A recruitment crisis for NHS dentists is imminent, and set to deepen access problems across England, according to new data from the BDA. PEC Vice Chair Eddie Crouch said: “It is a damning indictment of current policy that the dentists who go over and above with NHS care are now paying the price in low morale”.
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The closure of mydentist branches in Richmond and Catterick, North Yorkshire, has left patients wondering where else they can go after two practices revealed they are to close. The corporate confirmed they will close as there are “not enough dentists to fulfil their NHS contract”. After the revelation, nearby dental practices said they were full and are unable to take on new patients.
Caroline Holland reports: From the BBC programme Playschool some 40 years ago to her current role in the House of Lords as children’s champion, Floella Benjamin has consistently delighted her audiences. Delegates at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health for a conference entitled “Why children’s health is everyone’s business” were therefore ready to be impressed by her keynote address.
Read more: Baroness Benjamin commits to campaigning for improved oral health in children
The Scottish Government’s new Oral Health Improvement Plan sets out a new preventive system of care to assess patients based on risk, and address the link between deprivation and ill-health. It will see the introduction of personalised care plans which focus on lifestyle choices, for example diet, alcohol and smoking, and how these impact on health.
The number of Scots registered with an NHS dentist has almost doubled over the past decade - and now stands at five million people. But children and adults from the most deprived areas were still less likely to have seen their dentist within the past two years than those from the most affluent areas. Health minister, Shona Robison, described the figures as ‘really encouraging’.
Four stories on teeth and sugar in the media very recently. Toothbrushing only partly protects against the effects of sugary snacks on children’s teeth, research suggests. Coca-Cola has announced it will cut the size of a 1.75l bottle and put up the price by 20p. Teenagers who watch lots of television adverts eat far more junk food, researchers have warned. Starbucks has been criticised for selling a hot chocolate with too much sugar.
Junior doctors should be forced to pay back some of their training costs to the NHS if they work abroad after qualifying. Niall Dickson, head of the NHS Confederation which represents senior managers, said staff shortages were the biggest concern for the health service. It costs the taxpayer £220,000 to train each doctor and some trusts are suffering from severe shortages.
Read more: NHS doctors who move abroad ‘should pay back training costs’
Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen has been re-elected as chairman of the General Dental Practice Committee (GDPC), of the BDA. Henrik is a GDP based in Fulham, London and started an NHS practice in 1999 and since then it has treated over 100,000 NHS patients. He said he was honoured to have been re-elected.
Read more: Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen re-elected to chair GDPC
The GDC should remain the dedicated regulator in reform plans, but opportunity for improvement must be seized, Dental Protection said in its response to the Department of Health consultation on the future of professional regulation in healthcare. Raj Rattan, Director at Dental Protection, said: “In many areas reform is long overdue.”
Read more: GDC should remain sole regulator says Dental Protection