Dental Technology Showcase (DTS) 2023 returns to the NEC Birmingham on 12-13 May 2023 and the Enhanced CPD educational programme is now live on the website.

There are some fantastic speakers coming to the event, each keen to share their extensive expertise with delegates. They will be covering an exciting range of topics, from digital dentistry to prosthetics, team management and mental health.

No matter the size or speciality of your lab, DTS will have something for your entire team to benefit from.

With the programme now live, you can plan your visit to make sure you don’t miss any important sessions for the most productive learning experience possible. Browse the website and register – for free – online today!

Check out the DTS 2023 programme online today at https://www.the-dts.co.uk/conference-programme 

Register today

Bad quality sleep has a number of negative impacts on both physical and mental health.

Help transform your patients’ quality of life and receive an insight into your own sleep habits with the Dental Sleep Medicine course from the IAS Academy.

Headed by Dr Paul Reaney, this course encourages delegates to examine their own sleep patterns and experience the patient care pathway first-hand. It also details how to implement the latest NICE guidelines on sleep-disordered breathing and create mandibular advancement devices to treat conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea.

Dental sleep medicine can literally change people’s lives.

Give your patients the gift of good sleep by contacting the IAS Academy today.

For more information on upcoming IAS Academy training courses, please visit www.iasortho.com or call 01932 336470 (Press 1)

The competitive world of modern dentistry often requires dental practices to provide their patients with an excellent customer experience. This is important, especially with the developing culture of shopping-around for dental providers.[i] Within a busy practice, however, it can be difficult to consistently make this the priority, so it’s useful to have a good understanding of what shapes patients’ views of their dental care experiences. It may also be useful to have measures and standards in place to maintain communication with patients to help keep your practice running smoothly.

Creating a personalised experience

To create a personalised experience for your patients you should consider ways in which you can accommodate the preferences of individual patients. This way, you can create the best experience for them and optimise efficiency in practice. This includes ensuring that patients feel they’re receiving good value when it comes to their dental care. For some, this could literally mean monetary value, but for many the perceived value of treatment will be in terms of money spent as well as pain endured, and appointment waiting time. The value of the service you provide to your patients is important, as if they see your practice as good value in all of these aspects, they’re more likely to become or remain a loyal patient.[ii]

Trust is another key aspect influencing patient loyalty. Within the dental practice, as with any other environment, trust needs to be earned, so it’s important to establish good rapport with your patients from their first appointment. Ensure that you make them feel comfortable and confident in your skills, helping them to leave their appointments feeling satisfied with the standard of care they received. Often, it is this satisfaction that leads to trust, which makes it more likely that patients will return. The trust built between a dental professional and their patient reduces any sense of uncertainty on both sides.ⁱⁱ

Feedback and communication

Don’t be afraid to ask your patients for feedback. Whether this is a short questionnaire after their appointment, an email asking them to rate their experience, or asking them to leave a short review for your practice website – feedback is always useful. Not only do reviews of your service encourage improvement and growth, or reaffirm your strengths and positive interactions, but these can be useful for attracting new patients.

Adding reviews to your website or social media channels helps to boost search engine optimisation (SEO) – increasing your visibility, helping those looking for a dental practice to notice you. Additionally, creating positive experiences during appointments can encourage your patient to recommend your practice to friends and family with confidence.ⁱⁱ

Creating a loyal patient base

It is long established that, in any business, customer loyalty is important. Customer retention is valuable for many reasons, but most often, the reason is the direct value of the customer to the business. Loyal customers lead to increased revenue for businesses alongside predictable income and the increased potential that loyal customers may purchase additional goods and services.[iii] This same logic applies to dental practices too. It is important to focus on patient loyalty because this in itself may drive patient retention, repurchase, long-term profitability and improved relationships.ⁱⁱ

Patient Bridge is the cloud-based software update for existing R4+ practice management users. This innovative software from Carestream Dental allows your practice to communicate and engage effectively with your patients. This enables you to optimise patient satisfaction, build a loyal patient base and, in turn, generate more revenue. Patient Bridge integrates seamlessly with R4+ practice management software, allowing you to better maintain and customise high-quality patient experiences, encouraging continued engagement. You can easily build marketing campaigns easily, customise contact with patients, and allow patients access to the virtual waiting room to complete pre-appointment forms. You are even able to minimise missed appointments with the FTA manager, using automated messages for patients who repeatedly miss appointments.

There are many important aspects when it comes to managing you patient base effectively. Ultimately, finding a solution which allows you to provide excellent services, while maintaining consistent contact and engagement will help you to retain your loyal patient base, and in turn help more potential patients find you. When you use software that facilitates this growth and management, you are able to do this with ease, without compromising on providing excellent patient care.

For more information on Carestream Dental visit www.carestreamdental.co.uk

For the latest news and updates, follow us on Facebook and Instagram @carestreamdental.uk

Cheryl Hayes
DPMS Regional Product Manager
Europe, Middle East & Africa

[i] Levin, Roger P. “Developing lifetime relationships with patients: strategies to improve patient care and build your practice.” J Contemp Dent Pract 9.1 (2008): 105-112. https://www.thejcdp.com/doi/JCDP/pdf/10.5005/jcdp-9-1-105

[ii] Alhidari, Abdullah Mohammed, and Omar H. Alkadhi. “Keep Them In: How to Drive Dental Consumers’ Loyalty in the Modern Era?.” Expert Journal of Marketing 6.2 (2018).
https://marketing.expertjournals.com/23446773-612/

[iii] Gremler, Dwayne D., and Stephen W. Brown. “The loyalty ripple effect: appreciating the full value of customers.” International journal of service industry management (1999). https://www.roarsolutions.com/downloads/1999_Loyalty_Ripple_Effect.pdf

Ibrahim Numan, London & Southeast council member for the British Association of Dental Therapists (BADT), speaks about his career journey, finding the BADT and what the Association means to him:

“Like so many other people I was unsure what to do after I finished University. I had a degree in Biology, but only knew that I wanted to work with people and help them – that’s when I realised dental nursing was a great place to start.

“In 2014, after completing my Diploma in Dental Nursing at the Eastman Dental Hospital, I started working there. During this time, I took radiography training and other skill development courses, which eventually led me to recognise that I wanted to move into dental therapy so that I could advance further in my career and take a more active role in helping people. I didn’t want to go back to university and become a dentist, so dental therapy was the perfect sweet spot.

“I knew that working as a dental therapist would allow me to provide a broad range of treatments and give me the opportunity to work with patients in a new way. I love working with children – and as a dental therapist I can provide all of the care they need, which is really rewarding.

“I’m really lucky to work in a private practice that enables this to be a reality – I know a lot of other dental therapists perform mostly dental hygiene duties, so being a member of the team in a practice that lets me utilise my full scope of practice is a huge plus. I often get asked about this by both dentists and other dental therapists, and it is definitely something that I believe is becoming more of a conversation in the industry, especially with contract reforms on the horizon.”

Ibrahim became a student member of the BADT during his training, opening the doors to where his career has taken him today:

“I first discovered the BADT when I was a student training to become a dental therapist. What really drew me to the Association were the conferences and networking opportunities – it’s amazing to connect with likeminded people and to know that there’s a whole community of professionals out there who understand what it’s like working in dental therapy today. I often think being a dental therapist can be quite a lonely profession, so having a place where we can meet others, talk about work and connect with people who understand what we’re doing is a massive benefit, especially as it also comes with educational opportunities, membership perks and more!”

Currently, Ibrahim is a council member for the BADT – a position he has already utilised to bring about some great changes for the Association:

“I became a council member for the BADT after being told of the opening by a friend. I have a lot of ideas to bring to the table  and will hopefully continue to elevate the Association.  This is something I’m really passionate about, especially as the Association has really been heavily involved in some of the greatest changes to the profession in recent years. For example, the BADT was the only Association who fought for dental therapists to be included in Direct Access alongside dental therapists – something I don’t think many people are aware of! It’s my goal to ensure that the BADT receives the recognition it deserves, especially among the wider profession.

“I’ve also been working hard to ensure that the BADT has great resources available for everyone. One of my passions is video editing, so I’ve been working on a project where we interview dentists who tell us how they have integrated a dental therapist into their practice, and how this works for their particular business model. Every practice is different, so having a range of real-life experiences available for dentists to view will hopefully allow them to see how having a dental therapist will work for them. This is especially pertinent in light of the upcoming contract reforms – while we don’t know any solid details yet, it’s likely that these will see dental therapists taking on more duties in dental practices, so this will be an excellent tool for dentists and dental therapists alike.”

With a bright future ahead for the BADT, Ibrahim hopes to remain at the forefront of innovation:

“The BADT is such a great shoulder to lean on, and I can’t recommend it to dental therapists and hygienists enough. If you work in the profession and want to connect with other professionals, stay up to date with any changes and conversations in the industry and have your voice heard, it really is invaluable!

To find out more about the BADT, please contact the team today.

For more details, please visit www.badt.org.uk

With the Essential Lines course, brought to you by 3M Oral Care and StyleItaliano, you can produce restorations with confidence.

This virtual, hands-on training combines all the relevant knowledge that’s needed to produce beautiful, long-lasting dental work. Clinicians will be taught by Dr. Giuseppe Chiodera, who will share his experiences, cases and expertise.

The course will explore how to draw an essential line, as well as reading the tooth effectively and choosing materials that offer the most value. When you sign up, you’ll receive a practice kit containing the 3M Oral Care products you need for the course. There will also be a link to on-demand training, in addition to access to live events with Q&A sessions.

The Essential Lines course is priced at €249 – book your space here:

https://courses.styleitaliano.org/essential-lines-and-shape-choose-a-course/?utm_source=3M&utm_medium=Essential+Dentistry&utm_campaign=Choose+Essential+Kit

For more information, call 08705 360 036 or visit www.3M.co.uk/Dental

The Axano treatment centre, from Clark Dental, combines innovation with comfort to deliver a truly exceptional experience for patient and professional alike.

With several advanced features, the Axano helps to streamline treatment. The 10.3” Smart Touch display allows you to interact with your treatment centre with ease, thanks to the clearly-arranged functions and customisable interface.

The Smart Deliver Pro function facilitates an ergonomic experience for the clinician, allowing them to work for long stretches of time with personalised height adjustment and the ability to access tools with ease. 

Patients will appreciate the Ambient Light element, which creates a calming environment with a range of colour options to suit the aesthetic of the practice.

Find out more about the Axano treatment centre on the Clark Dental website. 

For more information call Clark Dental on 01268 733 146, email info@clarkdental.co.uk or visit www.clarkdental.co.uk 

Good habits build the foundation for a healthy lifestyle. When it comes to oral health, this is even more so. However, as most dental professionals can attest, encouraging better habits in patients isn’t always easy – discouraging bad ones can be even more challenging. Nonetheless, when good oral hygiene practices become everyday habit, patients can enjoy all of the benefits of a clean and healthy smile.  

The science

Habits are considered a ‘fixed way of thinking, willing, or feeling acquired through previous repetition of a mental experience’.[i] Habits are as individual as the person who has them, and therefore discovering ways to change them, or adopt them, is not always straightforward.

Research has postulated that to form successful habits, the key is behavioural repetition in response to a cue.[ii]In 1999, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) coined the term, ‘cue-routine-reward feedback loop’.[iii] Regarding unhealthy or unwanted habits, the cue might be triggered by boredom, for instance, which leads to a craving that prompts you to act. Your response will be engaging in a particular behaviour that leads to the outcome – the reward. And so, the loop begins once more.

 Oral health habits

When it comes to your patients, there are plenty of examples where bad habits are easily adopted, many of which can impact overall and oral health. For instance, smoking and consuming sweet treats. These habits can be challenging to ditch due to sugar and nicotine addictions, as well as the comfort they can bring in times of stress, for example. As you well know, these habits are detrimental to oral health, with sugar wreaking havoc on the tooth’s enamel, and smoking increasing the risks of mouth cancer and staining. Oral health education has taken strides in recent years, with many initiatives like National Smile Month and Mouth Cancer Action Month striving to inform and influence the nation’s health. However, the UK’s oral health is still not where it should be.

There are many factors that could influence why almost one in three adults have tooth decay and have never flossed or cleaned interdentally.[iv] The importance of toothbrushing, however, seems to be more foregrounded than that of interdental cleaning – why? As professionals know, interdental cleaning can improve periodontal health, with researchers showing that those who interdentally cleaned more frequently have a lower number of coronal/interproximal caries and missing teeth.[v] But many patients still struggle to make interdental cleaning a habit.

Flossing – help patients get it right!

Patients often remark that flossing string is difficult to put between the teeth, is fiddly or even uncomfortable, which is enough to prevent flossing from becoming a habit. Many patients depend upon regular cleans at the dental practice, without keeping up with effective plaque control in between – this can result in subgingival colonisation within around four to eight weeks after the appointment.[vi] To help patients make interdental cleaning a habit, professionals need to devise ways to not only encourage patients to see its real value, but to also make it enjoyable.

Aside from floss, there are various other modalities that may suit different patient preferences, such as interdental brushes that can come in a range of sizes and shapes. When used in conjunction with normal brushing, interdental brushes may help to achieve lower interdental plaque scores when compared to brushing alone.^vi Conversely, for patients who struggle with poor dexterity, or who just don’t get on with dental floss or interdental brushes, water flossers have proven their efficacy over both in reducing bleeding, plaque and probing depths.^vi Water flossers are also ideal for a range of different patient needs, such as those with dental implants or orthodontic appliances.[vii] [viii] The devices are easy and quick to use, making them a suitable adjunct to a patient’s oral hygiene routine.  

An easy solution 

Waterpik^® is delighted to be the world’s number one water flosser brand, providing innovative models backed by science. The Waterpik^® Water Flosser combines water pressure and pulsations to provide a deep clean between the teeth and below the gumline. This helps to remove debris and bacteria often missed by traditional brushing and flossing. In fact, the Waterpik^® Water Flosser helps to remove up to 99.9% of plaque,[ix] and is twice as effective as string floss for reducing gingival bleeding.[x] For a solution that offers an optimal performance while being easy for everyday use, recommend the Waterpik^® Water Flosser to your patients today!

As we have entered the New Year, you will no doubt have heard many patients talk about their resolutions – habits they want to adopt and ones they want to break, with many relating to their health. Now is the perfect time to talk to patients about the importance of good oral health habits, which they can implement to become part of their lifestyles for good.
 

For more information on Waterpik^® Water Flosser products visit www.waterpik.co.uk. Waterpik^® products are available from Amazon, Costco UK, Argos, Boots, Superdrug and Tesco online and in stores across the UK and Ireland.

Join the 3,000+ dental teams who have already benefitted from a professional Waterpik^® Lunch & Learn. Book your free session for 1 hour of verifiable CPD and a free Waterpik^®Water Flosser – available either face to face or as a webinar – at www.waterpik.co.uk/professional/lunch-learn/ 

Pelagia Kaplanidou: Dental Hygienist/Therapist DipDHT (RCS Eng)

Pelagia is a Dental Hygienist/Therapist qualified from King’s Dental Hospital. She is currently studying for an MSc in International Healthcare Management at the University of Essex Online. Furthermore she is an NEBDN examiner since 2016 and a Waterpik professional educator covering the Norfolk area since 2018.  In her clinical work as a therapist she has a special interest in paediatric therapy. Additionally, she strives to keep up to date with the latest advancements in her field within her scope of practice, such as the use of lasers in periodontal therapy.

[i] Andrews, B.R. (1903). Habit. The American Journal of Psychology, [online] 14(2), p.121. doi:10.2307/1412711.

[ii] Keller, J., Kwasnicka, D., Klaiber, P., Sichert, L., Lally, P. and Fleig, L. (2021). Habit formation following routine‐based versus time‐based cue planning: A randomized controlled trial. British Journal of Health Psychology, [online] 26(3), pp.807–824. Available at: https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjhp.12504 [Accessed 2 Nov. 2022].

[iii] MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (n.d.). Brain researchers explain why old habits die hard. [online] Available at: https://news.mit.edu/2005/habit [Accessed 2 Nov. 2022].

[iv] Oral Health Foundation. (n.d.). Oral health statistics in the UK. [online] Available at: https://www.dentalhealth.org/oral-health-statistics [Accessed 3 Nov. 2022].

[v] Marchesan, J.T., Morelli, T., Moss, K., Preisser, J.S., Zandona, A.F., Offenbacher, S. and Beck, J. (2018). Interdental Cleaning Is Associated with Decreased Oral Disease Prevalence. Journal of Dental Research, [online] 97(7), pp.773–778. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022034518759915 [Accessed 3 Nov. 2022].

[vi] Ng, E. and Lim, L.P. (2019). An Overview of Different Interdental Cleaning Aids and Their Effectiveness. Dentistry Journal, [online] 7(2). Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6630384/ [Accessed 3 Nov. 2022].

[vii] Bunk, D., Eisenburger, M., Häckl, S., Eberhard, J., Stiesch, M. and Grischke, J. (2020). The effect of adjuvant oral irrigation on self‐administered oral care in the management of peri‐implant mucositis: A randomized controlled clinical trial. Clinical Oral Implants Research, [online] 31(10), pp.946–958. Available at: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/clr.13638 [Accessed 3 Nov. 2022].

[viii] Sawan, N., Ben Gassem, A., Alkhayyal, F., Albakri, A., Al-Muhareb, N. and Alsagob, E. (2022). Effectiveness of Super Floss and Water Flosser in Plaque Removal for Patients Undergoing Orthodontic Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial. International Journal of Dentistry, [online] 2022, pp.1–8. Available at: https://downloads.hindawi.com/journals/ijd/2022/1344258.pdf [Accessed 3 Nov. 2022].

^[ix] Waterpik^® Water Flosser Removes 99.9% of Plaque Biofilm After 3-Second Treatment – Biofilm Removal with a Dental Water Jet – Gorur A, Lyle DM, Schaudinn C, Costerton JW. Compend Contin Ed Dent 2009; 30 (Suppl 1):1 – 6.

^[x] Waterpik^® Water Flosser: Twice as Effective as String Floss for Reducing Gingival Bleeding – The Effect of Interdental Cleaning Devices on Plaque Biofilm and Gingival Bleeding – Rosema NAM et al. The effect of different interdental cleaning devices on gingival bleeding. J Int Acad Periodontol 2011; 13(1):2-10.

If you’re thinking about selling your dental practice in the near future, there are many things you must consider to ensure a smooth process. Let’s explore the 10 factors that you need to bear in mind prior to your sale. 

Accounts: When selling your dental practice, everything must be watertight and organised. It’s also vital to ensure all of your information is up-to-date, especially as we’re slowly exiting the COVID-19 period. If you’re looking to sell your business but haven’t completed your latest set of accounts, this could delay you going to market.

Property: Factors concerning your property can also cause significant hold-ups in the sales process. For example, if you have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) that is lower than a grade E, you’re not legally permitted to either sell that property commercially, or grant a lease.

This can be easily rectified, however, if you get your EPC certificate well-ahead of your sale (they are valid for 10 years). This gives you plenty of time to assess your property and make any relevant changes – it may be as simple as changing your lightbulbs, or installing double-glazed windows.

Team: There’s a lot to consider when it comes to your team and selling your business. However, in terms of valuation, it’s important to think about how your team may affect your value. Pay rises awarded in the run-up to your sale could discount your valuation as your staff are transferred over to the new principal.

Other types of rewards for staff could include non-contractual bonuses, which will be appreciated by your staff members and will save you money in the long-term. In the run up to your sale, focusing on ways to incentivise your staff that isn’t in the form of a pay rise may help to avoid this issue.

NHS targets: It’s important to stay on target for your NHS contracts. If you’re struggling, you can try and get a temporary target to avoid a breach of contract, which could affect your sale. Buyers may not want to invest in a business with a history of NHS contract breaches, especially if there’s a chance the NHS will look to take action. Try and find ways to stay on target – for example, could you maximise surgery open hours? If you’re going on holiday, could you get a locum in to cover your hours?

Plan: This may seem simple, but it’s prudent to think about your reasons for selling, and work out if now is the right time for you. Think about when you actually want to give up dentistry, drop days and work back from there to figure out when is the right time to sell. And, be prepared. At the moment, the economy is in a precarious place and this could affect your buyer’s behaviour. For example, they may find that they cannot afford the deferred consideration – do you have a plan/protection in place for this kind of situation?

Get valued early: The earlier you get valued, the more your dental adviser can make recommendations and help you tweak areas in your business to boost its value. Dental Elite offers a free practice ‘health check’, which can be completed prior to your sale and will give you a chance to explore areas that could be enhanced. We can touch base with you and keep working with you leading up to sale to ensure that you’re achieving what you want to be achieving.

Widen options as far as possible: I have worked with practices who have had direct offers from corporates, and have accepted them straight off the bat. Particularly as we move into a potentially more challenging market, don’t let your sale be talked down. The market is still competitive! Widen your options, and you’ll set yourself up for a better chance of the most competitive sale process.

Move quickly: The dental market is always moving – as soon as you get an offer on the table that you are happy with, move fast. Do your due diligence as soon as possible and sort your heads of terms (HOTs) at the outset, so you’re not rushing to negotiate terms as you near your sale end.

Importance of good advisers: In line with the aforementioned point, make sure you work with specialist dental advisers who understand the market, and will be able to work at your pace.

This is also pertinent with accountants. A large amount of our sales are limited company sales, which means that the vendor must do a ‘Net Asset Value Adjustment’ as part of the sale. Corporate sales are fairly new in the industry, which means you may come across accountants who don’t quite understand the process. So, make sure you work with an adviser who knows what they are doing.

Think with a tax head: When you go to sell your practice, it’s vital to ensure that you leave yourself in the most financially-beneficial position. Again, you should consider gaining valuable and knowledge advice, well in advance, from a specialist who will make sure you are in the most favourable position prior to selling.

For more information contact Dental Elite. Visit www.dentalelite.co.uk, email info@dentalelite.co.uk or call 01788 545 900

Luke Moore is one of the Founders and Directors of Dental Elite and has overseen well in excess of 750 practice sales and valuations. With over 19 years working in the dental industry, Luke has extensive knowledge in both dental practice transfers and recruitment and understands the complexities of NHS and Private practices.

Do you ever feel that there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done? You would certainly not be alone if you answered ‘yes’. In fact, one study[i] found that 64% of dentists practising in the UK identified time pressures as a leading cause of occupational stress. While you cannot create more time, there are ways to manage your hours more efficiently.

Plan ahead

Planning ahead is one of the most effective ways to ensure you waste as little time as possible. On a day-to-day basis, be prepared for the following day or week by checking stock and filling the cupboard with everything you will need for your upcoming appointments. You could also allocate 15 minutes before you go home to check patient notes for the next day as a refresher.

Outside practice commitments, could you cycle to work instead of driving to combine travel with exercise a few mornings each week? Maybe you can bulk cook or prepare your week’s meals on Sunday afternoon to save time cooking each evening? Planning ahead will make you feel more in control of your time and help you to avoid procrastination – which has also been linked with stress.[ii] An hour spent planning will give you back much more than that throughout the month!

Delegate

How many daily, weekly or monthly tasks you can allocate to others will depend on your practice and team size and set-up. However, there are usually activities that can be shared with others – either straight away or with extra training. For example, the dental nurse is often more than capable of managing decontamination workflows, taking x-rays and even obtaining digital impressions with an intraoral scanner. There may be ways of optimising skill mix by working with the dental hygienist/therapist to screen patients and the practice manager should be responsible for all daily business running activities. Though not all tasks can be delegated, sharing the workload where possible will free up precious time.

Streamline your services

This is not about removing treatment options from your practice, rather, focus on the structure of the business. For example, could you use fewer composites or implant systems? Perhaps you should stick to universal solutions that enable you to utilise multibuy discounts without compromising quality of patient care? This would also save time during the ordering process and when preparing the surgery for the next patient as you can adopt a more standardised approach. Both the professional team and patients will benefit from time-savings with the implementation of new technology as well – from digital scanning in place of traditional impressions to virtual patient consultations, there are many options available to the modern dentist. It may be time to do some research if you don’t already make the most of the opportunities these products and equipment offer.

Audit your time

To better plan and allocate your time, it’s necessary to understand how you currently spend it and where you may need to make changes. Consider keeping a diary for one week, including times spent doing every task – from waking up to getting to work, how you spend your breaks and what you do in the evenings. Smart watches, fitness trackers and/or lifestyle apps might be helpful as well. When this is laid out in front of you, make small changes like giving yourself time limits for TV or social media scrolling, and fill the extra time with productive tasks. (Did you know, UK adults spend an average of 108 minutes every day scrolling social media?[i]) Even if you only find 30 minutes a week, that could be incredibly important for your selfcare and mental wellbeing in the long-run! 

Combine objectives

When it comes to career development, it is important to enhance and expand your clinical skills, while also growing your professional network. In the interests of time, being able to combine the two is a huge advantage. The British Dental Conference & Dentistry Show (BDCDS) 2023 will be the perfect event to achieve this and more. There will be two days of education delivered by world-class speakers and covering a broad range of clinical and business topics. In addition to the extensive trade exhibition, the show will facilitate networking with everyone from clinical colleagues to product experts, training and service providers, mentors and others. So, whether you’re looking to broaden your treatment offerings, purchase cutting-edge technology or make new industry connections, don’t miss BDCDS 2023!

Time for change

In recent years, we have all been reminded about the importance of finding balance in our lives between work, home and selfcare. Dentistry is a busy and demanding profession, but careful time management can help you to complete tasks and care for patients without causing yourself extra stress. Look after your time to look after yourself for 2023!

The British Dental Conference & Dentistry Show 2023 will be held on Friday 12^th and Saturday 13^th May at NEC Birmingham, co-located with Dental Technology Showcase (DTS). 

For more information, visit birmingham.dentistryshow.co.uk or email dentistry@closerstillmedia.com

[i] Collin V, Toon M, O’Selmo E, Reynolds L, Whitehead P. A survey of stress, burnout and well-being in UK dentists. ORCA, Cardiff University’s institutional repository. 2019. https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/116226/

[ii] Beheshitfar M, Hoseinifar H, Moghadam MN. Effect procrastination on work-related stress. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences. EuroJournals Inc, 2011; 38.

[iii] Statista. Average daily media use in the UK in the 3^rd quarter 2021, by media. https://www.statista.com/statistics/507378/average-daily-media-use-in-the-united-kingdom-uk/ [Accessed November 2022]

When your patients present with caries, treating the affected areas and providing them with high-quality, functional restorations is vital. So, for your composite restorations, consider myTines from Polydentia, available from J&S Davis.

myTines Small and Medium have been developed for a wide range of clinical situations and teeth of different crown heights. The ability to provide enhanced adaptation to the teeth, as well as a firm grip, helps to reduce composite flashes and optimise stability.

myTines Large are specially designed to fit onto myClip 2.0 and myRing Forte for stability on wide cavity preparations, even in the case of missing cusps. The possibility to combine different size myTines ensures a firm grip, and excellent adaptation, therefore reducing composite flashes and overhangs.

So, consider myTines from Polydentia for your composite restorations.

For more information on the industry-leading products available from J&S Davis,

visit www.js-davis.co.uk, call 01438 747 344

or email jsdsales@js-davis.co.uk.