Questions from MPs included an exchange from an SNP member comparing childrens oral health in Scotland with that in England. The MP for York wanted to know what was being done to improve access to NHS dentistry. Finally during the Brexit debate in the Lords, the issue of dentists and doctors coming from the EU was raised.
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Higher patient charges for NHS dental care in 2017/18 have been announced, not in a ministerial statement but through an amendment to the regulations. These changes amount to a 5% increase. GDPC chair, Henrik Overgaard-Nielsen, said: “These unprecedented charge hikes are self-defeating, and simply discourage the patients who need us most from seeing an NHS dentist.”
A free poster promoting Dental Check by One is now available on the website of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD). Dental practices which support the initiative can download and print the A4 poster to display in their reception areas. http://bspd.co.uk/Resources/Dental-Check-by-One
The GDC has published its annual Patient and Public Survey. Patient satisfaction with UK dental care remains very high at 97% of patients who have visited their dentist in the last year. Perhaps even more encouragingly, the number who say they are ‘very satisfied’ has increased by 6% over the last five years to 67%.
Thousands of London children with oral pain are being taken by parents to pharmacies and non-dental health services, including A&E, instead of their dentist, and could be costing NHS England £2.3 million a year, according to research led by Queen Mary University of London.
Read more: London children visiting pharmacists for oral pain
Ian Mills has been elected as the next Dean of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK). He said: “It will be an enormous privilege to lead the UK’s only professional body dedicated to general dental practice through a crucial period in its history. I look forward to working with (colleagues) in delivering GDP-focused education, guidance and representation over the next three years.”
The BDA has called on NHS England and the Welsh Government to invoke force majeure clauses in GDS contracts, as extreme weather conditions risk leaving thousands of dentists unable to hit UDA targets.
Read more: Weather related clawback risk - BDA calls for Force Majeure
The British Dental Association (BDA) has condemned the NHS orthodontic procurement exercise launched this week for the orthodontic agreements across the whole of Southern England which are set to expire on 31 March 2019, saying “for many not bidding may be better option.”
Amazon in the USA has been growing its medical supply business - selling gloves, syringes and other health-care sundries to dentists, doctors and hospitals - in an early sign of its efforts to enter the health care industry. But Reuters reports that Henry Schein Inc and Patterson Cos Inc have bigger things to worry about than Amazon potentially disrupting the niche dental-equipment market they dominate in the US.