02


• •


Welcome News


WARNING OVER POTENTIAL


JOBS SHORTAGE ACTION must be taken by the Department of Health to avert a potential shortage of training places for 2013 dental graduates. The British Dental Association issued the warning after new figures


predicted a shortfall in training places next year. The UK Committee of Postgraduate Dental Deans and Directors


Welcome to your


Many dento-legal cases can be boiled down to a handful of basic errors and omissions – or sloppy habits, says Claire Renton. And on page 10 of this issue she offers a quick overview of some of the most common encountered in her role as a dental adviser at MDDUS. It makes worthwhile reading for dentists at any stage. In a similar vein, dental


ethicist Dick Birkin looks at how “bending the rules” to a save bit of time or money can be a slippery slope to professional difficulties. On page 5 he champions the view of CS Lewis that ethics can be defined as “Doing the right thing even when no one is watching”. Have you ever wondered how


your skills as a dentist might be used to make a real impact in the lives of people in desperate need? On page 6 dentist Hari Lal tells how he travelled to a deprived region of Kenya where over half the patients he saw


didn’t even own a toothbrush. The experience tested him in many ways but in the end was nothing less than a “privilege”. Periodontitis is an insidious


condition in which bleeding gums may be the only obvious marker – not something many patients tend to get overly worried about. Yet the consequences of such “supervised neglect” can be costly for both patient and dentist. One page 12 dental adviser Doug Hamilton looks at some common pitfalls in dealing with the condition – and the topic is followed up in our case study on page 14. It used to be that dentists


interested in specialising in oral medicine faced the daunting prospect of a second degree in medicine. Not any more – though the specialty is no less competitive. Learn more in our careers article on page 8.


• Martin Nimmo Editor


(COPDEND) confirmed 1,139 applicants will be competing for an estimated 952 funded places in NHS practices. Of the applicants, 1,026 are current students or recent graduates from UK dental schools. Judith Husband, chair of the BDA’s Ethics, Education and Dental


Committee, said the COPDEND figures raise the prospect of “another year of heartbreak” for dental students as well as being a waste of public funds.


She added: “The Department of Health must… act now to ensure that 2013 does not see a repeat of the senseless situation that has been witnessed this year.” The DoH admitted that 35 UK graduates were not allocated training places in 2012, each having cost taxpayers around £150,000 to train.


UK DENTAL CARE HIGHLY RATED BY PATIENTS


DENTAL treatment in the UK is well-explained, provides value for money and delivers high levels of satisfaction among patients, according to a new report. A survey of 1,000 people found eight out of 10 who had seen a


dentist in the previous two years were highly satisfied with their treatment. And almost eight out of 10 of those who paid for treatment thought the explanation of fees and charges was “good” or “very good” with more than three-quarters rating their treatment as “good” or “very good” value for money. The figures were revealed in Public perceptions of choice in UK dental


care, commissioned by the British Dental Association. Of those surveyed, four out of five had visited their dentist in the


previous 24 months while around one in 15 said they never visited a dentist. The most common reason for not visiting the dentist, particularly among men and the over-25s, was that it was not felt to be necessary.


EDITOR: Martin Nimmo


ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Joanne Curran


DENTAL CONTENT EDITOR: Claire Renton BDS FDS RCPS (Gla) MML


DESIGN:


CMYK Design www.cmyk-design.co.uk


t: e: 0845 270 2034 jcurran@mddus.com w: www.mddus.com


THANKS to The QI Elves (@qipedia) for tweeting this SEM image of a bristle from a used toothbrush, covered in dental plaque. Perhaps a useful tool for persuading patients to replace their toothbrushes more frequently?


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.


© STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY


PRINT: Creative Print Group www.creativeprintgroup.co.uk


CORRESPONDENCE: SoundBite Editor MDDUS Mackintosh House 120 Blythswood Street Glasgow G2 4EA


PHOTOS: ROSLYN GAUNT


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16