A recent survey has revealed that NHS satisfaction ratings have climbed to their highest since the 1990s for dentists. The analysis of the survey by the National Centre for Social Research's British Social Attitudes shows that the NHS dentistry satisfaction rating is up by seven percentage points to 61 per cent, the highest it's been since the early 1990s.
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A new study, by the homelessness charity Groundswell, has revealed the shockingly poor oral health of London’s homeless. The research revealed the extent of the poor oral health facing London’s homeless population, which in many cases may be preventing people from escaping homelessness. It is not only causing massive discomfort but is having wider implications for their wellbeing and lives.
The results from a study from King's College London showed that dental phobic people were more likely to have caries in comparison to non-phobics, and were likely to have one or more missing teeth. The report argued that this could be because many people with dental phobia avoid seeing a dentist to address oral conditions that are preventable and chronic in nature.
Controversial plans to force millions of self-employed workers and companies to file multiple tax returns each year are to be ditched, which is good news for UK dentists according to NASDAL. Their media officer, Alan Suggett, said: “The aims of the scheme appeared to be laudable in terms of simplifying and making the tax system more efficient. However, the dental sector would have faced specific challenges.”
A flurry of questions were answered in the last weeks of the Parliamentary session before the General Election. Questions from Steve McCabe came on undelivered UDAs (last year) and prevention, as well as the number of school days lost through dental symptoms. Another Labour MP Grahame Morris asked about the effect of low pay awards on the Service.
The BDA has told the GDC it must focus on the fundamentals and fix Fitness to Practise, as it responded to plans set out in the regulator’s Shifting the Balance document. BDA Chair Mick Armstrong said: “We asked dentists what they would change about dental regulation. They painted a picture of an overbearing regulator that really needs to focus.”
Over 250 dentists from across the UK are due to attend the annual gathering of Local Dental Committees (LDCs) in Birmingham on 8-9 June. Alisdair McKendrick, Chair of Conference, said: “The LDC Conference has been representing the interests of grass-roots NHS dentists since 1948. We need them now more than ever but to ensure their ongoing relevance I urge GDPs everywhere to get involved in their local dental committee.”
Read more: LDC Annual Conference to debate contract reform in June
A leading paediatric dentist in Scotland, Professor Nicola Innes, has called for parents to take more responsibility for their children’s teeth after figures showed the fight against decay in the poorest areas of Scotland has failed to hit targets. She says tooth-brushing programmes in schools have made a huge difference but more needs to be done.
Read more: Leading Scottish dentist blames parents for child tooth decay