Month: November 2020

Dr Linda Greenwall’s Dental Wellness Trust (S02 E05)

In this episode of The Probe Dental Podcast, Dr Linda Greenwall discusses the formation of her charity: the Dental Wellness Trust.

Established in 2011, the Dental Wellness Trust charity has one simple mission and that’s to improve the general health and wellbeing of children through dental wellness – especially those most in need.

The charity’s LiveSmart supervised tooth brushing programme addresses the ever-worsening crisis of child dental health. Initially set up to help communities in Dr Greenwall’s home country of South Africa (with over 80% tooth decay rates in children under 5 years old), it is now being rolled out in schools and nurseries across parts of the UK.

In addition to discussing the Dental Wellness Trust’s aims and the LiveSmart campaign, Dr Greenwall speaks about how rewarding charity work can be, as well as how others can involved through volunteering or interning – particularly student dentists looking for a more unique experience.

Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts:

 

For more information about the Dental Wellness Trust, visit https://www.dentalwellnesstrust.org/.

Dr Linda Greenwall

—

The Probe Dental Podcast is presented by The Dental Awards.

The Dental Awards is the original and most respected awards programme in British dentistry. 2021 marks the 22nd anniversary of the Dental Awards, and over the decades, this prestigious event has recognised the outstanding individuals and teams whose commitment and drive continue to raise standards throughout the profession.

The Dental Awards is attended by over 600 clinicians each year. Winning, or being a finalist, is a tremendous accolade and provides a massive publicity boost to the profile of your practice and your team. After all, who wouldn’t want to be treated by the Dentist or Dental Team of the Year?

The Dental Awards are sponsored by B.A. International, Colgate, Colosseum Dental, Dental Elite, and Water Pik. The Probe and The British Dental Conference & Dentistry Show are official partners.

For more information, please visit the-probe.co.uk/awards

For more from The Probe, visit the-probe.co.uk. Theme tune courtesy of Bensound.

Kick-start 2021 with the game-changing GBT course

EMS and the Swiss Dental Academy (SDA) are delighted to announce that their ever-popular Guided Biofilm Therapy (GBT) events are back for 2021, with new protocols to ensure everyone’s safety.

The courses are ideal for dental hygienists and therapists looking to offer their patients the very best in prophylaxis and to renew their vigour for dentistry in these challenging times, while achieving a financial benefit.

Currently, the SDA is offering the GBT Masterclass, a half-day of theoretical knowledge to develop strategies for periodontal and implant maintenance by looking at the components of the GBT model including AirFlow, PerioFlow and the advancements in ‘No Pain’ Piezon technology.

The GBT protocol is based on individual patient diagnosis and risk assessment in order to achieve optimal results. The treatment is given in the least invasive way, with the highest level of comfort, safety and efficiency. This means that even previously anxious patients are happy to return time and again, boosting practice income on a regular basis.

Course numbers are limited to 10, in a space suitable to hold at least 20 delegates, so that social distancing can be easily achieved. The organiser will also be printing QR codes for track and trace, keeping windows and doors open, plus providing hand sanitiser on arrival and masks for whomever wants them.

Upcoming events* include:

• 13 January, Newcastle

• 15 January, London

• 18 January, Exeter

• 22 January, Liverpool

• 5 February, Coventry (GBT and implants maintenance)

• 20 February, Oxford

• 26 February, Plymouth

• 13 March, Brighton

• 12 March, Edinburgh (GBT and implants maintenance).

For further information and to book, visit https://bit.ly/30lKZPh

* In the event of any local lockdowns, a full refund will be given.

Mouth cancer referrals plummet by a third since start of pandemic

The Oral Health Foundation is calling for urgent action around cancer diagnosis, following new data that shows mouth cancer referrals have fallen by a third (33%) since the beginning of the pandemic. 

New figures collected from seven NHS Trust Hospitals across the UK, reveals the number of people being referred for possible mouth cancer fell from 2,257 in the six months prior to March 2020, to 1,506 in the six months after March 2020.

In total, six out of the seven NHS Trusts saw mouth cancer referrals tumble during this time, with two hospitals in Wales recording a 47% drop in referrals – the most in the UK.

In Northern Ireland, mouth cancer referrals have fallen by 36% since the beginning of the pandemic while England and Scotland have seen decreases of 31% and 30%, respectively.

Many mouth cancers are spotted in the early stages by a dentist during a routine check-up.  With Covid-19 limiting dental practice activity to 20% of normal activity, the Oral Health Foundation is deeply concerned that many people with early stages of mouth cancer are going undiagnosed.

In the absence of seeing health professionals face-to-face, Dr Nigel Carter OBE, chief executive of the Oral Health Foundation highlights the importance of self-checks at home and knowing how to spot mouth cancer in the early stages.

Dr Carter says: “Regular dental check-ups and GP appointments are the main routes for identifying the early stages of mouth cancer.  We fear that without access to dental and wider health professionals, that many mouth cancer cases will go undiagnosed.

“A person’s quality of life after being treated for mouth cancer, as well as their chances of beating the disease, is highly dependent on the time of diagnosis.  By allowing so many potential mouth cancers to go untreated, there is a real danger of more people losing their life to the disease.

“While dental and GP visits remain disrupted it is important that everybody knows how to check themselves for mouth cancer. If you notice anything out of the ordinary, contact your dental practice, who will be able to see you as an emergency patient.”

Mouth cancer can appear on the tongue, tonsils, gums and lips.  It can also be found on the roof and floor of the mouth, as well as the head and neck.

Mouth ulcers lasting three weeks, red or white patches in the mouth, or unusual lumps and swellings, are the typically early warning signs.  Persistent hoarseness can also be a symptom.

Covid-19 has had a significant impact on dental access in the UK.  Research by the Oral Health Foundation shows that more than half (56%) of UK adults claim to have had dental check-ups postponed or cancelled.

During this time, one-in-six (16%) have experienced at least one of the potential early warning signs of the disease.

Meanwhile, the British Dental Association estimate a 10 million backlog of appointments due to dental practices being forced to shut down during the pandemic.

Dr Catherine Rutland, Clinical Director at Denplan, part of Simplyhealth, believes it is crucial that dental practices remain open during the remainder of the pandemic.

Dr Rutland says: “Dentists continue to play a vital role in identifying mouth cancer at routine check-ups.  However, during the Covid-19 pandemic, access to dentistry was severely curtailed and opportunities to catch mouth cancer early will have been missed. If mouth cancer is spotted early, the chances of a complete cure are good.

“The Foundation’s recent research has revealed that nearly four in 10 people reported encountering an issue and being unable to see or get advice from their dentist because of the current limited access to dentistry caused by the pandemic.  Keeping practices open from now on is vitally important to help ensure the early detection of mouth cancer. It could save thousands of lives.”

Stuart Caplan was diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2012.  The husband and father-of-one from Marble Arch, lost two-thirds of his tongue to the disease but says acting quickly was key for him beating the disease.

Stuart says: “Mouth cancer is a hidden cancer, unlike a lot of cancers where there are obvious symptoms.  People think ‘oh it’s only a mouth ulcer, it’ll pass’.  It’s easy to just put a mouth ulcer treatment on and ignore it, and without visiting a dentist regularly it’s likely to get missed.

“If it’s not normal for you, get it checked immediately, especially you have had something for a few weeks. Cancer symptoms don’t go away. That’s the litmus test.  Go and see a dentist or hygienist.”

Figures collected by the Oral Health Foundation show that 8,722 people in the UK were diagnosed with the disease last year, increasing by 97% since 2000.

Mouth cancer cases in the UK have soared for the 11th year in a row and have more than doubled within the last generation.

It is also vital that government issues updated advice about fallow periods for dental practices. Some practices are still working to the original one-hour fallow period, while others have reduced their time between patients.  More frequent communication and direction is needed.

References: 

  • Oral Health Foundation (2020) ‘State of Mouth Cancer UK Report 2020/21’ Published November 2020, online at www.mouthcancer.org.
  • Mouth cancer referral data was collected from; NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, NHS Ayrshire & Arran, Bwrdd Lechyd Prifysgol Aneurin Bevan, NHS Birmingham Community Healthcare Foundation Trust, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, NHS Wye Valley NHS Trust, and NHS South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust.

An update from Sara Hurley, Chief Dental Officer England

Sara Hurley, Chief Dental Officer for England, sent out the following NHS dentistry and oral health update on Friday evening, 27th November:

Dear colleague,

Every week I get the statistics on my desk which show how many patients we are seeing and what type of treatments we are giving them. I’m happy to report that access is steadily increasing and the initial evidence from over the summer shows that the majority of treatments we are offering are tooth saving. 

As you will have seen, since my last update, the NHS has moved to incident Level 4 and the government has announced the tiers communities in England will be in after the period of national restrictions ends on 2nd December. Our clinical priority remains the provision of urgent dental care. As we continue the transition to recovery of services and where practice capacity allows, we would increasingly expect practices to be actively recalling patients to resume interrupted care pathways and seeking to offer appointments to patients who normally attend the practice for care in terms of their risk. 

I recognise that there is a delicate balance in meeting patients’ needs against the restrictions of COVID. However, the statistics demonstrate the great efforts of the majority of practices in providing access and addressing a wide range of patients’ dental care concerns.

November is mouth cancer awareness month so it is a good opportunity for me to remind everyone that a patient with suspected mouth cancer is in urgent need and should be prioritised for a face to face consultation.

Sandra White, Public Health England’s lead for dental health has also written an important update on the use of antibiotics. Dental professionals have done sterling work in reducing the use of unnecessary antibiotics in the last few years and we must continue to do our bit to avoid the development of antibiotic resistance.

I’m also delighted that the amazing Peninsula Dental Social Enterprise has been named the South West Regional Winner in the Health Equalities Award category of the NHS Parliamentary Awards 2020. Their local MP nominated them after seeing the excellent work the practice has done to support those who are homeless in Plymouth. More detail on their achievement is below. In these updates to you, I want to share just some of the stories which show why we should be proud of what we’re doing. If you know of a colleague who deserves a shout out (and you all will) then please do drop me a line at ocdo-cdo-exec@nhs.net.

Sara

Rishi’s Spending Review – what’s next?

Michael Lansdell is a founding partner at specialist dental and medical accountants Figurit and a chartered accountant. Here, he gives an overview of the Chancellor’s November Spending Review.
On 25 November, the Chancellor delivered his latest Spending Review. “Our economic crisis has only just begun,” he said – so, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and prepare for what’s next.

For dental practitioners and dental business owners, here’s a breakdown of the most relevant parts:
Are taxes set to rise?

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) sets out its framework for the future path of the UK economy. It forecasts that the economy will contract by 11.3% in 2020, and economic growth is also expected to tail off, from 5.5% in 2021, to 1.8% in 2024. Total public sector debt is forecast to rise to 105.2% of GDP in 2020/21, while GDP is expected to contract.

Although the OBR has not assumed the need for tax increases in the coming years (other than those that are built into the system anyway), it did say that a “fiscal adjustment of £27 billion” minimum, will be needed in the medium term, so the end of the five-year forecast period.

The good stuff

As well as no tax announcements (yet), the business rates multiplier will be frozen in 2021/22. This could save businesses in England millions over the next five years and there was a suggestion that the government could be considering business rates relief, too. Also, from April 2021, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 19p, and it will start to apply from age 23. The National Minimum Wage rates are set to increase too.

There has never been any doubt that we will have to move beyond simply surviving at some point in order to “return to a sustainable fiscal position” in the future. If you need support and guidance to optimise your business and/or personal finances in the months ahead, talk with a specialist dental accountant. At Figurit, we have helped many of our clients adapt to these challenging times we face and also to prepare diligently for whatever the future may bring. When you work with an expert, and they become part of your team, you will gain the confidence to be decisive, pragmatic and find the best solution for you.

For more information please visit https://figurit.com
or call Figurit (formerly known as Lansdell & Rose) on 020 7376 9333.

 

Michael Lansdell is a specialist Dental Accountant and Tax Advisor with strong technical and communication skills. Completing his training with international accounting firm Deloitte he then became a founding Partner at Figurit (formally Lansdell & Rose). Michael combines a strategic approach with high attention to detail and is focused on saving his clients tax over both the short and long term, using robust tax-saving vehicles and tax efficient business structuring.

T: 020 7376 9333 E: info@figurit.com

Smile Revolution looks to spread some happy vibes with latest campaign

#Sunglassesandmoresmiles is a campaign created to promote healthy smiles during winter lockdown!

Poor oral health can impact our quality of life. Dental caries is preventable. It is time to stop a preventable disease from impacting our quality of life. If you want to champion taking control of your oral health and others. Celebrate with us and join the Smile Revolution campaign.

Who should join the campaign?
Everyone who believes in the value of a healthy smile? Join the campaign and promote healthy smiles.

The importance of oral health has a different meaning for all of us.

Let’s come together and spread some cheer! Let’s end this year and celebrate with #sunglassesandmoresmiles!

Call to action!
Take a selfie smiling wearing sunglasses, spread the happiness . Smiles can change the world.

For Instagram tag @mysmilerevolution

https://www.instagram.com/mysmilerevolution/

For Facebook tag @smilerevolutioncampaign

https://www.facebook.com/smilerevolutioncampaign

Share it across social media and don’t forget… #sunglassesandmoresmiles

All campaigners stand the chance to win giveaways announced every week.

Smile Revolution campaigners! What to do next?
Get connected with other campaigners!

Public – Get connected with your dental practice, find out what more you can do to maintain a healthy smile, or simply reach out to dental professionals on social media and ask them.

Dental profession – use the campaign to spread the happiness of a healthy smile, and tips on maintaining a healthy smile.

For more information, visit: http://www.smile-revolution.net/sunglassessmilescampaign/

Tim Baker Joins Snowbird Finance from Shawbrook Bank

Snowbird Finance is delighted to announce that Tim Baker has joined the team as National Sales Manager to grow and increase Snowbird Finance’s patient finance offering under the brand of “Treatment Finance”.

Tim brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in retail and consumer finance spanning over 20 years. Tim will be driving the growth of the Treatment Finance programme for Snowbird Finance across multiple medical verticals, including dental, aesthetic, cosmetic, veterinary and optical, as well as strategically growing other markets out of the medical space.

In his previous role as National Sales Manager at Shawbrook Bank, Tim was responsible for developing the dental sector, as well as growing general retail finance in areas such as furniture, hi-fi and home improvements. Tim has also worked with many of the key players within the retail finance arena including Omni Capital, V12 Retail Finance and Black Horse Finance.

Tim Baker comments on the appointment: “Joining Snowbird Finance was a natural decision for me when Shawbrook Bank withdrew from the medical finance sector, as I had always recognised Snowbird Finance’s commitment to dentistry. The company is also the fastest growing firm in the sector and has been building very rapidly on its well-known equipment finance and loan facilities available to the dental profession.”

Managing Director, Simon Freeman, adds: “We are delighted to welcome Tim to the company as he utilises his extensive skills, knowledge and experience to drive demand. In addition, he has a deep insight into the FCA regulation and regulatory requirements available to dental practices. We are extremely confident that Tim will enhance the strategic vision of the business and will effectively deliver our finance solutions and products to practices and businesses across the UK.”

 

To reach Tim directly, please call 07500 191912.

For information on various other services offered by Snowbird Finance, visit the website https://www.snowbirdfinance.co.uk/ or call the team on 01932 874674.

Dental Protection response to DHSC consultation: Urgent action needed to reform GDC

Dental Protection welcomes the commitment by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to modernise the laws that underpin the work of the GDC and other professional regulators.

As part of the consultation outcome – Reducing bureaucracy in the health and social care system: call for evidence – DHSC has committed to launching a consultation in early 2021 to modernise the legal framework of the nine health and care professional regulators. This commitment to regulatory reform would extend to dentistry and the General Dental Council (GDC).

Dr Raj Rattan, Dental Director at Dental Protection, said: “Dental Protection welcomes the commitment by DHSC to modernise the work of regulators such as the GDC, with the aim of reducing the bureaucratic burden on dental professionals.”

“The high level proposals set out by the government are a welcome step in the right direction. But words must be followed by action. It has been nearly 10 years since the DHSC first proposed fundamental legal changes to allow GDC to take a more proportionate approach to investigating concerns about dental professionals. The vast majority of GDC investigations are closed without action, the end result being that far too many dental professionals go through a stressful process each year, while the patient who has made the complaint also endure a lengthy process with what is for them a disappointing outcome.

“Dentists and patients alike cannot be forced to endure another 10 years of delay on something so important. A clear timeline for next steps must be set out. Reforms to the Dentists Act could give the GDC more discretion to not take forward investigations where allegations clearly do not require action. The current powers of the GDC were framed more than 30 years ago – when a very small number of complaints were received, and the GDC could investigate each and every one. Now, over one thousand dental professionals are referred to the GDC each year, with very few coming close to the threshold of serious concern that the GDC was established to address.

“It is absolutely right that regulators are able to focus their efforts on the small minority of healthcare professionals that might meet their thresholds for concern and that they are able to  reduce the burden and avoidable costs of unnecessary investigations.”

What impact will a vaccine have on dental practice?

Charlotte Gentry presents her first experiences as a newly qualified dentist.

With all the headlines over the past couple of weeks about a potential Covid vaccine, it has made me reflect on what this may do for us as dentists and the future of dentistry. Although yet to be authorised by the regulating authorities, it is becoming very likely that the new vaccine will become available by the end of the year. Where us as dental professionals will be on the list of priority is still unknown, however, it made me think about the short-, medium- and long-term impacts a vaccine may have on dentistry.

In the short term, I wonder what, if any, our role will be in delivering the vaccine and educating patients on the importance of vaccination. The scale of the task is huge; with GP surgeries having to deliver the bulk of the vaccine, alongside the flu vaccine, there are concerns over how they will be able to maintain all of their usual services. There are discussions around training up non-medical staff to deliver these to help with the workload. I wonder whether we as dentists could help with the delivery of this vaccine. The counterargument is that there is such a backlog of patients requiring dental treatment, having more time out of practice would add to the pile. However, although there will be an impact in the short term, long-term, this vaccination will enable things to get closer to normal, thus reducing this backlog and weighing out the cost of dentists helping with vaccinations.

In the medium term, I wonder whether vaccination should be compulsory to work in dental practice. There are huge arguments either way for compulsory vaccination and, as dentists, we already have a few vaccinations that are compulsory before we can practice, so I’m sure many of us would be willing to do this for our patients’ and our own safety. However, with this being such a new vaccine, some are concerned about the long-term side effects it may pose.

As well as for ourselves, could it be that we would only treat patients who have had the vaccine? This is very unlikely. However, with all the change surrounding us at the moment, nothing would surprise me.

Then, the long-term impact of a vaccine. There is much hope in the dental community that Covid has accelerated contract reform and the Unit of Dental Activity will be a thing of the past. Currently, achieving the number of UDAs we were before is impossible with social distancing and fallow times. However, if and when a vaccine comes along, will the need for these things be eradicated and could we technically go back to pre-Covid times? I often wonder if life will go back to how it was before, and surely with a vaccine there would eventually be no reason not to. Although, I do hope that I am wrong, and that despite a return to normality, the long-awaited change to NHS dentistry happens and we can work within a better, fairer NHS contract.

The arrival of a vaccine is bound to shift our lives once more. I just hope that things look brighter for everyone within dentistry, and for our patients, as we move into 2021.

{my}dentist reveals Excellence Award winners 2020

{my}dentist, the UK’s largest network of dental practices, has revealed the 13 winners of its annual Excellence Awards. Click here to see a video highlighting {my}dentist’s 2020.

The awards recognise outstanding individuals and teams whose commitment to patient care and professional development continues to raise standards at {my}dentist and across the sector. This year there were more than 1,300 colleague nominations – the highest number in the history of the awards – demonstrating the extraordinary care teams have continued to deliver throughout the pandemic.

Practices adapted quickly to a new way of working and saw more than 1.5million patients during lockdown while supporting local communities by delivering prescriptions to those in isolation, calling elderly and vulnerable patients, donating food and toothpaste to foodbanks, and raising thousands to support colleagues in the NHS.

Excellence Award winners this year include Savina Yordanova, who won the award for Dentist of the Year, Amit Patel who won the Best Young Dentist Award and Bernard Moroney who won the CEO’s award for outstanding achievement for his efforts in training new clinicians joining the company, via the {my}dentist Academy. The awards were presented during a virtual ceremony on 26 November.

Nyree Whitley, Group Clinical Director for {my}dentist, said: “I’m incredibly proud of how our teams have risen to the challenges presented throughout 2020.

“Our winners are all individuals and teams who have delivered exceptional patient care in challenging circumstances, and we couldn’t be more proud of their achievements.”

The winners are as follows:

Dentist of the Year – Savina Yordanova, Isle of Wight

Young Dentist of the Year – Amit Patel, Bognor Regis

Orthodontist of the Year – Kris Llewellyn, Malvern

Practice Team of the Year – {my}dentist Oakham

Hygienist or Therapist of the Year – Amber Belgrave, Bradford Orthodontic Therapist of the Year – Marie Baxter, Bexleyheath

Practice Manager of the Year – Stacey Cartawick, Andover

Receptionist of the Year – Erin McBride, Dinnington

Dental Nurse of the Year – Donna Orbell, St Ives

Support Team Member of the Year – Katie Hesford, Senior Project Manager

Student Dental Nurse of the Year – Carina Liquito dos Reis Marques, Reading

Field Team Member of the Year – Danielle Chappell, Clinical Support Manager

Best Community Initiative – Keshan-Jasmin Uppell, Kidlington

Chief Executive’s Award for Outstanding Achievement – Bernard Moroney, {my}dentist Academy