The unmet dental needs of children with craniofacial deformities are a priority for Sarah McKaig, the incoming President of British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD). In the year ahead she plans to raise awareness of the need for a national care pathway in the management of this cohort of children, a group she supports routinely in her working life.
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James Cleverly MP, Chairman of the Conservative Party and cabinet minister, has visited staff and students at the Devonport Dental Education Facility. He praised the work of the staff there in offering free treatment to people currently experiencing homelessness in the city. He met staff and students from the Dental School and heard about community engagement work including the weekly community clinic.
Read more: Government minister visits Peninsula Dental School
Eighty-four per cent of NHS dentists, compared to 51% of private dentists, believe their current role has negatively affected their mental health, according to the latest Dentistry Confidence Monitor survey, released by Practice Plan. Even more worrying is that 72% of dentists said that they were not confident about which organisation to turn to for support if they were feeling overly stressed or worried about their mental health.
Read more: Mistrust and mental health issues revealed in survey of dentists
The Oral Health Foundation was joined by a room full of campaigners and supporters at the Houses of Parliament, as the charity launched this year’s Mouth Cancer Action Month. More than 130 people from across 98 organisations were in attendance and heard from a range of speakers reinforcing the need for greater recognition of mouth cancer and its signs and symptoms.
Read more: Mouth Cancer Action Month launched in House of Commons
Researchers at the University of Plymouth are exploring possible links between the bacteria that cause gum disease and the progression of oral cancer. They are aiming to build on evidence that shows how bacteria which cause periodontitis, are linked to blood vessel formation and will grow mini tumours and blood vessels in the laboratory, adding bacteria to identify what effect they have on the blood vessels, and how they operate.
Read more: Research of link between mouth bacteria and oral cancer
NHS England has instructed the Business Services Authority (BSA) to pause its recently announced dental assurance reviews, following a request from the BDA. The halt to these reviews will remain in place until at least 22 November once NHS England and the BSA have met with representatives of the GDPC.
Read more: Dental Assurance Reviews paused following BDA request
The BDA has become embroiled in a "spying" row with the General Dental Council, which has spent thousands of pounds on private investigators who have posed as patients’ families, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. Chair Mick Armstrong said: “These sort of Stasi tactics are not a good look.”
GDPUK publishes a serious piece of investigative journalism today, pulling together the pieces of a story in which a dentist with multiple convictions, and proven to have lied under oath, was able to be reinstated to the dental register after being suspended for five years and serving a prison sentence during that time.
Two new ‘Oral Health Options’ action groups are to be established in Northern Ireland, focusing on child oral health and oral health of the elderly. While welcoming this initiative, the BDA says it will need to be accompanied by adequate investment and a commitment to address the needs of the dental workforce if it is to be successful, the dentists’ body warned.
Read more: Oral Health action groups a significant step forward says BDA