Mixed and NHS Practice values continue to soar and the goodwill bubble certainly shows no sign of bursting at present as reported in the latest NASDAL (The National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers) goodwill survey. Practice sales as a percentage of goodwill continue to increase – particularly in the NHS and Mixed sectors.
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The General Dental Council (GDC) has given in to pressure from the profession and decided it will no longer include full addresses on its public register of dentists and dental care professionals. The registration number would be used as the primary method of identification and to confirm professional status. The BDA is pleased that the GDC has today agreed to end its policy of publishing registrants’ addresses online.
The case of Northern Ireland dentist, Colin Howell, and the murders he committed will be told in a four-part drama, The Secret, first episode to be screened on Friday 29th April by ITV. Northern Irish actor James Nesbitt plays Colin Howell, a respectable dentist and pillar of the community, who became a killer in partnership with a Sunday school teacher, Hazel Buchanan, who is played by Genevieve O’Reilly.
Read more: The Secret: ITV to show four-part drama on Howell murders
Over half of all patients who visited their GP with a dental problem in the last 10 years were not offered a long-term treatment for their pain and were instead prescribed antibiotics, often unnecessarily, new research has found. The study found many patients are visiting their GP rather than their dentist, and that over half of these consultations resulted in antibiotic prescribing, which is likely to be unhelpful, and potentially harmful.
Read more: Too many GPs prescribing unnecessary antibiotics for toothache
The General Dental Council (GDC), which is committed to ensuring that only dental professionals who demonstrate the necessary knowledge of the English language are able to treat patients in the UK, has given details of how their new powers will allow them to check the English language proficiency of dentists and dental care professionals applying to the register. These new powers come into force on 1 April 2016 and apply to all dentists and DCPs - including those from the European Economic Area (EAA).
With the time of the year approaching when NHS practice owning dentists must complete the pension annual reconciliation return (ARR), Alan Suggett, Dental Business Unit Partner from UNW accountants and regular on GDPUK warns that many, perhaps most, practice owners are calculating their associate’s pay incorrectly, and too low. The problem is, Alan says, that many principals think they understand how the calculation works – but in fact they don’t.
The British Orthodontic Society is warning against websites offering DIY orthodontic treatment because of the risk they pose. A statement has been posted on the BOS websitewhich strongly advises against any treatment which bypasses a consultation with an orthodontist or dentist. Richard George, BOS Director of External Relations, said the Society is very concerned that people who don’t see a clinician for diagnosis and treatment planning might suffer damage to their teeth.
The British Dental Association (BDA) has issued an open letter to General Dental Council chair Bill Moyes, in response to his recent comment piece: A new era of dental regulation. Mick Armstrong, Chair of the BDA said: “This profession wants nothing more than an effective and efficient regulator, but that journey will only begin when the GDC can show it is capable of confronting some hard truths. Sadly this recent article revealed its leadership is unwilling to even start down that road.”
New research, published in the online journal BMJ Open, describes the sugar content of fruit drinks, natural juices and smoothies, in particular, as "unacceptably high." A smoothie could contain as much as 13 g/100 ml, equivalent to around 2.5 tsps in a 3.5-oz serving, or approximately two thirds to a half of a child's recommended daily sugar intake.
Read more: Sugar content of fruit drinks, natural juices and smoothies, is unacceptably high