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Welcome News
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A CRUCIAL element of being a dental professional is respecting our patients and helping them to make informed decisions about their care. And while the topic of consent is one that’s hammered home in undergraduate courses, in practice it can present a challenge. My article on page 4 highlights some basic principles of consent and offers advice to new dentists to help you stay on the right track. There are numerous treatments
and techniques available to complement the practice of ‘traditional’ dentistry, including homeopathic dental treatments. But opinion is divided on their effectiveness and onpage 5ethics lecturer David Shaw looks at the arguments on both sides of the issue. The use of hypnotherapy in dentistry is another increasingly popular option and on page 12 dentist Mike Gow talks Jedi mind- tricks as he reveals some of the useful techniques that can be applied in everyday practice. The
use of positive language and understanding language patterns plays an integral part in hypnotherapy treatment. In our careers article on page 8,
Simon Wright looks at what it takes to get involved in the increasingly popular field of implant dentistry while on page 10MDDUS dental adviser Claire Renton highlights some important issues for dentists interested in starting their own practice. Meanwhile, the case study on page 14follows a case of clinical negligence involving the missed diagnosis of a dental abscess. And we take a step back in
time on page 6where Jason Finch of the BDA Museum highlights some of the weird and wonderful items on display that tell the story of the history of dentistry, including a clockwork drill and a 19th century phantom head complete with real teeth.
• Martin Nimmo Editor
WIN £50 ITUNES VOUCHERS CALLINGALL dental students - 'like' our new MDDUS Student Facebookpage and you’ll be entered into our FREE prize draw to win £50 of iTunes vouchers. Visit our page at
www.facebook.com/mddus.student or search Facebook for ‘mddus student’.
NO INCREASE IN GDC RETENTION FEE
REGISTRATION fees for dentists and DCPs will not rise in 2012 following a decision by the GDC. This means dentists will pay £576 by 31 December 2011 and dental
care professionals £120 by 31 July 2012. Full details of the GDC’s annual retention fee and budget can be found at
tinyurl.com/5v7oqbg.
MORE DENTISTS SUSPENDED, BUT FOR SHORTER PERIODS
COVER PHOTO: BDA MUSEUM
THE NUMBERof doctors and dentists in England excluded or suspended from work has increased over the past five years, but the length of bans imposed has decreased, new figures show. A report from the National Clinical Assessment Service (NCAS)
shows that last year there were 216 new “episodes” of exclusion of hospital and community (H&C) doctors (134 cases) and suspension of general practitioners (82 cases), up from 140 in 2005/2006. Last year three H&C dentists were excluded and 12 general dental
EDITOR: Martin Nimmo
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Joanne Curran
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SoundBite is published by The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, Registered in Scotland No 5093 at Mackintosh House, 120 Blythswood Street, Glasgow G2 4EA. The MDDUS is not an insurance company. All the benefits of membership of MDDUS are discretionary as set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association.
practitioners (GDPs) were suspended compared to four H&C dentists and one GDP in 2005/2006. At the end of March 2011, 47 H&C doctors, 47 GPs, one H&C
dentist and six GDPs were excluded or suspended from work. H&C doctors and dentists were excluded for an average of 21 weeks, down from 23 weeks in 2009/2010, while GPs were suspended for an average of 35 weeks, compared to 44 weeks the previous year. Figures for GDPs are only available for the last two years and are
less representative but the report suggests the risk of suspension for GDPs is low. The average suspension period was 38 weeks at the end of March 2011 compared to 19 the year before and 39 in 2009. The NCAS figures relate to NHS exclusions and suspensions and
not to those imposed by the General Medical Council or General Dental Council. The term suspension applies in general practice while the term exclusion applies to H&C practitioners but both mean the practitioner is removed from clinical work. Senior NCAS adviser Claire McLaughlan said that overall the
number of working weeks lost because of suspensions or exclusions of doctors and dentists fell by 14 per cent from 2009/2010, which could generate a saving of more than £3million for the NHS.
PHOTO: ROSLYN GAUNT
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