NHS England says its new 10-year plan could save up to 500,000 lives by focusing on prevention and early detection. GPs, mental health and community care will get the biggest funding increases to shift the focus away from hospitals. But it has come in for criticism from the BDA who said that dentistry had been ‘overlooked’ in the Long-Term Plan.
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A paper published in BMC Oral Health has found that the average number of caries procedures per child under six in Juneau, Alaska, has jumped from 1.55 to 2.52 per year since the city voted to stop adding fluoride to the water supply in 2007. Medicaid records before and after fluoridation ceased show that there has been a significant upsurge in the number of procedures taking place, just as predicted.
Read more: Alaskan city will rethink decision to abandon water fluoridation
The BDA has slammed news that the government will proceed with £85 million of cuts to public health grants, which have disproportionately hit oral health services. BDA Chair Mick Armstrong said: "It’s utterly perverse that wholly preventable conditions are now going effectively unchecked. Starving local authorities of needed resources is hopelessly short-sighted, and is only piling pressure on NHS services.”
A report from the Care Quality Commission looks at NHS safety culture and the need for transformation. They have been working with NHS Improvement to look at issues in NHS trusts that contribute to ‘Never Events’ taking place. They visited 18 NHS trusts and carried out one-to-one interviews, visited different services and reviewed policies and procedures.
The Crisis at Christmas Dental Service @CrisisDental had seen over 320 people, plus @DenTech_charity have been making dentures for the homeless. Some amazing dentists and their teams volunteered on Christmas Day and over the holiday to give their guests the best smile possible.
Read more: Dentists - a valuable part of Crisis Dental Service at Christmas
The indomitable Claire Stevens – aka the Toothfairy – has been appointed CBE – Commander of the Order of the British Empire– in the 2019 New Year’s Honours List in recognition of her tireless commitment to improving children’s oral health. As their official spokesperson and immediate past President, the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) are proud beyond measure. There were no other 'dental' names on the list.
Read more: Advocate for children’s oral health appointed CBE
Senior Dental Students have taken the bit between their teeth competing in a nationwide Dental Clinical Skills Competition. The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd)’s Faculty of Dental Surgery, together with sponsors Dentsply Sirona, continue with heats of their nationwide Dental Clinical Skills Competition running in dental schools across the UK and Ireland this autumn/winter 2018-2019.
The Home Secretary, Sajid Javid MP, has published proposals for immigration controls following Brexit on March 29, 2019. The new system should allow dentists, as ‘skilled workers’, to enter the UK whether they come from the EU, EEA or anywhere in the world. However, entrants will need to earn at least £30,000 which may exclude some Dental Care Professionals.
Experts advising the Government have said there is not enough scientific evidence to warrant a ban on the sale of energy drinks to children. But dental paediatric consultant and past president of BSPD, Claire Stevens tweeted “I see first-hand the damage these sugar-loaded drinks cause to the teeth of my patients.”