Kerr is delighted, alongside Sybron Endo, Henry Schein Dental and KaVo, to report that the Innovations in Dentistry Symposium – ‘For the Art of the Smile’ – was a huge success.

The two-day symposium, held on 3^rd and 4^th July in London, provided dental team members with the opportunity to hear leading speakers discuss restorative dentistry, endodontics and new equipment that have transformed the way modern dentistry is practised, as well as attend restorative and/or endodontic hands-on sessions worth 3 hours of verifiable CPD.

In addition, there were live demonstrations throughout the two days and plenty of opportunities to get hands-on with the equipment.

Claudio Massoli, Country Manager Kerr UK commented: ‘We couldn’t be happier with how the symposium was received by delegates. We achieved everything we hoped to, including helping dental professionals to improve their understanding of materials and equipment available in the 21^st century, allowing for superior results to be achieved.’

Robbie McConnell speaking at the Symposium. 

Doing things together can be fun, whether it’s meeting up with friends, working on a project together or taking part in a group activity. If that fun also helps to raise funds for organisations which in turn help others, even more people benefit. This is why raising funds for charity can be such a rewarding thing to do. 

Many of us get involved in fundraising, directly or indirectly, ranging from helping out at the school fete to shaking a charity collection box. While these may just take a few hours out of our daily lives, causes and charities that funds are being raised for go on working everyday to help others.

Raising awareness is important too. Recently, inspirational teenager Stephen Sutton, who is sadly no longer with us, raised over four million pounds for his chosen charity as he battled with cancer, his extraordinary achievement also helping to raise awareness for the thousands of people with the disease around the world. It is a sobering fact that every two minutes, someone in the UK is diagnosed with cancer.[1]

This was the case for dentist, Dr T, who needed time off work to undergo and recover from cancer surgery. Separated and with two young children to support, Dr T turned to the BDA Benevolent Fund, which helped to pay for childcare costs while she was in hospital, also providing a monthly grant to help during her recovery.

Fortunately, there are many ways to raise funds, ranging from organising a coffee morning to doing a bungee jump. The list is endless, but the funds that charities need are not, which is why your help is so essential.

During 2013, the BDA Benevolent Fund ‘Be Active’ campaign raised £17,000, with a further £125,000 raised by LDCs, BDA Branches and Sections. An auction, photographic competition, climbing Kilimanjaro and a golf tournament were just some of the great fundraising events. These monies meant that over £172,000 of grants and £36,000 of new loans could be provided to those who truly needed the support in 2013.

So please help to raise funds for the BDA Benevolent Fund this year, because with your help, the Fund can continue to help those in need.

The BDA Benevolent Fund relies on your help to continue this work,
so please contact us on 020 7486 4994 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

or to give a donation today, visit www.bdabenevolentfund.org.uk
 

And if you are in need of help yourself, please contact us now.

All enquiries are considered in confidence.

Registered cha

Prior to 2006, life was simple – dentists were unable to incorporate and therefore neither accountants nor dentists nor associates gave even a second thought as to how much their lives might be improved if only they could trade is limited companies.

Then in 2006 came changes to the Dentists Act!

Since then, provided you have a majority of GDC registered directors, you are able to form and trade as a limited company and enjoy the tax benefits which may ensue as a result.

So far so good!

If you have a private practice, life has continued to be good and you can incorporate to your heart's content!

Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Principals of NHS practices.

The reason for this is simply that in order for the incorporation to be effective a new NHS contract has to be issued in the name of the limited company, and that can only be achieved with the consent of your friendly local NHS contract manager.

Initially PCT's were generally happy to agree to issue new contracts in the name of the limited companies. They then started to realise that people were disposing of their practices by selling the shares in their limited companies, and thus the PCT's had lost control over the identity of the dentists that they were contracting with.

At that point, an NHS principal’s ability to incorporate depended entirely on the attitude of their local PCT. Every PCT in the country seemed to have a different attitude to incorporation, and even the same PCT appeared to change their mind from time to time, depending primarily, it appeared, on what side of the bed the contract manager got out of that morning.

There were those PCTs who continued to be happy to agree – although it would be fair to say that these were very much in the minority.

Most would agree, but only on the basis that what is known as a "change of control" clause was inserted into the new contract. So that if there was a change in shareholder, then the PCT would have the right to terminate the contract (thus a principle could save some tax, but in the course of doing so could lose the entire goodwill value of their practice!).

Matters were further complicated by virtue of the fact that each PCT seemed to have different wording for their change of control clause – some were reasonable and others entirely not so.

And then there were some PCT's who simply said, "no!".

This was obviously a wholly unsatisfactory state of affairs.

In April 2013, NHS England issued guidance to the LATs stating in terms that, provided there had been no issues with the performance of the contract, they should allow incorporation.

"Hallelujah!" We thought in our innocence.

Despite the guidance issued by NHS England, different LATs have chosen to implement and interpret the guidance in different manners.

Some are insisting that the principal guarantees the performance of the contract by the limited company – which would not be unreasonable, except for the fact that the guarantee is generally worded in such a manner that it will continue even after the sale of the practice.

Others are still insisting that the change of control clauses are inserted – and the wording of these is still wholly inconsistent.

Worst of all, there is one PCT that I have spoken to recently who advised that they, ‘did not like the guidance issued by NHS England’, (apparently and conveniently forgetting that they are part of this organisation) and that they were, therefore, refusing to process any incorporation applications until revised guidance was issued which was more to their liking.

In other words we are back in a situation with an LAT saying "no".

Therefore, despite changes in governance and the guidance issued by NHS England, the LATs still appear very much to be acting as if they are a law unto themselves.

We are therefore back in the position where, at least so far as incorporation is concerned, NHS practitioners are very much the poor cousins compared to their professional colleagues in private practice.

John Grant of Goodman Grant Lawyers for Dentists - a NASDAL member

For more information call John Grant on 0113 834 3705 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.goodmangrant.co.uk

A NASDAL and ASPD MEMBER

Patient expectations are changing and practices must adapt and change to meet their requirements. Dental practices can no longer rely on word-of-mouth referrals alone to bring patients in through their doors. With the current trends in the profession leaning towards high levels of competition and increases in online advertising, practices will need to explore new avenues to keep up with the industry and to reach and attract new patients.

Often the first port of call for prospective patients looking for last minute treatment or a specific specialist procedure would be to turn to the Internet. No longer purely the domain of the younger generations, this is now the primary source of consumer information. From online banking to booking a train fare and from researching holiday destinations to completing the monthly shop, in the modern world if it isn’t on the Internet, then it doesn’t exist.

An increased online presence therefore is essential to ensure your practice maximises its potential for reaching as many patients as possible, even if your target audience is the older generation. However, online advertising and the setting up of new modern websites can be expensive and time consuming and, unless you are fully competent in all-things multimedia, can actually be counter-effective – as the wrong message online will only send your patients elsewhere.

Fortunately there are other options available for practices looking to extend their reach. By joining a marketing cooperative, for instance, practices can achieve results that would be otherwise impossible. Marketing cooperatives allow practices to participate in nationwide advertising without the associated costs. Indeed membership could grant access to large-scale marketing that would be very difficult for practices to achieve whilst maintaining their independence as a small practice or group of practices.

Other benefits of joining a marketing cooperative might include enhanced associations and affiliations within the profession, meaning an increased support network for your business. As well as the opportunity to expand on the provision of treatment and services you can offer through reputable patient referrals.

Marketing cooperatives such as United Smile Centres offer practices the opportunity to be a part of a wider promotional campaign, allowing access to patients that would otherwise look elsewhere for their dental treatment. United Smile Centres promotes same-day implant surgery targeted at the over 50s and its member-base is made up of highly recommended implant practices that all benefit from its patient referrals.

Patients can find a local practice offering Fixed Teeth in a Day through the postcode locator on the United Smile Centres website and are put into contact directly through the phone number provided. From a business perspective this represents a fantastic opportunity for practices, as all they need to do is sign up to United Smile Centres and the marketing cooperative does the rest.

If your practice offers same-day implant surgery and is looking for new ways to increase its reach, or if you are interested in enhancing your patient base without the associated costs of setting up new websites and national advertising campaigns then United Smile Centres could be the solution.

Olajumoke Alara, Practice Manager for Dental Specialists MK in Milton Keynes explains the advantages of becoming a member:

 “We’ve had quite a few patients referred to us by United Smile Centres. The main benefit is the additional advertising the practice receives, plus the fact that the staff at United Smile Centres explain the treatment process and pass on other relevant information to the patients before they are sent to us for assessment, which reduces the amount of time we spend on the phone. We also receive really useful email feedback from United Smile Centres, which helps us with our record keeping.”

Jag Shergill BDS, MSc (Implants) from the Coventry and Birmingham Centre for Advanced Dentistry is highly impressed with his experience of United Smile Centres. He says:

“Being affiliated with United Smile Centres has truly been an excellent experience. The other members of the affiliated teams are likeminded individuals, and at a couple of the organised days it’s been very useful getting their viewpoints – and those whom I have spoken to have also been delighted with United Smile Centres within their practices.”

Dr Jay Padayachy at Senova Dental Studios in Watford explains how United Smile Centres has made his practice more efficient and productive:

“It’s been a good additional revenue stream for the practice, and it’s great to have potential patients preselected. This means that when they contact they practice, they are at least partially sold on the idea that they need treatment.

“By joining United Smile Centres, you can market your practice nationwide at a fraction of the cost usually involved. I would definitely recommend United Smile Centres. It’s a great concept to have a group of practices linked together with a central hub that fields the calls, logs the questions and then passes on an appropriate contact.”

For more information call United Smile Centres on 0800 8 49 49 59, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or visit www.unitedsmilecentres.co.uk