NHS Worcestershire has commissioned therapy for the estimated 12 per cent of its population who have some kind of phobia of going to the dentists. The plans involve teaching cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sometimes called ‘a talking therapy’ to dental nurses which helps patients tackle their phobia so they can be more at ease at their family dentist.

Speaking at the BDA conference in Manchester, health minister Earl Howe reaffirmed the Government's commitment to improving access and better oral health. He paid tribute to the hard work carried out by those involved in the pilots and to the BDA for its input to the process. He said on HTM01-05 that if evidence indicated that changes should be made this would be done.

New research from Queen Mary, University of London in collaboration with research groups in the USA sheds light on why gum disease can become more common with old age. The study reveals that the deterioration in gum health which often occurs with increasing age is associated with a drop in the level of a chemical called Del-1.

Although NHS Protect's come to the conclusion that some dentists are acting fraudulently there is little proof of this in its report. 5000 patients were written to about treatment received as long ago as March 2010. In three quarters of cases no fraud was found and in a further 23% the patient refused to reply or couldn't remember. This left just 3% (187 in all) where something potentialy suspicious was found. In half of these the patient claimed not to have received the banded treatment claimed, and in 27% of them there appeared to be a split course of treatment.

A four day weekend lies ahead to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – or does it? Lawyers are advising dental team members not to be too jubilant until they are sure that they really are entitled to the additional holiday. The Spring bank holiday has been moved to Monday June 4 and there is an additional bank holiday on Tuesday June 5, to mark the Jubilee. But June 5 could be just another day in the practice.

A new statement by the American Heart Association (AHA) says that periodontal disease has not been proven to cause atherosclerotic heart disease or stroke, and treating periodontitis has not been proven to prevent heart disease or stroke, This has been recently published in Circulation.

The Welsh Government has told Local Health Boards (LHBs) that funding allocated for dentistry must not be diverted to fund any other type of healthcare. Health Minister Lesley Griffiths has written to LHB Chairs to remind them that budgets allocated for spending on general dental services should be used as intended, and that any underspends on these budgets should not be diverted to shore-up other services.