September 2010
that the new system is going to apply to the whole NHS and that includes dentistry – which will leave us with two systems running in parallel. Despite a valiant rearguard action to remove dentistry from CQC supervision, Earl Howe is having none of it. Unlike us. There is only one solution, which is for the CQC to absorb the GDC and the sooner they get on with it, the better.
PS. If you have ever seen the dental profession giving evidence to the House of Commons Health Select Committee, you may have noticed a shadowy figure passing from MP to MP, handing out bits of paper and whispering in ears. That person is the Specialist Adviser to the Committee on the subject being considered and the process of appointing Specialist Advisers is not at all clear, even to those giving evidence. The job of a Specialist Adviser is “to supply information which is not readily available or to elucidate matters of complexity within the committee’s order of reference”. This can be condensed into the phrase “to stop us looking lazy and ignorant”. What it also means is free license for one lucky individual not only to spend more time talking to the committee than any of the witnesses but to shape the lens through which the Committee views the evidence. A Specialist Adviser can say who he thinks should be given the privilege of giving evidence and who should stay on the sidelines; whose evidence should be described as sound and sensible and who should be dismissed as a loose cannon. I am confident that the dental advisers have been able to rise above this temptation but for others it is carte blanche to drip poison in people’s ears with the promise of an OBE at the end of it. In order to make the process of choosing Specialist Advisers more transparent, the Health Committee is advertising for a “Special” Specialist Adviser who would recommend all the other Specialist Advisers. The power vested in such an individual would be enormous. This is patently the wrong decision. With modern communications like e-mail, if the committee has problems finding information or understanding anything, they should refer to the witnesses. That is how the process is supposed to work.
Letters
Homoeopathy: the magic is that it works SIR – I was appalled at Rob Wakefield’s letter. Did he not study physics as well as chemistry at university? The action of homoeopathic remedies is electromagnetic, not chemical. The making of the remedy starts from the original substance, which is then diluted and succussed to potentise it. The electromagnetic oscillation increases as the quantity of the original substance decreases. The body is like a huge electromagnetic factory, and the homoeopathic remedy has its effect on this, which in turn affects the material part. Homoeopathic remedies do not cure directly; they stimulate the body to cure itself. He is also wrong in saying that our medical colleagues have removed homoeopathy from the NHS. It has just been approved. There are numerous trials that prove the efficacy of homoeopathy. The magic of homoeopathy is that it works. Brian Teall Secretary, the British Homeopathic Dental Association
Unnerved by aesthetic irresponsibility SIR – I wonder if I am the only person who feels slightly unnerved when reading articles in the journals that seemingly involve the reduction of virgin teeth for a subjective improvement in aesthetic appeal? All materials have a finite life and though immediate adulation is not difficult to achieve, I think that our responsibilities extend beyond giving the patient what they want without some serious discussion on the long-term. Maintaining a healthy mouth and dentition is hard enough without
throwing additional problems in the way in the name of a questionably perfect smile. I guess I am just ill-informed...or grumpy! Charlie Vaughan-Jones Llandyssil, Montgomery
A memorable souvenir? SIR – Re: Brian Lux’s letter in your July issue. When I was in Marrakesh, Morocco, last year, a stall in the vast central square in the Old City sold second-hand dentures. There must have been 20 or so on show – fulls, partials, plastic, metal, etc. Rudi Leavor (retired)
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www.dental-practice.org READER ENQUIRY DP 102
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