for establishing who might be a worker. However, prior to this case, it was thought that workers could only claim up to two years back dated holiday pay. This meant the risk to dental practices if an associate was wrongly classified was fairly limited.

Now a dental practice is at risk of having to pay anyone found to be a worker unpaid holiday from the start of their contract or from 1998, when the Working Time Regulations came into effect, if the contract began before then.

Definition of a Worker

Before looking at this case in any detail, it is important to understand what the definition of a worker is. This is another area of employment law that has had a number of high profile cases in recent years. In essence the test is as follows:

1. Must the person personally provide the service or can they send a substitute?

            Most associate contracts contain a right to send a substitute. However, if the right is fettered this 

            could result in the associate being found to be a worker.

2. Is the company obliged to provide work and is the person obliged to accept it?

           If you have an NHS contract, you need to ensure that the associate meets their UDA targets. This 

           therefore could infer into the contract a mutuality of obligation. 

3. Was the status of the ‘employer’ under the contract that of a customer?

            No; the customer is the patient. The associate is providing their services for your customers.

Facts

Mr King was a self-employed window salesman. He began working for Sash Windows in 1998 and was paid on a commission only basis. He never asked for holiday pay and he never received it. On average Mr King took fewer holidays each year than a worker is entitled to. Just before his 65^th birthday Mr King’s contract was terminated on the platform of Victoria Station due to his age.

Mr King pursued various claims including unfair dismissal and age discrimination. Here we will just deal with his holiday pay claims, of which there were three, namely:

1. Claim 1 = holiday pay due on termination of employment, namely in the final year;
2. Claim 2 = holiday pay due in respect of days off taken but not paid for;
3. Claim 3 = holiday pay due for any days he did not take from the annual leave entitlement.

The employment tribunal found Mr King to be a worker and all three holiday claims were successful. He was awarded £27,257.96 in total for this element of the claim.

The case was appealed and there were cross appeals in relation to various aspects of the findings. The issue in relation to the holiday pay claim was ultimately referred by the Court of Appeal to the European Court of Justice. 

Holiday Pay Claim; Legal Arguments

Firstly, the only holiday pay claim subject to appeal was in respect of claim 3 – holiday pay due for any days not taken from the annual leave entitlement.

Sash Windows’ main argument was the ‘use it or lose it’ principal, which in essence states if a worker does not use his annual leave entitlement in the applicable holiday year he will lose it entirely. This is because there is no automatic right to carry holiday entitlement from one leave year to the next. They also suggested that a worker would have ‘double recovery’ if they received pay for holidays that they in fact worked and were paid for.

Mr King argued there were circumstances beyond his control that meant he could not take the annual leave and so it should roll over. In this case it was argued that the circumstances beyond his control were his employer’s intentional failure to pay him holiday pay.

Decision

The Working Time Directive was enacted to ensure the health and safety of workers; to allow employees sufficient time away from work to ‘recharge’.  Therefore workers should not be deterred from taking their annual leave entitlement. Given this underlying principle the ECJ found that:

An employer who does not allow a worker to exercise his right to paid annual leave must bear the consequences.

Therefore whilst there may be double recovery, that is a risk the employer takes in not granting a worker his paid annual leave.  The ECJ felt it was for the employer to correctly categorise staff and ensure they are given their employment rights, as workers are in a weaker bargaining position.

The case has been referred back to the domestic courts for a final decision. However, the Court of Appeal will no doubt follow the ECJ’s decision.

This means that an associate can continue to claim they are self-employed and then on termination seek to argue they were in fact a worker and claim back dated holiday pay. There would be no down-side for the associate, as employment tribunal fees have been abolished and there is no costs regime. Also as the test for employment status is different for HMRC and the tribunal, a retrospective change of status would have no bearing on this. The risk is therefore all on the dental practice.

Further, the definition of a worker under the Working Time Directive is wider than the UK law, which an associate may be able to rely on when pursuing their claim.

Practical Tips

First and foremost, make sure you correctly categorise your workforce from the outset and provide a contract that reflects the true basis of the relationship. Whilst this means front loading time and costs, it is likely to save you a hefty legal bill later down the line.

This decision only affects the 4 weeks annual leave granted by the Working Time Directive. Not the additional bank holidays given by UK legislation. Consider amending your contracts to state that UK bank holidays will be deemed to be taken last. You would not need to add this to associate contracts, but if it is in your employment contracts you will be able to rely on this as evidence should a claim be pursued against you.

When buying a practice do your due diligence on the workforce. Make sure the old practice is complying with the Working Time Regulations. Ensure the sale agreement contains indemnities in case staff have been wrongly categorised. Consider implementing your own contracts that are genuinely self-employed, time limits for presenting a claim against you would then start running from the date of the sale.

When selling a practice be careful what warranties you give to the buyer. You would not want to be liable for the entire claim, especially if the new practice has also continued with a contract that was not genuinely self-employed.

If you need advice or assistance in relation to employment status and protecting your position, please contact Laura Pearce on 020 7388 1658 or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Laura Pearce

Senior Solicitor

In endodontic therapy, the complete removal of microbes from the root canal system and prevention of reinfection is essential to the overall outcome.

The most effective means of eradicating infection is a combination of chemical and mechanical debridement, because when irrigation is introduced alongside instrumentation the chance of removing inflamed and necrotic pulp tissue, microbes and debris is significantly higher.

As it stands, there is little evidence to prove that certain irrigants are more effective than others, but research has shown that no single irrigant on its own holds all the required characteristics needed to effectively eradicate and prevent infection.[i] Only a combination of two or more solutions in the appropriate sequence can predictably obtain safe and effective irrigation.[ii]

Perhaps the most commonly used irrigant is sodium hypochlorite (NaOCI) in concentrations varying from 0.5 to 6.00%, as this can dissolve organic tissue and has a broad antimicrobial spectrum allowing it to effectively kill biofilms adherent to the root canal walls.[iii] For those who prefer to use sodium hypochlorite, it is worth bearing in mind that a high concentration NaOCI has demonstrated better results than 1% and 2% solutions. [iv] In cases where NaOCI has been used but has been ineffective, it may be that the strength of the formula – or lack of – has compromised the success of the outcome.

The downside of NaOCI is that it does not remove the smear layer. This can be overcome, however with subsequent irrigation with Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), as it can dissolve inorganic material, including hydroxyapatite. Importantly, EDTA is also biocompatible, able to condition dentine and has shown positive effects on the root canal seal.[v] Nevertheless, it is important to remember that EDTA must be used as a final rinse, not as an alternating rinse with NaOCI.

Another possible irrigant is chlorhexidine digluconate (CHX), which has good antimicrobial activity and is biocompatible. As it is incapable of dissolving organic tissue it cannot replace sodium hypochlorite. One could also opt for hydrogen peroxide, but again, this lacks antibacterial activity when used alone and cannot dissolve tissue.

Whichever combination is used, it is important to choose quality irrigation products from a trustworthy manufacturer of endodontic solutions. At COLTENE, all products are designed and produced using the latest materials and technology to guarantee optimal results. The range of solutions includes CanalPro NaOCI in 3% and 6% formula, CanalPro EDTA 17% and CanalPro CHX 2%, providing all the characteristics needed for effective irrigation. For best results, use alongside HyFlex EDM NiTi root canal files, also available from COLTENE.

The role of irrigation and its impact on the overall success rates of root canal treatment is clear, so be sure to consider your choice of irrigants.

To find out more visit www.coltene.com, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01444 235486

Once again the new patient charges have been announced for the NHS, and once again they have gone up far more than the amount dentists will get for their UDA’s. The third consecutive inflation-busting rise in patient charges means that an ever increasing number of dentists will find themselves as unpaid tax collectors for the government, with the added pleasure of having to continue to practice in a hostile environment where the threat of litigation and GDC involvement is ever present.

So what will it actually take for dentists to wake up and smell the coffee? Patients are paying an increasing amount for their care, and as they do so, direct their annoyance as ever to the dentists. Its unlikely that they will understand or accept the explanation given that the charges are in effect a taxation, as they are too closely linked to the provision of a service.

Why do many of the dental practices seem to forget that they are in truth independent contractors within the NHS, and as such only have to refuse to contract to the NHS in order to retake a degree of control of their own future once again? It can’t be that working within an NHS contract is too easy; we increasingly hear of the demands on the practitioner’s time to fulfil the contract requirements. This time of year is full of comments on social media about the increased flurry of activity in order to hit the UDA’s targets once again or suffer claw-back.

By raising the patient charges, the government is contributing less and less each year to the cost of dental provision. The population of the UK isn’t reducing, and the cost of providing dentistry isn’t either. But for less and less contribution the government is still dictating the terms of the contract, and dentists continue to accept it.

Will it actually take the government to raise the patient charge to £30 for an exam (whilst still paying £25 for the UDA) for dentists to realise that they would be better off just charging the patient £30 and sticking two fingers up at the government? Or is it the NHS pension that people are holding out for? Or the continued chance to pay an associate £10 per UDA when they are really getting £30?

Practice owners (and particularly the bigger practices and corporates) definitely have the whip hand here. I can remember the times when associates were few and far between. It appears that the reverse is now true in many areas of the UK (particularly in metropolitan areas), which allows the principal to reduce the unit price of a UDA paid to an associate. An increase in patient charges will likely bring a drop in the number of patients visiting practices, and in one fell stroke this will reduce the PCR, and reduce the chances of the UDA targets being met, and therefore a claw-back occurring. I know of many associates that are made liable for the gross amount of any claw-back due to their individual underperformance (rather than the net amount they have been paid per UDA). Add this to the NHS pension of the principal that is effectively enhanced by paying a smaller percentage of the UDA value, this hardly puts the principal under any immediate pressure to withdraw from the NHS system they are still aligned with. However, I suggest that it is now causing a much greater ‘Us and Them’ situation with associates than ever before.

So why is it ok to make money out of the associates and not charge the patients a decent amount for their care? Whilst a business has a duty to its shareholders and owners to keep its costs low, with the introduction of the minimum wage this means they don’t tend to be propping up their bottom line by charging their staff for the privilege. They tend to charge their customers for it with the increase in the charge for the product.

Unless you happen to be in a fixed price system…so the only way money can be made (let’s forget upselling to patients using the NHS as a way to get them in the practice for now) is by reducing the costs of the workforce and investment in the business. However the government expect more and more for less and less (look at the next round of orthodontic commissioning that is going on) and it becomes impossible to square the circle unless someone actually pays for it. That certainly isn’t going to be the government.

Given that some patients will not be able to afford the hike in charges does not mean that many others would not pay for a decent service if they had to. Surely having fewer patients (but of the sort that don’t sue and complain) that are being charged a fair amount for the service provided, with no third party dictating targets has to be better for the stress levels of both dentists and patients under their care?

Will it take associates to actually walk away from the profession and retrain? With the current environment of stress due to the GDC, threat of litigation, and the real time reduction in associate income, then this has never been more possible than it is now. And that will lead to a reverse in the associate market again, especially if the (currently unknown) effect of Brexit results in European dentists returning to their home countries – and who wouldn’t if it meant avoiding the GDC and Litigation!

So what will it take for the profession to see the light? That we need to realise the government would still wish to control us if they only contributed £1 in every £100 charged and only then will we react? Or do we need to remember that everyone who owns a practice is a private practitioner already and they should just tell the government:

‘No More’.

Image credit - Pascal under CC licence - not modified.

Are you dealing with Flexible Working Requests Properly?

Employers should be aware that they are required to consider a request from an employee for flexible working hours. A request of this nature must be made in writing, setting out details of the request, the date it is made and disclosing the date of any previous request. A request must be dealt with and responded to within three months of the request being made.

What many employers are probably not aware of is what can happen if that request finds its way to the bottom of a pile of everything else a practice owner has to deal with, and the practice owner fails to consider and deal with the request.

Providing an employee has 26 weeks of employment with the employer, the employee has a statutory right to request flexible working hours. If the employer fails to consider the request, it is possible for the employee to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal and assert this statutory right. The claim that would be brought by the employee is a breach of statutory rights.

If the employment tribunal were to make a judgment in favour of the employee, they could do one of the following:

• Make an order that the employer reconsider the request for flexible working; OR
• Award compensation for up to a maximum of 8 weeks statutory pay.

The statutory maximum for this type of award is £4,064 from 6 April 2018.

As with all statutory or contractual breaches, discrimination claims could be tagged on to claims such as this which could have grave financial implications, as well as unfavourable publicity exposure for an employer.

Where a request is rejected, a record of this should be kept and reasonable business justification should be set out when confirming the rejection. Where a request is accepted, a variation to the contract of employment should be issued and signed by both parties to note the variation to contracted hours.

It is important to have policies and procedures in place to deal with flexible working requests in a compliant and efficient manner, in order to avoid ending up in the above situation.

It is also worth noting that an employee may only make one request in any 12 month period.

Latest on the Taylor Report – Extension of Employee Rights?

As we have already touched upon, any changes in employment legislation are likely to take longer than usual, whilst the political landscape is dominated by Brexit-related legislation.

However, last month, the government issued its response to the Taylor Report. The points to note in this response are that none of these proposals are guaranteed to happen and will be subject to legislation. Moreover, these proposals will certainly not be implemented before March 2019, save for the issue of payslips.

There is a suggestion that employees could benefit from new ‘day one’ rights that give workers the right to being provided with payslips from the commencement of their employment, which would have to include the number of hours that the employee is being paid for where the employee is not salaried.

What else is being proposed?

• A new tier/definition of worker in the mould of the ‘dependent contractor’ following on from the landmark Uber case;
• A universal right for everyone in the workforce (employees, workers, agency workers, zero hour contract workers) to ask for a variation to their contract. This would, of course, not go so far as being able to demand a variation and it remains to be seen the nature of variations which would be asked for;
• The right to be provided with a written statement of employment particulars from the first day of employment (at present, this is within 2 months of employment commencing and only applied to employees).

Whether these proposals are going to make it into law and regulations will depend upon if trade unions have an appetite for these concessions, if they will be rejected in the pursuit of more far-reaching protections and rights for employees, or whether employers and business groups are willing to accept such changes – given some of their considerable practical hurdles and, arguably, increased bureaucracy.

Statutory Sick Pay – the Facts

The issue of when, how much and for how long statutory sick pay (SSP) is payable by the employer is often a point which is misunderstood or simply ignored. This has the potential to be financially detrimental to a business and/or in breach of the law.

Without going into extensive details, here are some of the common misconceptions:

1. Not everybody is entitled to SSP. You must be an employee, have carried out some work for your employer and earn no less than £113 per week (i.e if your employee works 8 hours per week at £8 per hour, they are not eligible).
2. From the minute they are off work, employees are not entitled to SSP due to illness/sickness absence. The employee must have been ill for at least 4 days – which includes non-working days – before an employee is eligible.
3. SSP is not payable for an indefinite term. It is only payable for a maximum of 28 weeks;
4. Once this 28 week period comes to an end, the employee is not necessarily left without any money to live on thereafter and may be able to apply to the state for Employment Support Allowance;
5. That isn’t to say you don’t do anything at the end of the 28 week period. If it is a reasonable expectation that the employees’ sickness absence is going to pass the 28 week period, then you should obtain an SSP1 Form (available from www.gov.uk) on the 23^rd week of the 28 week SSP period. This should be completed and given to the employee so that they can access the government funded allowance at the end of their 28 week period.

The increase in SSP rates which were announced in December are due to come into effect from 6 April 2018 and from which date will be £92.05 per week.

Ben Williams (pictured below) of Goodman Grant Solicitors – contact on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

For more information visit www.goodmangrant.co.uk or contact your nearest office:

London: 0203 114 3133

Leeds: 0113 834 3705

Liverpool: 0151 707 0090

Below you will find an infograph we have created from a recent thread on GDPUK which was titled - help me with end of year spending....

Simplyhealth Professionals has announced today the launch of a new flexible payment plan for both its’ member practices and non-members which will help patients to spread the cost of both dental and facial aesthetic treatments.

The new Flexible Payment Plans will make treatments more accessible and affordable for all patients as they can set the price and payment length with their dentist so it suits individual budgets. Patients can opt for treatments that they might have previously thought were unaffordable.

Dentists will agree with each patient how much they pay each month and how long their treatment will take. They can offer the patient an ongoing monthly plan for more regular treatments, or a choice of three to ten monthly payments for a one-off treatment, helping the patient to spread the cost of treatment and make it more affordable for them.

This is the first time that Simplyhealth Professionals has created a payment plan that can be tailored to support dentists providing an increasingly diverse mix of cosmetic dental and facial aesthetic treatments in their practices.  Flexible Payment Plans will encourage patients to opt for new or higher cost treatments which they previously might not have considered due to the price.

• Denplan Care: all routine and restorative care + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover
• Denplan  Essentials: routine care only + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover
• Denplan for Children: routine and other agreed care + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover Denplan Membership: registered  with  the  dentist + worldwide dental injury  and dental emergency cover  
• Denplan Hygiene: A dental payment plan without dental insurance for all types of practice from NHS, mixed and private to support patients commit to a consistent hygiene programme.
• Denplan Emergency Insurance: worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover only Simplyhealth Professionals also provide a wide range of professional services for its member dentists and their practice teams, including the Denplan Quality Programme and Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme.

Are you looking for more ‘added value’ from the dental companies, suppliers and manufacturers that you spend your hard-earned cash with?

We would love to know your opinions and find out more about the kind of ‘added value’ services you would like to see from your dental suppliers.

‘Added value’ can mean any number of things; from free patient information leaflets, banners and posters - to staff training opportunities, marketing support or patient give-aways. Alternatively, you may be looking for training in social and digital media, practice marketing or business development, but don’t know where to start?

Let us know your opinions today. The Dental Survey 2018 will only take a few minutes of your valuable time and for respondents who are happy to leave their contact details they will be entered into a Prize Draw to win £500 worth of John Lewis vouchers!

The Dental Survey 2018 is available HERE

The closing date for entries is Saturday 31st March 2018* so don’t delay! Good luck!

Survey Link

*The winner of the Prize Draw will be notified by email no later than Saturday 7th April 2018.

Fill out the Form today and Start Saving!

Simplyhealth Professionals is offering free access to YDEPPA

Simplyhealth Professionals has launched a new online marketing portal called ‘Simply Select’ to help its’ members produce bespoke marketing literature for their practices. 

The Simply Select portal contains a wide variety of templates, such as factsheets, posters and referral cards that can be personalised by members to help them promote individual Denplan payment plans and special offers. This will help to draw in new patients to the practice, or encourage existing patients to consider new or alternative treatments or plans. Marketing campaign material will also be added to the portal on a regular basis.

The templates are very simple to use with areas that practices can personalise with specific information that is relevant for them. There are templates for posters, referral cards, cost comparison posters and social media templates. Simplyhealth Professionals will continue to create new templates and add to the existing range throughout the year.

Sandy Brown, Director of Dentists at Simplyhealth Professionals, said: “We wanted to offer a really easy process for our member dentists to help them to market their individual Denplan payment plans and personalise each product to attract new patients and retain and grow existing ones. We have a dedicated in-house practice marketing team available for more complicated requests or special events, but often practices just want to be able to quickly print off a simple form or poster and do this themselves. Simply Select now means they have the best of both worlds.”

Simplyhealth Professionals also provide a wide range of professional services for its member dentists and their practice teams, including the Denplan Quality Programme and Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme.  Plus regulatory advice, business and marketing consultancy services and networking opportunities.

Dentist enquiries telephone: 0800 169 9962.

For patient enquiries telephone: 0800 401 402   

For details of all of our products, visit www.denplan.co.uk

The Dental Defence Union (DDU) said today the establishment of a Civil Justice Council working group to consider fixed legal costs in clinical negligence claims is a positive step in tackling runaway legal costs.

John Makin, head of the DDU, said:

“The announcement of a Civil Justice Council working group to examine excessive legal costs in clinical negligence claims is a delayed but still welcome first step. Proposals to make claimants’ lawyers costs more proportionate to the compensation their clients receive were first mooted back in 2015. We hope that things will move ahead faster now.

“Even with dental claims, which are generally lower in value than medical awards, the fees charged by claimant lawyers are still, on average, above the level of compensation awarded and that cannot be right. For example in one settled claim, the claimant’s costs were more than quadruple the settlement figure received by the patient.

“Patients who believe they have been negligently harmed must have access to justice, but fixed costs are fairer and will help to establish some much needed balance to the system.

“We will be happy to take part in the working party to represent our members’ views. However, disproportionately high costs charged by claimants’ lawyers are only part of the problem. The cost of litigation is becoming unaffordable for the dental profession and the NHS. The Government needs to take more decisive action. We urgently need more radical legal reform to restore balance to the system for clinical negligence claims.”

The DDU, the specialist dental division of the MDU, is a not-for-profit organisation wholly dedicated to our members’ interests. Our team is led and staffed by dentists with real-life experience of the pressures and challenges faced in practice.

We offer our members expert guidance, personal support and robust defence in addressing dento-legal issues, complaints and claims. Our customised services range from legal assistance to indemnity to appropriate CPD. 

theddu.com

The NHS are currently in the process of putting out to tender a number of specialist NHS dental contracts, including orthodontics. The NHS are advising practices who intend to re-tender or bid for the first time to seek advice in relation to TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) before they do so. But why?

TUPE applies where an economic entity transfers from one business to another. This can be a whole business or part of one. It applies in a number of  situations, not just when a dentist is  buying or selling their practice. It can also apply when a business takes services back in-house or outsources services.

The Transfer of Undertaking Regulations, or TUPE for short, offers enhanced protection for employees who transfer from one business to another. It is an extremely complex and confusing piece of legislation. 

In this article we  set out the key principles to help dentists better understand when a TUPE situation may arise during the NHS tendering process and what their responsibilities are. 

What is TUPE?

TUPE requires a business that is buying another business to take on any employees connected with that business.

It applies in three situations:

1. Where one business buys the whole or part of another business;

2. Where a business decides to take services back in-house, for example they use an IT contractor but wish to start undertaking the services themselves;

3. Where a business decides to outsource a service, for example it tenders for cleaners to undertake the office cleaning or it re-tenders that contract.

Whilst it is obvious TUPE will apply when you buy a practice, the question of whether TUPE applies when you tender for an NHS contract is more complicated. The NHS is a business which is outsourcing its services. A move from one provider to another would normally come under point 3 above. On the face of it therefore TUPE would apply.

Business Entity

In order for TUPE to apply the business that is being sold must be an ‘economic entity’. This means:

– It is an economic entity with assets, employees, goodwill etc that is operating as a business;

– There is a transfer of that economic entity; and

– The economic entity retains its identity after the transfer.

Again when you buy a practice it will retain its economic identity as you are buying all the goodwill and assets of that business.

However, how does this apply to a tender for an NHS contract?

Unfortunately this is not an easy question to answer. It will very much depend on whether patients are transferring from the old practice to the new one. A group of NHS patients that moves with the NHS contract could be seen as an economic entity. Any employee who provides treatment to those patients for the majority of their time at work would therefore transfer with the contract. This could mean the nurses and support in a specialist practice that loses its NHS contract will be TUPE transferred to the practice that has won the contract.

Remember TUPE applies to employees only; not workers or those who are self-employed.

Enhanced Protection

Any employee automatically transfers from one business to another and their existing contract survives. In effect the new employer is stepping into the shoes of the old employer. There are very few rights that do not transfer, such as occupational pension schemes. Otherwise all other rights and liabilities will transfer. There are also very limited circumstances in which you can amend an employee’s contractual terms.

You will also need to inform and consult any employees who are affected by the transfer. This duty is on both the old and new employer.

In addition you cannot dismiss an employee as a result of the transfer unless you can show an Economical, Technical or Organisational (ETO) reason for doing so. For example, if you are a practice that wins a new NHS contract and has to take on new employees but you have sufficient employees for the work you tendered for, you may have an economical reason for dismissal, namely redundancy.

Due Diligence

If you are taking on employees from another business you need to make sure you do your due diligence. You will need to obtain information about those employees, including whether they have any outstanding grievance or disciplinary matters. As set out above, any liabilities pass to you and if you are not aware of an outstanding grievance you could have a claim issued against you.

You also need to ensure you have a well drafted transfer agreement, so that if the above were to happen, you will be indemnified by the old employer in respect of any claim issued against you.

That is a lot to think about!

TUPE is a complex area of law with many nuances. If you have any concerns about whether it applies, take legal advice and get proper agreements drawn up to protect you. The consequences of getting it wrong can be high.

If you need advice or assistance on TUPE, please contact Laura Pearce on 020 7388 1658 or email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

If you find this article interesting, please like, comment and share it!

Laura Pearce, Senior Solicitor

As part of its dedication to helping corporate and dental group providers deliver quality treatment outcomes, the Association of Dental Groups (ADG) works closely with the government, regulators and NHS to improve the use of skills mix. 

The Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP(UK)) has responded sceptically to proposals to cut costs by amalgamating the UK’s health regulators.

In response to a consultation by the Department of Health, it says it is not convinced that combining dental regulation with that of other professions could save money while retaining the required understanding of the dental professions, and that in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the interests of patients and the profession will best be served by the continued existence of a regulator dedicated solely to dentistry.

The Faculty says that decisions on the regulation of health professions should instead be guided by the risk of patient harm, and that as such there can be no optimum number of healthcare regulators. It also suggests that as the UK has over 70 regulators, “including four for social care, and six each for legal services, financial services and privatised utilities…nine regulators for healthcare, covering 1.5 million professionals in 32 occupations, does not appear excessive.”

FGDP(UK) also expresses concern over proposals to create a single adjudication body for fitness to practise, a single register of all health professionals, and a single set of standards in lieu of profession-specific ones, and rejects the suggested use of mediation in regulatory proceedings and proposals for employers to be represented on the General Dental Council (GDC).

However, FGDP(UK) agreed that the currently statutorily-regulated professions should be reassessed to determine the most appropriate level of oversight, and that the regulator should be accountable to the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Irish Assembly in addition to the UK Parliament.

Dr Mick Horton, Dean of FGDP(UK), said:

“While the GDC itself acknowledges that there are improvements to be made to the way in which it regulates, it has nonetheless developed specialist knowledge of dental patients and the professions that treat them, each of which exhibit characteristics and contextual factors which are not necessarily the same as those of other medical professions and their patients. In an amalgamated regulator, this sector-specific knowledge would either be maintained at additional cost, or, more likely, lost in a drive to harmonise procedures and cut costs. For these reasons, the onus is on the government to produce convincing evidence that its own stated objectives for regulation – public protection, performance management, and professional development and support - would not be all the harder to meet if dental regulation were to be amalgamated with that of other professions.”

 The Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) is the only professional membership body in the UK specifically for general dental practice. Based at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, it provides services to help those in general dental practice raise standards of patient care. It does this through standards setting, providing education courses and assessments, CPD, policy development, research and publications. Membership of FGDP(UK) is open to dentists and other registered dental professionals.

There have been many episodes I’m sure we all know about where a colleague has done something that has been their eventual professional downfall. Examples like the well publicised cases of Joyce Trail and Desmond D’Mello are a demonstration of how a professional has destroyed their own career and reputation through their actions, whether it be an illegal act, or a dangerous one.

But none is more worrying then the Case of Bawa-Garba. I am sure you are all aware of this, but if not, very briefly this involved a junior paediatrician being charged and found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter due to the tragic death of one of her patients whilst under her care. However, what is unusual about this sentence is that it was not only a very short one, but also suspended; something that very rarely happens in a case like this. As is then the usual route of action, the doctor was referred to the GMC for the associated disciplinary hearing that comes with a conviction. The tribunal found that her fitness to practice was impaired, but allowed her to stay on the register. However, the GMC appealed this decision, and she was subsequently struck off by the High Court last week. Interestingly, an interim orders committee of the GMC suspended the doctor initially, which was overturned on appeal by the high court who ruled that even a serious criminal charge did not always mean that suspension was necessary or appropriate to protect the public.

As someone with a conviction for manslaughter, then one could always argue that a professional actually should not be allowed to practice their art on the public again, but there is case law that supports the more subjective approach that was taken in this case initially. But this case (without going into even more detail) is as much, if not more, of an indictment of the systematic failings of leadership and organisation inherent in the environment Dr Bawa-Garba was working in. That the tribunal found no impairment was significant, as the doctor had engaged in insight, and had placed her reflections on the tragic event on her e-portfolio.

And that is the problem.

By honestly reflecting on the events and committing them to the permanent record of her E-Portfolio, this allowed the GMC to use this reflection against Dr Bawa-Garba, and subsequently was part of the case that was successful against her. In effect, by complying with the requirements of the GMC, she has committed professional suicide by recording her reflections as required. It is fine to record ones reflections to show insight, but to then have them used against you is surely unfair. You would have to trust the regulator implicitly when committing your reflections to a permanent record, and the actions taken by the GMC will have served to destroy any trust that our medical colleagues would have had in their regulator. Given that the GMC has always seemed to be to be a more considered and pragmatic regulator than the GDC of late, then once can only wonder just what manner of jeopardy we will have to place ourselves under as a result of this ruling.

In one fell swoop, the GMC have removed the chance for professionals to show they have learnt from their mistakes and develop in a no (or low) blame environment (as indeed occurs in the aviation industry) and installed a culture of fear that I think even the GDC at its worst a couple of years ago would have struggled to create so effectively. However, with the new GDC rules on CPD and reflective analysis requirements that we now have, is there anyone amongst you that thinks that the same couldn’t possibly happen to dentists? Once a regulator has set a precedent, it is likely that they will all act in the same manner.

I suspect the GMC realise there will be a problem with personal reflection now, and given the release of a blog by the GMC on this issue at the weekend, this might be seen to confirm it. The amount of internet noise coming from the medical profession over this matter is significantly higher than anything we have been able to generate, and as a result one must hope that there is a higher likelihood of something significant developing over the next few weeks and months as a result of this case, something which hopefully will roll down to the GDC as well. Even Jeremy Hunt has raised concerns about this case and its unintended consequences.

Once cannot forget the tragedy of the death of a child in the case, but there has to be consideration of the bigger picture of how a ruling such as this will now probably affect the analysis of mistakes in healthcare that are needed to protect the public.  Furthermore, unless the use of reflective writing is somehow protected, the use against us of our own insightful learning could be our eventual downfall.

Image credit - James Cridland  under CC licence -  modified.

Simplyhealth Professionals’ training team, the Academy, are celebrating after being awarded the prestigious BDIA Code of Practice for all of their dental CPD training.

The Academy has also worked hard to meet the new requirements of the General Dental Council’s (GDC) CPD quality assurance. With the new changes to Enhanced CPD starting in January 2018 for dentists and August for dental care professionals, this will further reassure members of Simplyhealth Professionals, the providers of Denplan payment plans, that they are receiving the highest level of training support.

The GDC has introduced changes to CPD in 2018 now called Enhanced Continuing Professional Development (ECPD) and have stated that all providers of dental CPD need to have clear aims, objectives and anticipated outcomes that fit with their four development outcomes.  CPD providers also have to offer quality assurance that their courses are fit for purpose.  

Louis Mackenzie, Head of Clinical Training at Simplyhealth Professionals, said: “We have always employed the highest levels of quality assurance to ensure all of our courses satisfy the educational needs of dentists and their teams. The BDIA Code of Practice process has been an excellent opportunity to formalise our rules and reassure all our members that the entire range of Simplyhealth Professionals CPD activities will satisfy all of their statutory obligations for verifiable CPD.”

All courses run by Simplyhealth Professionals have quality controls in place, help members choose CPD products that match their individual requirements and fields of practice, and provide certificates that show that the registrant has met their aims and objectives. Members have nearly 60 modules that they can choose from.

Simplyhealth Professionals’ training team provide customised training days for member practice staff to help them stay up to date with industry knowledge, regulatory compliance, and techniques for dealing with all of their patients’ needs. The team are all qualified trainers who come from a range of backgrounds, from finance, health and social care, education, and dental care.

Jo Banks, Head of The Academy, said: “The Academy has always strived to provide the highest quality training for dentists in many subject areas. The BDIA Code of Practice and the meeting of the new ECPD standards for all our training can reassure dentists that in choosing Simplyhealth Professionals to deliver their training they are meeting all current requirements. We provide an outline of the aims, objectives and anticipated outcomes of all our courses with links to how they fit with the GDC’s four development outcomes. Our CPD certificates have been adapted to meet GDC requirements and will now display the relevant GDC Development Outcomes A, B, C and/or D.”

To find out more information about the range of CPD courses available from Simplyhealth Professionals visit http://www.denplan.co.uk/dentists/events-and-training/mycpd

Simplyhealth Professionals is the UK’s leading dental payment plan specialist with more than 6,500 member dentists nationwide caring for approximately 1.7 million patients registered to a Denplan product.

Simplyhealth Professionals provides the following range of leading Denplan dental payment plans under the Denplan name:

·         Denplan Care: all routine and restorative care + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover

·         Denplan Essentials: routine care only + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover

·         Denplan for Children: routine and other agreed care + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover

·         Denplan Membership: registered with the dentist + worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover

·         Denplan Hygiene: A dental payment plan without dental insurance for all types of practice from NHS, mixed and private to support patients commit to a consistent hygiene programme.

·         Denplan Emergency Insurance: worldwide dental injury and dental emergency cover only

Simplyhealth Professionals also provide a wide range of professional services for its member dentists and their practice teams, including the Denplan Quality Programme and Denplan Excel Accreditation Programme.  Plus regulatory advice, business and marketing consultancy services and networking opportunities.

Dentist enquiries telephone: 0800 169 9962.

For patient enquiries telephone: 0800 401 402   

For details of all of our products, visit www.denplan.co.uk

All businesses are now banned from charging ANY fees for credit or debit card payments. The ruling came into force on Saturday 13th January.

The new rules, which have now been made into the law as of Saturday, will mean all surcharges are banned when businesses process card payments.

So there will be no charges for paying by debit or credit card, including American Express and linked ways of paying such as PayPal or Apple Pay.

As an example, when booking flights, you will no longer be charged extra for paying via credit card. Below are a few examples of charges. (from Money Saving Expert)

It is estimated that surcharging cost Brits £166 million in 2015.

• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) - £2.50 credit card fee on all transactions
• Council tax - 2.5% credit card fee for Ealing Council
• Flights - Flybe charges 3% on credit card and PayPal transactions
• Packaged holidays - Thomas Cook has a 2% credit card fee
• Paid-for TV - Sky charges a 30p/mth fee on recurring credit card payments

The rules will apply to any UK company which is selling to UK consumers.

Switch and save
Change payment provider today and save up to 60%

The reason this is being mentioned in a blog on GDPUK is……

One because of our offer for members, where we can save dental practice money on their card payment fees, which are obviously different area when compared to the new law above but still relevant.

Secondly, businesses often charge these extra charges as listed above (especially smaller businesses such as dental practices) because of the fees the business was paying the merchant supplying the card service and they were passing on the charge to the consumer.

So therefore checking your card machine rate is more important than ever. 

One of way of helping small business owners reduce these costs is by checking your rate. Card payment services can be very costly to dental practices and other small businesses. By comparing your rate, you can reduce your monthly bills by up to 60%. That could mean an annual saving of several thousands of pounds.

Find out more info here via GDPUK Services. Just fill out the form at the bottom of the page and within a few days you can be making savings. Just Switch and Save!

This offer is primarily for dental practices but we can also look at other businesses that take card payments on a daily basis and see how we can help reduce your costs. Just enquire via the form on the GDPUK Services page.

Further info about the EU Payment Services Directive here.

What is the GDPR?

The GDPR is a new set of rules which will apply to all organisations that collect or retain personal identifiable data from any European individual. The idea behind it is to standardise data privacy laws and mechanisms across industries, and to ensure that fundamental rights of individuals are protected in today’s increasingly data-driven digital economy.

6 Things you need to know now

It is extremely important that everyone in your dental practice is made aware of the rules surrounding the new data regulation. Preparing for the GDPR will require changes in the practice’s culture, which you should start to plan in advance of the May 2018 deadline. Keeping everyone informed will ensure that your practice follows the proper procedure, and the GDPR is handled with the utmost care.

Here are 6 steps that will help your practice prepare for the changes today.

1. Article 7 GDPR – Consent

Under the new regulation, dental practices will be required to keep a record of how and when the patient gives consent to store and use their personal data. Consent will need to be clear and distinguishable from other matters and provided in an intelligible and easily accessible form, using clear and plain language. Consent cannot be inferred from silence or inactivity of the user.

Further requests for consent will need to be separate from other terms of engagement. In practical terms this means you will need to clearly explain to your patients what you are intending to do with their personal data.

It must be borne in mind that consent once given can be revoked, and it must be made equally easy to withdraw consent given.

The GDPR also introduces a requirement for parental consent. Where services are offered directly to a child, practices will need parental consent to process the data of under 16s.

To do list:

– Identify the categories of personal data processed within your practice.

– Consider the legal basis applicable to the processing of personal data within your practice, and make sure these grounds will still be complied with the GDPR.

– Where consent is relied on, check that it will be: freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous.

– Consider introducing processes to promptly honour any withdrawals of consent.

– Make sure you keep a record of consents given to demonstrate compliance.

2. Articles 12-15 GDPR – Privacy notice

Aside from the need to obtain consent, your practice will be under an obligation to ensure that the processing of data is fair and lawful. Also, appropriate information must be given to your patients as to how their data is to be used. This is normally done in the form of a privacy notice. The GDPR has a mandatory list of the information which must be given to patients where data is obtained directly or indirectly from them. You will be expected to explain to your patients what data relating to them will be collected, how it will be used, the purposes for which it will be used and how their data may be shared.

To do list:

– Get to know your data. Consider what information is being collected, who is collecting it, how and why it is being collected.

– Consider how the information obtained will be used and who will it be shared with.

– Consider what possible effect the information obtained could have on the patients concerned.

– Consider building a data catalogue (if you haven’t got one in place) and drafting a meaningful privacy notice.

3. Article 30 GDPR – Records of Processing Activities

There will be a significant change to records of processing activities. The GDPR does not distinguish between internal and external records anymore. Dental practices will now require only one kind of record: an on-demand internal record. A practice will be required to maintain records of the entire practice’s processing activities internally. Moreover, these will need to be available to supervisory authorities upon request.

To do list:

– Consider implementing measures to prepare records of your practice’s processing activities.

– Consider introducing a full compliance program for your practice incorporating features such as regular audits, HR policy reviews, and training.

4. Articles 37-39 GDPR – Data Protection Officer

You will be required to appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) if the dental practice is:

– A public authority (except for courts acting in their judicial capacity) (Art. 37(1)(a));

– Carrying out systematic monitoring of individuals on a large scale (Art.37(1)(b)); or

– Carrying out processing of special categories of data or data relating to criminal convictions and offences on a large scale (Art.37(1)(c)).

Dentists providing NHS care will be regarded as public authorities. Thus, even a small NHS practice will require a DPO. It is anticipated that the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) will be providing Data Protection Officers in primary care settings.

If you don’t want to recruit, it will be possible to appoint a single DPO to act for a group of practices, provided that a DPO is easily accessible from each establishment. Alternatively, you can contract the services out.

For those organisations to whom the requirements do not apply, they may still choose to appoint a DPO.

To do list:

– Assess whether your practice is obliged to appoint a DPO.

– Consider who will be your DPO.

– Consider whether your practice should appoint an internal or external DPO.

– Compile information on data processing activities within the practice.

– Ensure that those to whom you have designated responsibility, their duties do not lead to a conflict of interests of their own role.

5. Article 20 GDPR – Data Portability

The rights of individuals under GDPR are the same as those under the Data Protection Act 1998 with a significant enhancement of the right to data portability. Under the GDPR, patients will have the right to receive the personal data which they have previously provided in a ‘commonly used and machine readable format’, and have the right to transmit that data to another controller. This information will need to be provided free of charge, thus removing the previous £50 subject access fee for dental records. This will apply only to data processed by automatic means, and not to paper files.

To do list:

– Consider whether the technical capabilities of your practice will comply with data portability requests.

– Make your patients aware of their right to data portability. Does your company send out e-bulletins and/or newsletters? Let your subscribers know by including a short paragraph at the end of the article.

6. Article 84 GDPR – Penalties

Any practice in breach of GDPR can be fined up to 4% of annual global turnover (not profit) or €20 million – whichever is greater. This fine can be imposed for the most serious infringements, for example for not having sufficient customer consent to process data. The practice can also be fined 2% for not having their records in order, or for not notifying the supervising authority and data subject about a breach, or not conducting impact assessment. In the case of a breach, practices will be required to report the breach to relevant authorities within 72 hours. The practice will be obliged to give full details of the breach and offer proposals for mitigating its effects.

What next?

You should be preparing for the new requirements that will affect your practice. Considering the above steps in the context of your practice is the very first step you can take in order to prepare for the upcoming legal changes. Do not assume that you will be able to claim innocence through ignorance of the rules – the whole point of the GDPR is to keep your company better protected and able to deal with breaches in security. If preparation is approached in the right way, your practice will be well-prepared in time for the regulation coming into force, and your business will be secured for years to come.

We will be running a workshop on 22nd February aimed at dental practices to help them prepare for the new GDPR requirements.

Save money and time in your dental practice in 2018 by Jonny Jacobs

One of the aims we have always looked to achieve at GDPUK is saving money or producing special offers from our advertisers and partners for our 11,000 members. Running and operating a dental practice (or any business) can be extremely expensive and time consuming. Not all expenses or direct debits, will get checked every month because they aren’t always the first priority but often expenses can go out of our control.

Below is a short guide we have produced that looks at some ways you can save money and time in your dental practice in 2018.

**Disclaimer** A few of the money and time saving suggestions, are services that are offered by GDPUK via third parties. These services are available elsewhere but the suppliers we have mentioned have produced excellent savings for our members and provide a service that they have been extremely happy with. Only our opinion!

Insurance

Dental Practices need all sorts of insurance. Insurance is always worth shopping around for when you consider the amount of cover a dental practice needs on a regular basis.

There are a number of insurances that a dental practice may choose to buy such as dental practice insurance, dental locum insurance, pressure vessel inspection, keyman protection insurance. All the policies are worth comparing the market, with a number of companies specialising in this area such as All Med Pro, Lloyd & Whyte and MIAB.

Dental Supplies

Over the years on the GDPUK Forum, our members have found that it is worth doing a price audit on their top 20-30 supplies in the practice based on volume per month and it can be found that with a bit of shopping around of dental suppliers, you can make some considerable savings for the practice. Obviously, credibility, reliability and efficiency of the suppliers also need to be taken into account for important supplies but some considerable savings can be made. This is certainly worth auditing a couple of times a year.

Credit Card Fees

We’re always looking to help you reduce costs without compromising the quality of your patient care. That’s why we’re working with nexpay to ensure the fees you pay on credit card processing are extremely competitive and save your dental practice money. Just contact us by the link below, nexpay will review your existing account and undertake a full market comparison. They will then produce a report that shows you the potential new tariff savings. Some GDPUK members are saving thousands of pounds a year on card processing fees.

You still provide the same service to your patients but save on the processing fees, which over a calendar year can often be quite a saving! Find out more here.

Water

Water is used a lot in an average dental practice. On 1 April 2017, businesses were given the freedom to choose which water supplier to buy their water and wastewater services. This means there are loads of dental practices that will be paying over the odds for their water supply, certainly worth a quick shop or call around. Companies like amber energy and openwater will offer a comparison service and advice on what is a good offer. Once again a great opportunity to reduce costs in the new year.

Energy

GDPUK.com has teamed up with a leading independent business energy brokerage who is constantly striving to source the best products and most competitive market rates for businesses. With a vast array of suppliers and products available to the business market, quite often businesses are left without clear guidelines as to which is the best deal. Our broker can offer a comprehensive panel of suppliers who are vying for your business. For more information, please follow this link - https://www.gdpuk.com/energy Other similar type services are also available.

CQC and Regulation

Compliance is changing faster and faster. From the CQC Fundamental Standards in 2015, to the GDC standards in 2014 to changes in employment law, health and safety, sharps regulations and a whole lot more. Because the volume of compliance and regulation in a practice can seem to be overwhelming, it can be difficult for a dental practice owner or practice manager to keep on top of it all.

Services such as icomply and rightpath4, help to tell you what to do and keep you updated on the latest changes and legislation. This can help to save the practice a lot of time, stress and misunderstanding. It does help having everything in one place.

Right Path 4 who have always been great supporters of GDPUK have a special offer on for members of GDPUK. All future updates to the Right Path 4 system are included in this monthly fee. Further information here on how they can help you in your practice.

Software Systems

Although not necessarily saving you money in the short term, dental practice software systems certainly make your practice streamlined and more efficient for all members of the team.

You can save a lot of time in your practice by going paperless. One of these paperless systems is offered by iSmile, who offer your very own branded Patient Portal, where you can give your patients the ability to fill in medical history forms on their desktops, tablets and mobile devices prior to their appointment. iSmile can automatically email medical history forms to your patients, which are filled out securely online and then transmitted back to iSmile and stored within the patient's file, significantly reducing workload and paperwork at the dental practice reception.

Further information on this subject can be found via the GDPUK Forum:- Going Paperless.

We hope you found this guide to saving money and time in your dental practice extremely useful and it has got you thinking about areas that could be improved in your business.

Thanks for reading.

The Dental Industry Event of the Year is back! The Digital Symposium 2018 takes place on 27-28 April in London and this year it’s thinking big, it’s thinking holistically and it’s thinking differently.

Recognised as Dental Industry Event of the Year at the Dental Industry Awards 2017 held in association with the BDIA, the Digital Symposium is the ultimate digital experience for dental professionals. Driving innovative solutions in terms of predictive treatment, diagnosis, management, treatment and prevention, the Digital Symposium is an opportunity to witness the transformative power of these emerging technologies first hand and hear from some of the industry’s most influential educational and motivational speakers.

BREAKING NEWS: The Medical Futurist confirmed as Keynote speaker

A “geek physician” with a PhD in genomics and an Amazon Top 100 author, Dr Bertalan Mesko, the Medical Futurist, predicts the impact of digital health technologies on the future of healthcare, helping patients, clinicians, regulators and industry organisations make it a reality. He will talk to delegates about a range of digital health technologies, including artificial intelligence, health sensors, 3D printing and how social media can impact public awareness.

The Medical Futurist is joined by an impressive line-up of other speakers including Colin Campbell, Sinead McEnhill, Adam Nulty and Josef Kunkela. For a full list of speakers, visit hsddigitalsymposium.co.uk/speakers-2018

Book before the end of January 2018 to take advantage of our Early Bird and Previous Delegates’ offers.

To book at our discounted prices or to find out more about The Digital Symposium 2018, visit www.hsddigitalsymposium.co.uk/

To find out more about Henry Schein Dental’s range of digital solutions, contact Henry Schein ConnectDental on 0800 028 4870 or visit hsdconnectdental.co.uk.

henryschein.co.uk

Twitter: @HenryScheinUK

Facebook: HenryScheinUK

With more and more patients having access to smart phones and emails, iSmile can cater for a completely paper free experience. With your very own branded Patient Portal, you can give your patients the ability to fill in medical history forms on their desktops, tablets and mobile devices prior to their appointment. iSmile can automatically email medical history forms to your patients, which are filled out securely online and then transmitted back to iSmile and stored within the patient's file, significantly reducing workload at reception.

Getting client feedback and disseminating the data into easy-to-understand reports is an important part of any business. Patient Portal allows you to create a patient questionnaire in iSmile which is automatically emailed to patients after their appointment. Data collected back by iSmile can then be displayed in a range of reports which allows you to analyse trends over a series of time periods and see how your business is changing, allowing you to identify where improvements can be made. 

Patient Portal is upgraded with features all the time and now includes mobile signatures - there's no need to purchase clunky digital signature equipment as Patient Portal works on any tablet and any mobile phone - both inside and outside of the practice! 

If your practice would like to join RP4 today, there is a special offer * for GDPUK Members (£59.95 a month INCL VAT).

*New GDPUK members are invited to a friendly online tutorial (Google Hangout) where you share our screen and we set up the RP4 system for YOUR practice so that it’s ready for you to start using right away and we’re supporting you 7 days a week!

You can join now using this link - https://pay.gocardless.com/AL00016VCPR74Z

RP4 are the EXPERTS by experience, there’s no joining fee and no ongoing contract tie in. RP4 BLUEPRINT are the ‘go to’ people for more than 750 practices. Our Experts are all dentists with detailed experience of working with the Regulators and Indemnity Providers at the highest level.

Below is video created by Keith, which explains the RP4 System.

What is Right Path 4?

Right Path 4 offer a system that covers everything you need for CQC Inspections and Visits.

• If you want to correctly prepare for CQC
• If you’re buying or selling a practice  
• If you want to keep it simple - Right Path 4 are the people to contact.

Who makes up RP4?

RP4 is a small team of professionals who have a great deal of experience. We’re passionate about using this experience to help our colleagues to work within a team dedicated to providing the highest possible standards of health care.

What do you receive?

RP4 BLUEPRINT Modules on Clinical Risk Management, NHS Contract Management, PDP and Reflective writing and now ‘keeping your eye on the ball. All written by EXPERTS just for RP4 members.

RP4 are the EXPERTS by experience, there’s no joining fee and no ongoing contract tie in. We have the lowest fees and we have produced an RP4BLUEPRINT, the ‘go to’ people for more than 750 practices. Our Experts are all dentists with detailed experience of working with the Regulators and Indemnity Providers at the highest level.

Inspired by the CQC, Blueprint gives you the complete plan and Blueprint is only available to RP4 members

Below is video created by Keith, which explains the RP4 System.

If your practice would like to join RP4 today, there is a special offer for GDPUK Members (£59.95 a month for GDPUK Members), if you follow this link - https://pay.gocardless.com/AL00016VCPR74Z

For further information about RP4 and the team behind the system, please visit - https://www.rightpath4.com/blogs/

The 8th November marked just one year since dental partnership group, Dentex, secured its first dental practice, and what a year it’s been. The first twelve months of any business is meant to be the hardest, but in this time Dentex has accumulated 17 practices as part of the group, with a further 18 in due diligence; and secured £21m in funding. Not bad for an organisation that began with just six members of staff.

Since its inception, Dentex has almost taken on a life of its own. Driven by Barry Lanesman, CEO, Pat Langley as Chief Dental Officer and Rob Paxman as Director of Partnering, all of whom have long-term experience within the dentistry field, the organisation has sought – and succeeded – to fulfil a very great need in the dental industry: enabling dentists to share in the value created through a dental collective.

They differ from typical dental corporates by offering much better long-term wealth creation opportunities to their partners. Dentists are able to extract equity from their practice, but continue to stay involved and benefit from the growth whilst preserving their clinical independence. Dentex provides support to dentists as partners, enabling growth without removing a practice’s autonomy; so, dentists continue to run their practice, expanding and thriving, no longer having to constantly focus on cash flow and financials.

In a year that has seen the group awarded the ‘Highly Commended Award for Innovation of the Year’, as well as finalists for ‘Product Launch of the Year’ – Dentex has found success in a model that challenges the traditional dental corporate pattern. There is no management takeover, no rebranding, as happens when joining a corporate franchise; partners maintain their autonomy, gaining input and assistance only where they require it. This allows practices to retain their individuality, which is important for practitioners and patients alike. And with two partnership models – Regional and Practice – it’s possible for Dentex partners to either reduce their responsibilities or enhance them, either focusing on their core interests at a local level to ensure a premium patient experience is delivered, or building a portfolio of surgeries in order to broaden their potential remit. Once approved and passed through the stringent Dentex criteria for partner selection, the choice of how they wish to proceed is left to the individual member.

There is an acute focus on finding the right partners. Integrity, respect for each other and highest ethical standards are just a few of the values that make up Dentex’s foundations, and all members of the group are expected to share this ethos.

Dentex is not about running a business model that’s dictatorial, it’s about helping dentists work together. Dentists often face similar challenges, so partners are encouraged to build and grow in a collegiate way.

Barry Lanesman, Dentex CEO, comments:

‘With a five-year plan which aims to see the Group at 150 partnering practices by 2022, it’s still early days for Dentex, but so far, the company is very much on track, thanks to its unique offering. This time last year there was a gap in the market. Dentex have filled it admirably.

But while the organisation’s phenomenal growth is certainly worth marking, Dentex’s driving force is quality over quantity. Each Dentex partner wants to share growth and remain involved in the development of the practice, not exit at the earliest opportunity. They are genuinely enthused and motivated about clinical dentistry and use their partnership with Dentex to help overcome regulatory, compliance and administrative barriers.

The partnership allows them to focus on areas of dentistry they’re truly passionate about. Each one of the partners excels in their field with an unswerving commitment to deliver premium patient care, sharing best practice for the common good of the group – and ultimately the patient.’

Dentex has shown significant growth thanks to its unique offering. They have ambitious growth expectations and so far, are on track to hit their target of 150 practices by 2022.

Dentex Regional Partner, Bhavna Doshi of Perfect Smile dental studios, explains why she joined the group. ‘Dentex is a partner that has allowed us to preserve our ethos and way of business, and provide a collaboration of mastermind. We have been able to keep our business identity, leadership philosophy, quality of dentistry and exceptional patient care. At the same time, they have given us the financial and business support to grow our group of practices.’

Andrew Birrell, Executive Director of Universal Partners, Dentex’s largest investor said ‘The Dentex message continues to resonate with clinicians who wish to release equity whilst retaining upside, and continue to enjoy the clinical freedom to deliver for their patients before joining the group. The company is performing ahead of our expectations and we look forward to seeing it prosper in future”

Further information on Dentex here.

It has long been recognised that dentistry is a stressful profession. It has long appeared in the list of “top ten” most stressful jobs, along with teaching, prison officer and working in the emergency services. But now it is official; the British Dental Association has conducted research into stress levels in the profession. They have found that a shocking 39 per cent of community dentists surveyed and almost half of GDPs reported high levels of stress. This is compared to an average of around 15 per cent for all British workers. 

High levels of stress can have a very negative impact on the running of any dental practice. Ensuring staff are happy and relatively stress free, will lead to better productivity and higher morale in your workforce. However, there are additional pitfalls to ignoring staff stress levels as work related stress can lead to a claim being issued against the practice for damages. 

Managing work place stress

The BDA’s Evidence to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration for 2017/18  found that 51% of the dental profession would not recommend a career in dentistry. The same report found that both practice owners and associates considered their morale to be ‘low’ or ‘very low’ at 29 per cent and 32 per cent respectively.

In response the BDA is undertaking research on dentists’ well-being at work and why they experience ‘burnout’, but this does not help you tackle the problem in your practice now.

What is Stress?

According to the Government stress is a reaction to a person’s circumstances and surroundings. It is not an illness of itself but often causes other illnesses. Its effects are shown in a number of different ways, both physical and mental. For example, lack of concentration, sleeplessness, low mood, susceptibility to colds/flu, skin irritations, the list goes on.

It is important to remember that there is a difference between pressure and stress. Pressure at work can be healthy, as can some level of stress. However, too much pressure can cause stress to become harmful to health and employees will react differently to the pressures they face.

What duty does a practice principal owe to their workforce?

Employers have a common law duty to take reasonable care of the health and safety of their employees. If an employer breaches that duty, and that breach causes the employee a personal injury, the employee can bring a claim for damages.

A personal injury can include stress. However, the injury must be a medically recognisable psychiatric injury. Therefore, not all cases of work related stress will give rise to a claim for damages.

In order to succeed in such a claim, an employee will need to prove the following:

1.      That the employer breached the duty of care;

2.      That the breach caused the employee injury;

3.      That the injury was foreseeable.

It should be noted that whilst we have used the phrase ‘employee’ above, the protection will extend to workers and could even extend to a self-employed associate, if they can show that they are owed a duty of care by the practice.

Easton v B&Q [2015]

Hatton v Sutherland is the leading case in personal injury claims relating to stress at work. The court re-visited the test in Easton v B&Q and also gave some practical advice in dealing with such cases.

Mr Easton was a manager at a B&Q store. Prior to this he had worked as a manager for 10 years at a large supermarket chain. Mr Easton alleged that as a result of B&Q’s breaches of the duty of care he had suffered work related stress. Mr Easton further claimed that the way his return to work was handled, following a period of stress related ill health, caused a relapse of his condition.

There was no dispute from B&Q that Mr Easton had suffered a psychiatric illness. The issue in this case was whether the injury was foreseeable.

The key findings of the court were as follows:

1. Lack of promotion

The court recognised that Mr Easton’s condition affected his perception of the events that had taken place. However, the court found Mr Easton had persuaded himself that a promotion was in line and this could not therefore be a breach of duty. The court commented that employees should try to look at events objectively.

Tip: employers who can show they have acted fairly and in line with any policies are unlikely to be in breach of the duty of care. If an employee has taken exception to a decision you have made, try sitting them down and clarifying why it is needed, rather than saying ‘I am the boss, my decision is final’.

2. Removal of night time staff

The court found that the effects of this were not as dramatic as Mr Easton made out and that Mr Easton failed to make any complaints about this to his employer at the time.

Tip: An employer cannot be expected to foresee an injury if it is not aware of the concerns the employee has to begin with. However, if a member of staff raises any complaints with you, you should take them seriously and deal with them accordingly, even if that means explaining to the employee why their concerns are invalid.

 3. Rejection of a grievance

Although not in fact argued by Mr Easton, the Court took the opportunity to clarify that when an employer rejects a grievance, as long as a proper procedure was followed, this cannot be a breach of duty simply because the employee does not feel justice has been served.

Tip: this is often an issue for employers. Employees not agreeing with a grievance outcome and feeling they have been dealt an injustice. However, as long as you have properly investigated the issues and provided a reasoned response to the same, it is unlikely you will be criticised.

4. No knowledge of stress

The court found that B&Q had no knowledge that Mr Easton was suffering from stress. The court took into account Mr Easton’s previous role as manager for a large supermarket chain and concluded that he was therefore capable of doing the role. In the absence of Mr Easton informing B&Q of his concerns, B&Q were not on notice of any issues.

Tip: An employer is entitled to take what his employee tells him at face value, unless there is good reason to think to the contrary. Therefore unless an employee reports to you they are feeling stressed, you do not need to take action. However, if they do you should take heed and ensure you have dealt with any concerns the employee raises.

Conclusion

Whilst work related stress should be taken seriously, employees need to show that the employer did know, or should have known, that their actions would cause an injury (the foreseeability test) in order to succeed in a claim. Most claims fail on this basis, as it is a high threshold.  A common misunderstanding by employees when arguing a claim for personal injury is that simply because they have suffered from work related stress, that the employer must be liable.

Irrespective of this, as an employer you will want to ensure your staff are as happy and stress free as possible. There are a number of ways you can do this:

1.       Appraisal process;

2.       Having an ‘open door’ culture so employees feel safe talking to you;

3.       Undertaking staff meetings so staff feel part of the practice;

4.       Ensuring changes to procedures are properly explained before they are implemented, to help staff understand the reasons for them.

Also remember that whilst an employee may not have a stress at work claim, they may be able to bring claims for disability discrimination or harassment, unfair or constrictive dismissal or breaches of health and safety requirements.

If you have queries regarding the content of this article please contact Laura Pearce, Senior Solicitor, on 020 7388 1658 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

We’re all members of a cult. Whether we like it or not, since mankind first appeared on earth, there has been a need for the majority of humans to flock together in some form or another. Whether it was for protection by strength of numbers, or to increase the genetic variety of a group, the formation of cults, tribes or groups has always been something that the human race has experienced.

I’m not talking here about race-related groupings of human, because that is something far more fundamental. That is all about the genetics that make you part of one race or another, and there is precious little you can actually do about the genes you were born with.

What I’m thinking about here is the tribal nature that makes you support one football team over another, or a different political party to someone else. Religion may also be part of this, but I am going to steer well clear of that for obvious reasons. However what is apparent is that most of these tribes and cults  are based on the shared values and belief structures that the members of the cult have.

“Where is he going with this blog?” I can hear you all thinking. This is not one of my normal types of observational commentary on the state of dentistry where I’m having a go at some (dis)organisation or system in dentistry.

Or is it?

Because it actually is exactly the same as usual in that I’m pointing out something that I believe is fundamentally inherent to the problems that we are experiencing in the profession at the moment.

Cults and tribes are collections of people who flock together under one belief structure. The profession of dentistry is such a tribe. We all share the same skill set fundamentally, and are working together to provide the same goal of health for our patients.

But within a tribe are often sub-tribes and cults. These are the things that seem to me to be dividing the profession in more ways than one and can often cause problems. When we look internally we see the infighting between some of the orthodontists and those providing GDP orthodontics. You can guarantee a lengthy ‘discussion’; when some of the more evangelical on both sides come out to discuss their views on this subject. The same is true of the two cults of private and NHS dentistry.

It is actually possible to be a member of different cults at the same time, and cross over seamlessly from one to another depending on the situation. You might find yourself agreeing with someone from another cult one minute, and then vehemently arguing the next.

When your strongly held values and belief structure is in disagreement with someone else’s equally strongly held views then conflict is almost inevitable. Only the control of the emotional aspects of these differences is what prevents the breakdown of the relationship between these two sides. Some people are able to control it more than others and agree to disagree, but many others are not.

Dentistry is absolutely full of cults.

More so than I think it has ever been before. I personally think the rise of social media and the ease with which one like-minded individual can find others who are from the came cult has been at least partially to blame.

The problems arise when the cults cause not only infighting in the profession, but also are responsible for the perception of the profession to the public (who I’ll just take as one big tribe at the moment).

Within the profession we have the cult of the Key Opinion Leader, some of whom seem to have opinions based on their parallel membership of the financially motivated cult, and who can pay them the most. Then we have the Celebrity dentist cult, often admitting to no personal or clinical failings and who may have sprung from anonymity in record time, with fawning acolytes who can see no fault in their heros. Given the following of some of these two groups, I’m actually waiting to read in the BDA news that 600 cult members have all drunk copious quantities of Hypo in a mass attempt to align their teeth. Ok, maybe that’s a bit far, but what will usually happen is the acolytes will be the ones who get left in the lurch either with the GDC or with a load of obsolete materials when the Guru-esque leader moves onto the next best thing since the last best thing.

There is the huge cult of the NHS dentist, who can often see no way out of the cult, but stay because they are also members of the ‘I’m alright Jack, my pension’s great’ cult or the ‘We cant go private where we are’ cult. There is also the sinister ‘Gamers’ cult, where you’re a member but don’t admit to it, either because you don’t want to, or because you don’t realise you are.

I could go on and on with this but I think I’ve made my point.

I’ve probably managed to alienate a huge chunk of my readers now with those analogies (perhaps it would have been more sensible writing a blog on the various religions after all !) because I’m sure you now will find yourself both agreeing and disagreeing with me and become annoyed at me in some way.

The point I’m making is that the values and beliefs that we have developed place us firmly in pigeonholes and groups in such a way that someone else can make an observation that can start a conflict if you don’t like it. I’ve done precisely that in the previous paragraphs.

But the above is all a myth based on your belief structure, which can be changed if you really want it to. Do you want to be a member of the cult of materialistic egotistical, self-promoters? Fine, do that, but then don’t be shocked when others take issue with that.

Until we have the unification of the profession behind one overriding cult then we will always be divided. Since these cults are nothing to do with our genetics but only down to our beliefs, it is all an entirely fictional situation that causes the problem; a brainwashing due to our desire to hold onto our beliefs and opinions.

We need to not become a profession against itself especially as we have enough external factors affecting us already. Unity and a sense of purpose is more important now that it ever has been.

Image credit - Legominifig under CC licence - not modified.

A week ago saw Sheffield host its third Dental Charity Ball, in support of Dentaid – a charity that supports people, both here in the UK and around the globe, to gain access to quality dental care.

The evening was attended by many dentists as well as those wanting to kick off the festive season whilst supporting a great cause. Mr John Elkins, Finance Director at Dentaid, gave a talk on their work before Dr Barry Oulton, from Haslemere Dental Centre, and Helen Everatt, from S4S Dental Laboratory, hosted games, pulled raffles and opened the dance floor. Organised by S4S Dental Laboratory, Smilelign clear aligners, 4Health, and John Holland prestige car dealership, the event raised over £2500 for the charity, and will be used to help equip, treat and educate where the need is the greatest.

Watch the video of the event here, generously donated by True Glass Film.

s4sdental.com/charityball2017/

25 January 2018, The Museum of London

Join Sara Hurley, Baroness Floella Benjamin and other leading figures in dental health at this unique one-day event.

The recently published ‘State of Child Health’ report revealed that 31-41% of 5-year-old children across the UK are affected by tooth decay and this is the single most common reason why children aged five to nine are admitted to hospital. This represents a significant, but avoidable challenge to our NHS.

To tackle this problem, it is up to all professionals that work with children to spot the signs of poor oral health and take the appropriate action. In turn, we believe this will drive improvements in child oral health, leading to less hospital referrals and less complications later in life.

But, we can only achieve this by working together, with dental professionals, like you.

‘Insights: Why Children’s Oral Health is Everybody’s Business’ is a new event from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health organised in partnership with the Office of the Chief Dental Officer and the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry. The event aims to bring together those who work with children including paediatricians and teachers, as well as dental professionals, to share best practice, compare experiences and hear insightful talks from leading voices.

Speakers confirmed for the main event will form a prestigious line-up, including Baroness Floella Benjamin OBE, Sara Hurley, Dr Jenny Godson and many more.

Here’s what Sara Hurley, Chief Dental Officer England, had to say about the summit:

“This event is a vital response to the call for multi-agency collaboration to tackle the complex interplay of factors that cause childhood diseases. A real opportunity to understand why childhood dental decay is everyone's business, the nature and extent of childhood oral health issues and how it impacts on general health and well-being.  At the heart of the event is an opportunity to develop a progressive, collaborative approach and strengthen the links between the paediatric and the dental care communities to the benefit of our patients.”

Find out more about this event at www.rcpch.ac.uk/insights-oral

I thought I'd share this latest opinion piece by a young dentist in the latest BDJ, entitled:
"Defensive dentistry and the young dentist- this isn't what we signed up for."

Read it here 

So what are THE main problems here in Dentistry in England worst of all, but relevant to all the UK too?

My shortlist would be:

1. An impossible UDA NHS contract that publicly promises unlimited care for needs, in a very limited system

2. Onerous regulation using the slide-rule of 'perfection' instead of 'seriously below' reasonable standards.

3. An increasing Claim/Blame culture that takes little or no SELF responsibility for prevention or resolution in the first place. It's like they are given an 'exemption' ticket and thus can claim/blame/complain with impunity, even when fraudulent.

4. A CLAIMS culture driven by some enhanced-fees Lawyers selfishly, resulting in the UK having the worst reputation in the World for FALSE or exaggerated claims, just to get free easy money, from car whiplash claims to holiday insurance etc.

5. Some very Poor Expert witnesses who seem to readily use a yardstick of perfection, without the experience or TRUE NEUTRALITY to act in the public interest first, regardless of WHO engaged/paid them and not applying No.2 above properly.
The trouble is those prosecuting/claiming are only too happy to send MORE work to those who seem to write the worst reports - this may be SO bad that it needs a lookback exercise - if it's good enough for our dental records then why not ?

5. Some indemnity organisations feeling vulnerable because of the above and/or struggling to put up a timely/full defence, make a Corporate decision to minimise THEIR future liabilities in years to come and payout early. It's a tough call for them I know, but many now want to see more pushback and earlier payouts may be just pouring petrol on the fire and thus encouraging more claims, fishing and efforts to get more payouts. It's like a feeding frenzie and that's bad for all.

6. Due to pressures and cuts from the DH and HEE on the undergraduate curriculums, clinical teaching is downrated and research and other targets get all the qudos/funding, so our Undergraduates are getting less clinical exposure, training and preparation for the 'real' world = more like walking into a Gladiator ring and surviving the first few years, but with early scars already from the above. Increasingly even after FT/VT not all are surviving those first few years after qualifying and already experiencing GDC, Lawyers letters, Complaints, Compromises from systems and Corporate limitations and high stress etc - certainly not looking forward to a happy Career!

7. Our Profession - yes we must take some of the blame, but currently we are taking ALL OF THE BLAME whilst Society is overlooking or even encouraging further the above 5 aspects for short-term gain and anyway those Dentists have it easy so let's see them suffer, right ?!? 

So at what stage do we reach breaking point - at what point do we say enough is enough and start acting together in Unity.???

UNLESS we start making it someone else's problem, this will continue and in 10 years when our Profession is decimated and dental care is so defensive it's do nothing or refer for extractions, the population suffers greatly.

Read that article again in the BDJ - our young graduates are rightly saying, this is NOT what I signed up for .

Tony Kilcoyne.

1. A. Al Hassan.  Defensive dentistry and the young dentist – this isn't what we signed up for. BDJ 223, 757–758 (24 November 2017)
2. M Kelleher. State-sponsored dental terrorism? BDJ 223, 759–764 (24 November 2017)
3. Discussion on GDPUK forum 

Image credit - hierher under CC licence modified

NASDAL have taken a look at the Autumn budget from a dental perspective for GDPUK.com

Given the weakness of the Conservative Government as a result of the General Election and the tortuous negotiations with the EU over Brexit, it was perhaps no surprise that Chancellor Philip Hammond’s Autumn Budget should have avoided, if not evaded (!), making any major changes to the tax regime for the majority of businesses and individual taxpayers. However, Charles Linaker, a tax partner with UNW, which has a dedicated Dental Business Unit headed by NASDAL Media Officer, Alan Suggett, says that the Chancellor will still have to find ways of raising extra tax from somewhere and warns that dentists should be on their guard.

Those who are currently self-employed will recall that, in his Spring Budget earlier this year, Hammond announced increases to the rate of Class 4 NIC from 9% to 10% and then from 10% to 11%, which he then had to withdraw with indecent haste when it was pointed out that they breached a manifesto pledge made at the 2015 General Election. Had the Government been in a stronger position, those increases would surely have been reintroduced but the Chancellor confirmed that they will not now be implemented.

Similarly, dentists who operate via limited companies might have expected a possible reversal of the previously announced staged reduction in corporation tax rates, which many commentators thought could be implemented with relatively little controversy, not least because it would have been difficult for Labour to have opposed such a measure. But again, it was a case of no change as the Chancellor confirmed that 19% would remain as the rate for three years from 1 April 2017 and then fall to 17% from 1 April 2020.

On the personal tax side, Hammond could have decided to abandon, or at least delay, the previous proposals to increase the personal tax free allowance, but he confirmed that for 2018/19 this will increase from the current figure of £11,500 to £11,850 and that the basic rate band will increase for 2018/19 from the current figure of £33,500 to £34,500 (with the exception, it should be noted, of Scottish taxpayers).

Of course, it needs to be remembered that not everyone has the benefit of the full personal allowance. There is a reduction in the personal allowance for those with ‘adjusted net income’ over £100,000, which is £1 for every £2 of income above £100,000. So for 2017/18 there is no personal allowance where adjusted net income exceeds £123,000 and for 2018/19 there will be no personal allowance available where adjusted net income exceeds £123,700.

Capital Gains Tax was also left untouched in so far as the main rates of 10% and 20% remained unchanged and the annual exemption of £11,300 for 2017/18 was increased to £11,700 for 2018/19. Moreover, for any dentists contemplating retirement in the near future, not only did the 10% rate applicable for Entrepreneurs’ Relief remained unchanged, it was announced also that the Government will consult on how access to Entrepreneurs’ Relief might be given to those whose initial holding in their company is reduced below the normal 5% qualifying level of shareholding as a result of raising external investment for commercial purposes by means of issuing new shares.

An early major casualty post-Election and pre-Budget had been HMRC’s much vaunted Making Tax Digital (“MTD”) programme whose implementation for income tax is now postponed until 2020 at the earliest – and later in the case of corporation tax. Only MTD for VAT will adhere to the original timetable from April 2019, which typically does not affect dental practices. Nevertheless, dentists would be well advised to plan on the basis that ultimately the proposed MTD requirement to file quarterly returns of income and expenditure to HMRC will be implemented.

A key argument from HMRC for the introduction of quarterly reporting under MTD is that it will help them close “the Tax Gap”. While HMRC estimates that it loses more than £1.5bn a year in tax through avoidance schemes (in which at least some dentists will have participated), the Department reckons that it loses in excess of £5bn a year through the hidden economy (i.e. payments made cash in hand) and that SMEs pay a total of £15bn less tax a year than it estimates they should.  

The statistical probability is that there will be some dentists in both of those categories and the Chancellor has allocated an extra £155 million in resources to HMRC in its continued war against evasion and avoidance. Given the Treasury’s need for increased revenue, an increase in HMRC enquiries over the next few years is on the cards and the dental sector can expect to bear its fair – or possibly even unfair - share of attention. You have been warned.

For further information on Nasdal (Specialists in dental business accounting and law), they can be found at - www.nasdal.org.uk.

Michael Lansdell is a founding partner of specialist dental and medical accountants Lansdell & Rose and a chartered accountant. Here, he gives a breakdown of the Autumn Budget 2017…

November 22nd was Budget day and therefore time for the ubiquitous articles on who were the ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ and what the Chancellor’s plans would mean for you. The heads up that the winning team was probably going to be rather smaller in number was the prediction from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) that economic growth will be below 2 per cent for the next five years. For context, that’s one of the gloomiest forecasts that many can remember.

Philip Hammond faced a rather unenviable task, then, although no one was expecting any show-stopping statements either. Back in March, Hammond made a dramatic U-turn, scrapping the planned rises to National Insurance that he had announced in his Spring Budget just days before. For all sorts of other reasons, delivering a safe, steady and non-controversial Budget was always going to be the Chancellor’s intention.

Of course, there is always one thing that grabs report writers’ attention and this time around it was the decision to scrap stamp duty for first-time buyers on properties up to £300,000. We need to look behind the headlines to find out what will be most relevant to dental practice owners, though! Here’s what may impact on your financial planning for the year ahead…

Income tax

Both the personal and higher-rate thresholds were increased by around 3 per cent, which is in line with inflation, so no surprises there. For basic rate taxpayers, the personal allowance will increase to £11,850 and for those paying a higher rate the new figure will be £46,350. If you don’t want to see your personal allowance reduced, act now! If you make a pension contribution, or gift to charity, you can bring your income down to inside the new threshold.

Savings and investments

On the other side of the coin, anyone putting money into a pension saw the lifetime allowance increased from £1 million to £1.03 million (from 6 April 2018; no change to the annual allowance). If you are lucky enough to have funds that already exceed the £1 million limit, you might want to wait before you take your benefits. For those choosing an Individual Savings Account (ISA) or Lifetime ISA (LISA) the annual subscription limit will also remain unchanged, at £20,000 and £4000 respectively.

Capital taxes

A new 30-day payment window – between a capital gain arising and the payment of capital gains tax (CGT) – is now deferred until April 2020. With regards to inheritance tax, the nil rate band is to remain at £325,000. But don’t forget an important change due to start from 6 April 2018, when the inheritance tax residence nil rate band will rise to £125,000. If you don’t plan for this now, you could be significantly out of pocket when the time comes.

Property taxes and business rates

If you have been affected by the so-called ‘staircase tax’ (for businesses that occupy more then one floor of a building) you will be able to ask for your valuations to be recalculated. Another potentially relevant change was the switch to consumer price index (CPI) being bought forward to 1 April 2018. Also noteworthy is that the business rate discount for public houses with a rateable value of up to £100,000 will continue (subject to conditions) and non-domestic properties will be re-valued every three years following the next one, in 2020. In terms of planning, half of any interest for personal, buy-to-let borrowing will be limited to a 20 per cent tax credit from 2018/19, so make sure you understand if and how it will impact on you.

And finally!

The much-feted Making Tax Digital (MTD) scheme is still a work in progress – no business will be required to use it until 2019. When it has been shown to be successful, we can expect a roll out, but that won’t be until 2020 at the earliest. Getting prepared now won’t harm you at all though, as any business or individual within MTD will have to keep digital records and update HMRC quarterly. Maybe now is the time to review your record keeping.

The message? Plan ahead! A ‘steady-as-she-goes’ approach – while being meticulously organised and with the support of the right experts – will keep you focused and ready for anything as we embrace another year and whatever it may bring.

To find out more, call Lansdell & Rose on 020 7376 9333,

Or visit www.lansdellrose.co.uk

The Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) has awarded Fellowships to thirteen individuals in recognition of their exceptional contribution to the profession. Fellowship is the highest award offered by FGDP(UK), and is a pinnacle of achievement for the profession. Two people have been given Honorary Fellowship, seven Fellowship by Election and four Fellowship Ad Eundum. The awards will be conferred at the annual FGDP(UK) Diplomates Ceremony, which will take place on 12 March 2018.

Honorary Fellowship

Professor Keith Horner

Keith Horner qualified as a dentist in 1981 from Leeds University and held several hospital posts in Leeds and Sheffield. He has served on influential working parties and advised bodies such as the Health Protection Agency and the IAEA Radiation Protection of Patients Unit. He is also Co-Editor of the FGDP's Selection Criteria for Dental Radiography guidance.

Mrs Fiona Erasmus

Mrs Erasmus is a former Director of FGDP(UK) (2013-2016), and has been recognised for her leadership skills and distinguished service to FGDP(UK).

Fellowship by Election

Dr Graham Douglas Stokes

Dr Graham Stokes has been providing dental implants for over ten years, and obtained the FGDP(UK) Diploma in Implant Dentistry in 2009. Clinical Lead at a practice in Bromsgrove, where he has been based since 1991, Dr Stokes also lectures widely across the UK on implants, full dentures and treatment planning.

Mr William Paul Cushley

Mr Cushley has worked as a Vocational Training Adviser for NHS Education in Scotland for the last 16 years, and has been an examiner on the DGDP, MFGDP and latterly the MJDF for the Faculty.

Mr Bruce Hogan

Mr Hogan graduated from Glasgow University in 1987 gaining BDS with honours. Currently Chair of FGDP(UK)'s West of Scotland Division, he is also an examiner for the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the RCPS Glasgow, and serves on the Board of Dental Education, Training & Professional Development at the College. He regularly lectures to VDPs on the use of local anaesthetics.

Mr Tony Wyn Jones

In addition to practicing dentistry since 1982, Mr Jones has served in Afghanistan as an RAF Dental Officer. He was an examiner for the MFGDP and later the MJDF from 2003-2012, including examining in Hong Kong.

Dr Pearse Stinson

Dr Stinson obtained his dental degree in 1981, after which he commenced an associateship in General Practice. He opened his own practice in 1986 and has been active in the FGDP since its inception, serving as a Board member for twelve years.

Dr Derek Maguire

Dr Maguire qualified 30 years ago from Queen's University, Belfast. He has also been awarded Membership of the Faculty of Dental Trainers with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (MDTFEd).

Fellowship Ad Eundem

Mr Nicholas John Lewis

Dr Daniel Chi Kwok Ng

Mr Anish N Shah

Dr Kenny Siu Keung Tong

Spare a thought for those within the profession who are struggling with financial difficulties this Christmas. Circumstances can change suddenly for many reasons, leaving families feeling the pinch and less than cheery as the festivities get underway. 

BDA Benevolent Fund offers additional financial support at this time of year to ensure that families don’t miss out. 

If you, or a dentist you know, are facing financial difficulties, please contact BDA Benevolent Fund, in confidence, on 020 7486 4994, or visit www.bdabenevolentfund.org.uk for more information. 

The charity relies on donations.  To donate, please visit www.justgiving.com/bdabenevolentfund or send a cheque, payable to ‘BDA Benevolent Fund’, at BDA Benevolent Fund, 64 Wimpole Street London W1G 8YS. Every £1 donated goes directly to a dentist and their family in crisis so your help really does support someone in need.”

The BDA Benevolent Fund wishes you a fantastic festive season, and thanks everyone who has supported them throughout the year.

No one can deny that modern technology has been a revelation in recent years. The use of it to improve diagnostic yields in radiography, to allow mainstream imaging in practice of aspects of dental tissues that we couldn’t previously visualise the same way  can only benefit our patients. Computerisation of dental notes and management systems, (whilst restricted in the choice of manufacturers) have probably improved the efficiency of most dental practices far beyond that of the old paper systems. Digital marketing tools, online presence through websites and blogs, and social media are all here to stay, and have driven the profile of the profession upwards. All in all, I think most of us would agree, technology has been largely a good thing for the profession

But one thing that I am REALLY struggling with that has come about as a result of this type of technology is the increase in Referral Portals for NHS referrals. On the face of it is would seem to be a streamlining of the process needed to refer into secondary care, and reduce the costs and problems with paper referrals. Entering the data via a computer linked to the patient database and directly into the referral systems would seem on the face of it far more efficient that writing a letter and posting it.

So why do I have an issue with it? This sort of advanced technology is right up my street normally. However, because of the way these systems seem to be implemented, I can see potential problems for registrants falling foul of the GDC Standards when they are forced to use them. The GDC standards that I personally think relate to this type of system are :

Standard 1.7 – Put patients interests first before your own or those of any colleague, business or ORGANISATION – these systems tend to be imposed unilateral decisions that don’t seem to have any guarantee that they are better for the patient (or indeed tested fully).

Standard 4.2.6 - If a patient allows you to share information about them, you should ensure that anyone you share it with understands that it is confidential – How does a faceless system with no identification of who receives the data comply with this standard?

Standard 6.3 – Delegate and refer appropriately and effectively. However, someone else often choses where the patient goes and who they see, with the clinician often having no idea of the degree of expertise that clinician actually has. Referrals are even rejected if often irrelevant (but required) tickboxes are not filled in.

Standard 6.1.5 – You must ensure that all patients are fully informed of the names and roles of the dental professionals involved in their care - How does a portal allow us to do this? Do we give all our patients Bill Gates’ name as its done on a PC?

Standard 6.3.1 - You can delegate the responsibility for a task but not the accountability. This means that, although you can ask someone to carry out a task for you, you could still be held accountable if something goes wrong. You should only delegate or refer to another member of the team if you are confident that they have been trained and are both competent and indemnified to do what you are asking.

For me this is the big problem. This alone is where the entire concept falls down unless we are indemnified for the errors of the system. What if this is a life changing referral such as a tumour? You are going to be ultimately responsible as you have to make the referral, and you can guarantee the powers that be who thought it was a good idea to impose the portal will NOT indemnify you against the failure of the referral in some way, nor will the GDC.  If the referral is rejected because of some missing tickbox that is largely irrelevant to the immediate urgency but required because some software engineer hasn’t allowed any flexibility in implementation then I personally cant see how this should ever be the responsibility of the clinician. The fact I might for example omit the patients GP because I’m more interested in the speed of the referral is a pedantic bureaucratic issue and not one of patient care.

I can’t comprehend how we as a profession have allowed this type of loss of control of patient care to creep into our referral systems. I am fairly sure there are practices that are on referral pathways that our patients will be allocated to that many of us would not be happy for them being treated in. Part of being a professional means that you take on the ultimate responsibility for the care of a patient, and the GDC standards means that includes ensuring they are referred to an appropriate colleague. Unless every single one of these referrals is triaged by a clinician then there will be mistakes made. And this pre-assumes the system actually works like it should…..

I have had the misfortune recently of being forced onto a pilot in my local area of just one of these systems. Due to the obviously more knowledgeable people in charge of procurement in my area, they foisted a system onto practitioners without actually discussing anything with them first. To say I experienced problems was an understatement, and I know many others did too (despite the LAT saying the response to their questionnaires about it was overwhelmingly favourable – presumably because the portal lost as many bad responses as it did referrals). To be quite honest, I would have been better served learning how to send smoke signal referrals rather than use the system that was imposed. I did some research into the actual system and found that it had been dropped by at least one area as it was unsatisfactory, and another region have accepted that the same system isn’t good, but it’s the best they’ve seen. Hardly a glowing endorsement is it?

For example, in the 2 months I used it, we experienced a plethora of problems. I don’t think it is particularly useful to have to spend over TWO HOURS trying to upload a Periapical radiograph, knowing that if it wasn’t sent the referral would have been rejected. This was a compressed file of just 103kb. I don’t think it is particularly helpful to have half the tick boxes missing for medical histories, or dropdowns that you can’t fill in because they are incorrectly populated. A spell check that allows only the incorrect spelling of a drug is also pretty useless. It’s not useful that the system doesn’t tell you if the referral has gone correctly, or instead forever been lost in the ether of the internet. It’s not professional to have no idea who you have just referred the patient to or who is going to read the information. Not particularly useful if your patient who doesn’t have an email address (like many of my elderly patients) can’t even be referred at all as the system refuses to accept the referral without their email address. It also falls foul of my data security policy of allowing an unknown (to me) commercial third party installing software onto my system (which is massively firewalled both by hardware and software – which would appear to more than can be said for the NHS system if the recent Cryptolocker problem is anything to go by).

But having the system obviously ticks another box for those who confuse boxticking with patient care. By having a system that once again means all the responsibility still lies with the registrant even though they have no control of it is highly convenient for the powers that be. They get to have a load of committee meetings about the procurement, knowing full well that if and when it fails, and if and when patients suffer from it, it will be the clinicians who will get the blame for it. Having a system imposed from above without actually making sure it works is nothing new: lets face it the NHS hardly have a great track record in getting IT infrastructure correct out do they? Heaven help us if our friends at Capita get involved with implementing one of these systems; patients will probably end up with an 18 month wait instead of an 18 week wait. Still, at least losing patients in the system will make the waiting lists look good for the managers and they can get their bonuses for being so successful…..

So unless we get some form of indemnification from those who perpetually get to wash their hands of responsibility, I can’t see how we can use these portals and still adhere to our required standards. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Image by Benjamin White

Below you will find some of the top news and blogs posted on GDPUK, week commencing 6th November.

1. At LMC Conference, doctors will vote on GPs leaving the NHS https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/2771-gps-to-vote-on-leaving-nhs

2. BDIA takes initiative towards Brexit https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/2776-bdia-leads-initiative-on-brexit

3 .MPs debate child oral health https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/2778-mps-debate-child-oral-health

4. @DentistGoneBadd posts a serious blog https://www.gdpuk.com/news/bloggers/entry/2037-dentistry-is-not-immune-from-harbouring-sexual-abuse-we-must-be-vigilant-too

5. Portsmouth graduate wins student of the year award https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/2780-portsmouth-graduate-wins-student-of-the-year-award

6. Coca-Cola ‘threatened to cut investment’ over sugar tax https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/2779-coca-cola-threatened-to-cut-investment-over-sugar-tax

7. Enough is enough: BDA demolish case for ARF levels https://www.gdpuk.com/news/latest-news/2770-enough-is-enough-bda-demolish-case-for-arf-levels

It is always a very sensitive time when a practice is transitioning to new ownership. Practice owners can feel a great attachment to their team, having spent time and resource on their development, as well as getting to know them on a personal level. When told the news, team members can feel vulnerable and anxious about what the future may hold and so delivering the right message at the right time is critical for success. 

Before the transition

Whether the proprietor has decided to sell to an individual or a corporate group, the value of the dental team is recognised by potential buyers and they will often seek to retain staff. It is understood that the front-desk team’s relationships with patients adds goodwill, as does the approachable and professional dental nurses and hygienists. If the seller is unable to tell the team of the change early on in discussions, they may want to consider ways in which they can help the team to prepare for the change so that they do not feel exposed when they are told the news. Are the team up-to-date with their training and educational needs for confidence in what they have to offer the new owner? Is their appraisal detailed with all their achievements to date? Have their personal development needs been identified and an action plan put in place? 

All in the timing

When to tell the team about the sale of a practice is a debated subject. Too soon, and it opens up a window for gossip and uncertainty, particularly if word gets out to patients who may then look to switch practices or be reluctant to commit to more extensive treatment. Too late, and the team might feel let down and shocked by the imminent change in management. Unfortunately there is no mathematical equation for working out the right moment and it will vary depending on the individual practice. 

Supporting the team

The team emotions are often one of the heaviest burdens on a principal and so selling to an experienced purchaser who can be trusted to continue looking after all members of staff.  Rodericks Dental, for example, offers a quick completion so that the “secret” does not need to be kept for a lengthy period. Further still, they can visit the practice out of working hours, even at the weekend, and they offer extensive training and support services for all professionals to advance their careers.

Selling a dental practice can opens up great new opportunities for the owner and the team. Managing the team during the transition can be challenging but with the right approach and support, it can go smoothly.

For more information please visit www.sellyourdentalpractice.net, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01604 602491 (option 5).

Follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/rodericksdental,

Twitter @rodericksdental and LinkedIn

“I first met Dental Elite at BDIA where they were presenting a lecture on practice sales and acquisitions,” reflects Dr Ninan Vettasseri. “Impressed with their experience and knowledge of the market, I decided to give them a call. And I’m glad I did, because not only was Katrina very supportive, but whenever there were hiccups she came up with a solution straightaway.

“If I could go back and do it again, however, I would do two things: Do my homework before putting the practice on the market and spend more time on marketing – the latter of which would have generated a higher completion price if I’d dedicated more time to maximising my practice’s potential.

“My advice to vendors would therefore be to plan well in advance and learn as much as you can about the process – not to mention to keep on track with UDA targets!”

For help planning your exit strategy in advance or selling your practice, get in touch with Dental Elite.

For more information on Dental Elite visit www.dentalelite.co.uk, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 01788 545 900

As a Brit, I was both ashamed and proud of the revelations coming out of Westminster this week - ashamed that a small number of our elected representatives could act in such a grubby and misogynistic manner, but also proud of the way that the whole decades-long business is being exposed and acted on in an open way, even if it has been fuelled and inspired by our free press.  There was something typically British and admirable in Sir Michael Fallon’s quick decision to resign from his post as defence minister, as opposed to my disdain for the USA’s Orang-Utan in Chief who has a considerable number of accusations of sexual assault outstanding against him and is a self-confessed and unashamed “pussy-grabber.”

It’s become obvious from the ubiquity of the ‘metoo’ hashtag (#metoo) 

this week, that few walks of work life are free from sexual innuendo, threats and frank abuse and I have been wondering at what point the medical and dental professions will stand accused of similar behaviour either in the present or the past.  What follows, has bothered me for years. There was nothing I could do about it at the time, and nothing I can do about it now, but I felt it was time to at least illuminate the fact that dentistry is not immune from the abuse of women.

I trained in the eighties in a fairly well-known dental school. There was a reasonably affable relationship between the students and lecturers – there were some lecturers who were frankly, evil bastards and there were some who treated you as sentient adults and although you wouldn’t go out for a pint with them, you would say “Good morning” to them in a corridor without ducking into the nearest toilet facility.

Some lecturers (and yes, it IS males) however, had a closer than affable relationship with female students and it is one that I need to focus on.  This married lecturer was a reader in restorative dentistry and was a phantom head instructor.  He always seemed to have a pally relationship with the female students and before long it was rumoured that he was having an extra-marital affair with a young student in the year below me.  The affair became quite open within the dental school and he would often turn up at finals nights and exam celebration nights at Med Club.  I didn’t follow that closely, the ins and outs of the relationship, but since it was so well-known, I assume that the dental school authorities turned a blind eye to it since the female hadn’t protested.

A few months after I qualified and left the dental school, friends of mine who were still at the dental school separately told me that the lecturer and been frequently ‘bothering’ a new and attractive dental student in a sexual manner, to the point where the young woman went to the head of the restorative department to report it. 

She was later called to the Professor of the department where she found herself confronted by the Prof and the lecturer in question with the threat that if she were to take her complaint any further, they would ensure that she would fail finals.

I was told a few months later, that the young woman managed to find herself  a place at another university and transferred.  She apparently took her complaint no further.

I believe the head of the department is long retired (or hopefully dead), but the lecturer in question has risen to the heights, is nationally known, and is in active charge of students.

I didn’t know the victim, or even if she would have wanted to have taken this incident further.  The fact that I didn’t?  I am ashamed. 

Dr Andrew Farr talks to The Revu about his recent experience of undertaking the ITI Foundation in Implant Dentistry (FID) course and why, along with the guidance of his mentor, he is now more than ready to place his first implants.

What first motivated you to attend the FID course?

We were already offering implant treatment at our practice, but I was keen to learn for myself how to place and restore implants. I qualified over 10 years ago and received no implant training at all at undergraduate level, so it was a question of looking at the introductory courses out there that could get me confidently started in implant dentistry and the FID course was definitely the one that suited me best.

How did you find the course content?

Because it’s a Foundation course it’s designed to give you a solid theoretical understanding of how and when to use implants and to guide you in implant selection. I believe that the theory is very important when you are starting out in implant dentistry and the FID course definitely gets you off on the right foot.

I was very impressed at the quality of the teaching from some of the most experienced implant dentists in the UK, including Dr Shakeel Shahdad, Prof Nikos Donos and Dr Nikos Mardas. Between them they have a vast amount of experience, and I found them to be very open and honest about real life situations in practice, both good, and occasionally not so good. It would be easy for the experts to just say how good they are at placing implants, but that’s not what the delegates need, nor what they did. It’s just as important to learn about the things that can go wrong as well as the vast majority of cases with highly successful outcomes.

The FID modular course is spread over six months and you successfully completed the course in September. What has been happening in that time?

The most significant thing I’ve done is to partner with my mentor, Michael Betteridge. Michael is a specialist oral surgeon who is very experienced in providing not just oral surgery care in the primary care environment, but also a highly-regarded dental implant service, and is therefore ideally suited to being a mentor.

Are you looking to now move on to an MSc course or similar in implant dentistry or is mentoring giving you everything you currently need?

For the time being, with the help of Michael, my plan is to first get the basics right in practice before considering moving onto further education and I’m already in the process of planning my first implant cases. It can be a bit daunting when you first start out, but it’s probably more a fear of the unknown and that’s why a mentor is such a good idea to guide you over those first hurdles until you find your feet.

How have you found the support from Straumann - do you plan to place Straumann implants?

Yes, that’s my plan. Straumann are market leaders and when you are starting out you want to place the implant that offers the best chance of long-term success and is backed by a huge amount of research.

The support they offer is terrific and our local Straumann representative Hayley has been a great help in terms of my surgery set-up and making sure I have everything I need to get me started. Everyone at Straumann really knows what they are doing and if I have any problems I know they are there to help. It’s about the whole support package - not just the implant.

What are your plans now going forward?

I want to be doing a lot more than just placing the occasional implant. My aim is to eventually place something in the region of 100 implants a year and be in a position to accept referrals from local colleagues.

Finally, would you recommend the FID course to other GDPs?

Yes, I would definitely recommend this course - it’s ideal for any clinician looking to get the best start in a career in implant dentistry.

In association with Straumann, the next ITI Foundation in Implant Dentistry course begins in February 2018. For further information or to reserve your place, please call the Straumann Education Department on +44 (0) 1293 651270 or visit iti.org/uk

Facebook: Straumann UK

Twitter: @StraumannUK

broadstreetdentalsurgery.com

Broad Street Dental Surgery, Broadway House, 32-35 Broad Street, Hereford HR4 9AR

Andrew Farr BDS(Hons), MJDF RCS Eng 

Andrew joined Broad Street Dental Surgery, Hereford in October 2014. Born and raised in Caerphilly, South Wales he studied dentistry at the University of Cardiff, graduating with honours. He completed his vocational training in Plymouth, then spent a year as a Maxillofacial Senior House Officer at Derriford Hospital where his duties included emergencies in A&E, head and neck surgery and wisdom tooth removal. He has developed an interest in orthodontics and is qualified to offer Quick Straight Teeth short-term orthodontics.

24^th November 2017

The Mecure, St Pauls Hotel & Spa, Sheffield

Now in its third year, Sheffield’s 2017 Dental Charity Ball is nearly upon us!

With much fun to be had, including a magician, an obligatory photobooth, and games to be played, this year see’s the ball support a fantastic charity that promotes dental health both here in the UK, and across the globe. Working to provide access to safe and affordable dental care for those in the poorest communities, Dentaid  provides equipment, volunteers and training. Every penny raised from the ball goes directly to Dentaid, who will also be attending to help educate those attending of the great works that they and their volunteers do.

A video from the 2016 ball below!

With tickets costing £45 per person, or just £400 for a table of ten, it is a great event for all to attend, whether as your Christmas party or simple as a festive, charitable knees up!

Set up and supported by S4S Dental Laboratory, 4Health, one80 Dental, and John Holland, you can book your tickets at s4sdental.com/charityball2017. For more information on the charity, visit dentaid.org.

The Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP(UK)) says further action is needed to tackle the nation’s sugar habit.

The Faculty is supporting Sugar Awareness Week (30th October – 3rd November 2017), organised by the Action on Sugar campaign group, which aims to build public pressure to persuade the government and the food and drink industry to implement stronger sugar reduction policies.

Action on Sugar also aims to raise public awareness of the adverse health effects of consuming too much sugar and the costs to the NHS of treating sugar-related illnesses. The campaign has produced two free, downloadable posters, highlighting the differing types and amounts of sugar in everyday foods and drinks.

Sugar Awareness Week runs from 30th October to 3rd November 2017, and the focus of the national campaign this year is on the large amounts of sugar available on price promotions. Local areas across the country are also running their own Sugar Awareness Week events.

Dr Mick Horton, Dean of FGDP(UK), says:

“This is an important campaign. Dentists and dental practice teams spend a lot of time educating patients about the importance of diet to oral health, but this can be quickly undone by the lure of discounts and adverts for sugary food and drinks. The average person in the UK eats three times the recommended maximum intake of sugar, and our bad habits start early. A quarter of primary school children, rising to a third in secondary school, have tooth decay, an almost entirely preventable disease, and action to further restrict marketing of high sugar items would help encourage people to make healthier choices.”

Jenny Rosborough, Registered Nutritionist and Campaign Manager at Action on Sugar says: 

“We currently consume 2–3 times more free sugars than is recommended and the biggest source in the diets of children and teenagers are sugar-sweetened drinks. Excess consumption of free sugars (i.e. those that are found naturally in fruit juices, honey and syrups, plus sugars added to foods and drinks ) is associated with a greater risk of tooth decay and leads to increased energy intake (compared to other energy sources). What’s more, sugar-sweetened drinks are associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. Whilst we urge both the government and food manufacturers to act now, our message to dental practitioners is to help educate their patients about the impact of sugar consumption on their teeth.”

For more information on Sugar Awareness Week visit Action on Sugar online here.