www.mddus.com DENTIST ADDRESSES TO BE


REMOVED FROM GDC REGISTER THE full addresses of dental care professionals will no longer be published on the General Dental Council website under new plans announced by the regulator. The registration number would be used as the main method of identification and


to confirm professional status. The town/region in which they live may also be included. Greater emphasis will now be placed on dental professionals displaying their


registration numbers in practices so that patients can then easily search the register. The BDA welcomed the “long-awaited change” which they described as a “step in


the right direction”. They had previously expressed concerns that the practice, which began in 2006, was “unnecessary” and “a potential risk to registrant safety.” A final decision on what information will be displayed online will be made by the GDC following a public consultation.


DECLINE IN TOOTH DECAY AMONG


FIVE YEAR OLDS IN ENGLAND TOOTH decay among five year olds in England has fallen to its lowest level in a decade, according to a survey by Public Health England. It found that now less than 25 per cent of five-year-olds suffer tooth decay, which


represents a 20 per cent reduction since the first oral health survey was conducted in 2008.


PHE believes the pattern of dental health improvement among the age group


shows the impact parents and carers can have in establishing good dental care habits from an early age. The Oral health survey of 5-year-olds examined the dental health of 111,500


children (16.5 per cent of the five-year-old population in England) and found that an estimated 166,467 five year olds suffer from tooth decay, compared with 177,423 in 2008 (31 per cent of the cohort). Despite the national decline there is still significant regional variation in rates. In the North West, a third of five-year-olds suffer from tooth decay compared to a fifth in the South East. Higher deprivation levels tend to have higher levels of tooth decay. Read more about this issue in our article on page 4


GDC APPOINTS NEW


CHIEF EXECUTIVE IAN Brack has been appointed as the new chief executive of the General Dental Council. He formally took up the post in May having served as


interim leader since January 11, 2016. He takes over from Evlynne Gilvarry who stepped down in January after five years at the helm. Mr Brack (pictured above) said: “I am committed to helping the GDC rebuild trust with patients, the professions we regulate and our partners. We will do this by achieving the ambitions set out in our three year road map, Patients, Professions, Partners and Performance.”


DENTAL COMPLAINTS


HANDLING MODULE BRUSH up on your dental complaints handling knowledge by completing the MDDUS online module.


Members can login using their surname and membership


number to access the CPD-verified module which takes around 45 minutes. It looks at key issues including why patients complain,


professional guidance on acting on patient complaints, and how to investigate and respond to them effectively. Find the interactive module in the Risk Management e-learning centre at mddus.com: tinyurl.com/zg2bk9n


DENTAL CAREERS SITE MARKS FIRST ANNIVERSARY


A CAREERS website set up by a dental student is celebrating its first year online. Bolton-born Shakil Umerji launched www.dentalcareersguide.


com in 2015 as part of an elective project for his final year at Glasgow Dental School. He enlisted the help of dental specialists and professionals to


provide a range of articles and information resources to help trainees plan their careers. He has received financial support from advertisers – including MDDUS – with all proceeds going to new Glasgow-based charity Dental Aid Network. So far Shakil has raised £1,000 for the cause which aims to provide dental care for those in need around the world. Their


next mission will be helping orphans in Kashmir in October 2016. Shakil said: “What started out as a short-term elective project has


grown into a really useful resource that is still going strong. We’ve got lots of articles and first-person pieces on different dental career options and I’ve had great feedback from people using the site. “As an added bonus, 100 per cent of the revenue from


advertising on the site goes to support Dental Aid Network – I cover the administration costs personally.” Shakil hopes to continue developing the site with plans for


around 20 new articles over the coming year. Existing articles look at endodontics, dental core


training, prosthodontics and the management success of former football boss Sir Alex Ferguson.


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