The BDA wrote yesterday to Sara Hurley Chief Dental Officer for England, saying their members are desperate, asking what they should do in the absence of official advice over COVID-19. Separately CDO Wales, Colette Bridgman, wrote to dentists in Wales and the GDC chief executive issued an update.
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Recent statistics show that the demand for adult orthodontics is continuing to rise, but concerns have risen about “direct-to-consumer” teeth straightening, which lures in customers with the promise of low prices and fast results but can often result in permanent damage. The Oral Health Foundation and British Orthodontic Society have created Safe Brace – a trusted space where patients can get independent and impartial advice about making the right choice for them.
Jason Wong described being presented with a MBE by Prince Charles for Dentistry and Oral Health it as an ‘amazing morning’ for him and his family at Buckingham Palace. He added on Instagram: “Massive thanks to my Dental family too”.
Using e-cigarettes alters the mouth’s microbiome—the community of bacteria and other microorganisms—and makes users more prone to inflammation and infection, finds a new study led by researchers at NYU College of Dentistry. It is published in iScience, a Cell Press journal and is the first to demonstrate that vaping changes the oral microbiome and adds to our limited understanding of the safety profile of e-cigarettes.
Read more: Research: Vaping changes oral microbiome, increasing risk of infection
A Scottish dental practice has taken a decision to temporarily close as a precaution following the emergence of a coronavirus case there. The Stewart and Stewart Dental Practice in Cumbernauld is currently working closely with NHS Lanarkshire’s public health team who are in the process of contacting practice patients who have been in contact with the confirmed case.
Read more: Scottish practice closes over case of Covid-19 being found
The Chancellor of the Excequer, the Rt Hon Rishi Sunak, has presented his first budget to MPs, barely a month after being appointed. In the words of BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg, he opened a ‘very large cheque-book’ and signalled an end to austerity. Nick Ledingham, Chairman of NASDAL and Director at Specialist Dental Accountants, Morris and Co, tells GDPUK how this budget could affect dentists.
Read more: Budget gives support for the economic impact of Covid-19
The BDA has given evidence in person to the Review Body on Doctors’ and Dentists’ Remuneration (DDRB), based on members’ views who were asked to provide the evidence on pay and morale. Eddie Crouch and his team stressed dentists’ recruitment crisis, low morale, access problems for patients, delays in paying the DDRB award and below inflation pay increases leading to under-funding of NHS dentistry.
Read more: BDA tells the Review Body the facts about NHS dentists’ pay
Deputy Chief Dental Officer, Eric Rooney, has issued a letter to dentists and their teams to update them on what is happening, to share some key resources and ‘how we plan to communicate with you’. He says that as part of their preparedness plans, they ‘will continue to develop advice and plans to support dental practices’. He gives the example of guidance on face mask supply set out in the letter.
Read more: Deputy CDO updates Covid-19 advice for dental teams
Alan Suggett, Partner at UNW LLP and Media Officer of NASDAL (National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers) has said, “there have been several inaccurate statements recently published in relation to the change in tax rules being introduced with effect from April 2020”. To those Associates who have been worried about how the upcoming changes in IR35 will affect them, NASDAL have created a flowchart to see if and how the new IR35 will affect you.