News
Conference p18 | Interview p30 | Incisor restoration p47 |
New dental dean fears for the future of NHS dentistry
Economic woes raise questions about how the UK will pay for dental services
The new dean of the dental faculty at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh has expressed his concerns over the future of NHS dentistry during an interview with Scot- tish Dental magazine. As he prepares to take
office in September, Professor Richard Ibbetson, has revealed that he has significant fears around how dentistry will be paid for in the current economic climate and in years to come. He said: “I am worried, in
the long term, about how we as a country – and I mean the UK – actually afford the dental services that we need. It parallels what is happening in medicine as people’s aspi- rations become increased, as technology increases, demand increases and how it is going to be paid for is a major challenge. What I worry about in partic- ular is the people who are not financially equipped to access the treatment they need. ” Prof Ibbetson, however,
Dentsply buys up Astra Tech
GLOBAL DEAL
The world’s leading dental manufacturer Dentsply has secured a bigger chunk of the global market after buying implant company Astra Tech from AstraZeneca for £1.1 billion. Dentsply, which
“There is no doubt that the prevention of dental disease
is still absolutely key” Professor Richard Ibbetson
highlighted positive develop- ments, such as the prevention programme Childsmile that is starting to make a real differ- ence in Scotland. He said: “There is no doubt that the prevention of dental disease is still absolutely key. If you don’t need dental work in terms of reparative care, then so much the better.” And, despite concerns over
the ongoing financial situation across the UK and the wider dental world, he believes that we are resource rich in terms of
the people we have available in the industry. “I think there are significant
reassurances,” he said. “There are an awful lot of excel- lent people who work within dentistry in the UK. I think the future for dentistry and oral healthcare is exceedingly good, in spite of the many challenges that we will inevitably face.”
® To read Bruce Oxley’s interview with Professor Ibbetson, turn to page 30.
bought the company at the end of June, revealed that the deal would increase its revenue by around a quarter. Sweden-based Astra Tech is the third largest dental implant manufacturer after Straumann and Nobel Biocare, who were both previously believed to have been in conten- tion to buy their competitor. In May, Nobel, whose
first quarter profits this year fell 67 per cent, announced that it was interested in buying Astra Tech, while Strauman was also thought to be in the running, before both manufacturers pulled out of the bidding process without tabling binding bids.
DDU questions negligence scheme
The Dental Defence Union (DDU) has questioned the fair- ness of introducing a scheme to fast-track low-value clinical negligence claims along the same lines as an existing road traffic accidents scheme. Despite the road traffic
accident scheme being judged a success, the DDU said that
8 Scottish Dental magazine
clinical negligence cases are significantly more complex. Dr Matthew Lee, director of professional services at the Medical Defence Union (of which the DDU is part), said: “In road traffic accidents, it is usually straightforward to determine whether the defendant was at fault and the
effect this had on the claimant. But this is rarely true of clinical negligence cases we see where expert evidence may be needed to determine whether a clinician’s treatment fell short of the accepted standard and to determine the impact any negligence may have had on the patient.
“In the interests of fairness
to dental professionals, any scheme for low-value claims would need to incorporate safe- guards. The DDU is doubtful that a scheme for road traffic accidents can be modified sufficiently to make it accept- able in the complex world of clinical negligence.”
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