The GDC has announced the names of six new members of the Council, of which four are lay and two registrant. The appointments have been confirmed by the Privy Council. The new Council members take up their posts on 1 October. The GDC has thanked outgoing Council members - Alan MacDonald, David Smith, Jayendra Patel, Neil Stevenson and Rosemary Carter.
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The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Dentistry and Oral Health – a forum for Parliamentarians interested in oral health to meet the profession - held an event in Parliament recently. Visitors included numerous MPs, Lords, and senior stakeholders such as the Chief Dental Officer Sara Hurley and the Director of Health and Social Care at NICE Prof Gillian Leng.
A former dental technician has been ordered to pay more than £10,000 after being convicted of offering tooth whitening illegally. Jeffrey Lehmann has also been given a Criminal Behaviour Order, which - if breached - could result in imprisonment, a fine, or both, following a prosecution by the GDC. This is the first time that the GDC has sought – and had granted – a Criminal Behaviour Order.
Read more: Fine and Criminal Behaviour Order given for illegal tooth whitening
A new study led by University of Pennsylvania researchers has found that the oral microbiome is affected by diabetes, causing a shift to increase its pathogenicity, with implications for periodontitis. The research, published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, not only showed that the oral microbiome of mice with diabetes shifted but that the change was associated with increased inflammation and bone loss.
Read more: Diabetes causes shift of oral microbiome in mice, study finds
The National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers (NASDAL) has released the results of their latest goodwill survey and it does appear that following a number of years of impressive growth, there is now a levelling out of prices being paid. Alan Suggett, specialist dental accountant, said: “It certainly does appear that the ‘boom’ in the practice sales market may be on the wane.”
CDO Sara Hurley has welcomed opening up to dentists and healthcare scientists of a training scheme for clinicians whose innovative ideas could lead to big patient benefits. Over the last year 103 junior doctors have developed their ideas and their business skills through the Clinical Entrepreneur programme. The training programme for healthcare scientists and dentists will begin in autumn 2017.
Read more: Entrepreneur scheme for innovation extended to dentists
This week, the last before the recess, Sir Paul Beresford asked about the next Adult Dental Health Survey. Judith Cummins asked about a pilot to improve dental access in West Yorkshire. In a Commons debate on drugs policy, John Mann made a link between dental care and drug addiction. This column will now also go into recess and resume with Parliament in September.
A new study carried out to understand the effect of breastfeeding on children’s teeth has found there is a higher risk of dental caries if breastfeeding continues for two years or more. The research findings have been published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Read more: Increased risk of decay if children breastfed beyond age 2
The GDC has issued a newsletter containing details of their advice to ‘check the small print of your indemnity and make sure you're covered’. It points out that ‘all dental professionals must, by law, have an indemnity arrangement or insurance policy in place. This is so that any patient who suffers harm can recover any money they might be entitled to through compensation, in the event of a successful claim’