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.
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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
Read more: Dentist Phillip Gale acquitted
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
Hospitals will be banned from selling sugary drinks and high-calorie snacks next year unless action is taken to drastically cut their sales, health officials have said. New rules will mean that fizzy drinks, sweetened coffee made and fruit juices with extra sugar will be heavily restricted in NHS hospitals. In a separate report a link has been found between fizzy drinks and dementia.
Read more: Crack down on sugary drinks and snacks in hospitals
Phillip Gale, who is on trial at Preston Crown Court accused of inflicting life-threatening stab wounds on a man he found drinking and taking drugs with his wife in thier home, has told the jury that he was acting in self defence. He said he was scared of Andrew Smith, a drug user with a record for violence, who he had previously banned from his home in Foulridge, Lancashire.
Poor dental hygiene is a killer for liver disease patients due to 'oral bacterial translocation', says new research. Mouth bacteria can cause complications as a persistent source of oral bacterial translocation, causing inflammation and increasing cirrhosis complications.
Read more: Periodontitis is a ‘killer’ for cirrhosis patients
Replying to a Parliamentary Question from Tracy Brabin Labour MP for Batley and Spen, Health Minister David Mowat said that information available to the public on dentistry on NHS Choices must be improved. In particular, information must be given on whether the practice is taking on new patients, which now has a mandatory 90-day review cycle.
Read more: Practices must say whether they are taking on new patients