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Welcome News


CAMPAIGN AGAINST


DFT PAY CUT THOUSANDS of people have signed a petition protesting against proposals to cut the salary paid to dental foundation trainees in England by more than £2,000. The petition, organised by the British Dental Association, calls for the


plans to be abandoned. Posted on the government’s e-petitions website, it had attracted almost 6,700 signatures by the beginning of June. The campaign has also spread to Twitter and Facebook. It came in response to government plans to reduce newly qualified


Welcome to your


NOT so long ago dentistry was a profession reserved predominantly for men. Fortunately times have changed, so much so that the majority of those entering dentistry are now female. This gender shift has met with both support and criticism and it also raises a number of important questions for dental training and workforce planning. As a young female dentist myself, I take a look at this issue in my article on page 4. One young dentist who is


making waves in the profession is entrepreneur David Stone. On page 6 he talks about the sudden flash of inspiration that led him to set up a business selling loupes while he was still at dental school, and the impact it has had on his career. Last year the GDC published


an updated set of professional standards that all dentists should be familiar with. MDDUS


dental adviser Claire Renton looks at what’s new on page 10. There are so many elements of risk management to consider in the practice of dentistry that it’s easy to forget about the potential pitfalls of day-to-day work. On page 12, MDDUS dental adviser Doug Hamilton takes a journey through a typical routine dental visit and highlights some key issues to consider along the way. If you’ve ever thought about a


career in endodontics then our career feature on page 8 discusses what it’s like to work in this challenging specialist field that focuses on the treatment of the dental pulp and surrounding tissues. And our case study on page 14 highlights poor record keeping and a fractured instrument.


• Sameera Teli Editor


EXTRA DENTAL LEARNING


RESOURCES NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is to fund additional educational resources to dental training practices aimed at further supporting the learning needs of the entire dental team. The range of new materials will be free to access and includes an


interactive programme on oral cancer and a suite of modules on communications skills. NES Postgraduate Dental Dean David Felix said: “These additional


EDITOR: Sameera Teli BChD MFDS


ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Joanne Curran


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


DESIGN: CMYK Design www.cmyk-design.co.uk


PRINT:


J Thomson Colouprint www.jtcp.co.uk


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


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


learning resources will allow all members of the practice - dentists, dental care professionals, practice managers, receptionists as well as the new graduates - to undertake verifiable continuing professional development (CPD) at a time and location of their choosing.” It’s estimated those working in the training practices could undertake


15 to 20 hours of CPD over a 15 month period. The practices appointed for the August 2014 to July 2015 training year will have priority access to the resources.


CONSULTATION OF


SPECIALTY STANDARDS DENTISTS are being asked for their views on the GDC’s draft Standards for Specialty Education guidance. The regulator wants to know if the guidance is clear, if there is


GPst is published by The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, Registered in 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


SoundBite is published by The Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland, Registered 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.


anything missing or if anything should be removed. They also want to understand the impact of the standards on stakeholders. Find out more on the GDC website: http://tinyurl.com/noulylq


dentists’ pay by almost eight per cent as part of a raft of efficiency savings. The move would mean those starting DFT in September 2014 would receive more than £2,000 less than those currently completing their DFT year. The BDA fears the cut will increase the debt burden on dental


graduates and damage morale. Despite criticism from within the profession, the Department of


Health remains committed to implementing the cut, which would reduce trainees’ salary to £28,076. They say this is being done to bring DFT pay in line with the pay given to foundation year one doctors, “to regain a level playing field in this area”.


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