Who’s Who p42 | Case files p69 | Business and financial p73 |
News
Warning on danger of counterfeit equipment
Regulator seizes more than 12,000 pieces of hazardous equipment in six months
An urgent warning has gone out to Scots dentists not to buy potentially deadly fake equipment that is appearing on the internet. More than 12,000 counterfeit items – including 24 dental X-ray machines that emit dangerous levels of radiation – have been seized by the Medicines and Health- care products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the past six months. The equipment, which is imported into the UK from China and Pakistan, was being sold on websites such as eBay, Amazon and Alibaba. The MHRA has now issued its second
safety alert this year following an incident in November 2013 when a counterfeit handpiece shattered while being used on
a patient. The patient was unharmed but the MHRA’s head of enforcement, Alastair Jeffrey, believes that purchasing cheap equipment online is just too risky. He said: “Dentists must source their
dental equipment from reputable suppliers. Purchasing from auction websites and being unable to verify the integrity of the seller has the potential to increase risks to patients and damage to the profession’s reputation.”
® If you have suspicions or concerns about counterfeit goods, contact the MHRA’s Adverse Incident Centre at aic@
mhra.gsi.gov.uk or 020 3080 7080.
Website support for dentists in difficulty
HEALTH AND WELFARE HELP
The Dentists’ Health Support Programme (DHSP), which provides support for dentists in difficulty, has launched a new website to provide information and advice to the dental profes- sion in the UK. The DHSP provides free
advice and support on alcohol, drugs, eating disorders and other health issues to dental professionals. Initially called the Sick
Dentist Scheme, the health support programme was founded in ı986 after a warning to the BDA from JJ Mee MBE,
himself a recovering alcoholic, that there was a problem within the profession. The Dental Health Support
Trust was created in ı99ı in an attempt to solve problems with funding. In 2008, management of the programme – that had for years fluctuated between the BDA and the trust – was taken over solely by the trust.
® For more information, or if you would like to become a supporter of the Dental Health Support Trust, visit www. dentistshealthsupporttrust. org or call 020 7224 4671.
Scottish Dental magazine would like to apologise for an error in the numbering of the clinical photographs in Donald Morrison and Peter Byrne’s article in the September issue of the magazine (page 58-61) Figures 3b and 4a were placed incorrectly and we would like to apologise to the authors for the error.
Scottish Dental magazine 15
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