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DENTAL DECAY STILL TOO COMMON IN YOUNG CHILDREN


ONE in eight children age three in England suffer from tooth decay according to a survey by Public Health England. PHE found that those children affected had an average of three decayed teeth due to the disease. The survey also found a wide variation of tooth decay prevalence across the country, ranging


from two per cent to 34 per cent. PHE singled out the East Midlands, North West, London and Yorkshire and the Humber as the four regions with the highest prevalence. The variation is linked to a number of factors including deprivation, the availability of fluoridated water and feeding bottles containing sugar-sweetened drinks. The Dental public health epidemiology programme, oral health survey of 3-year-old children


2013 provides information on the prevalence and severity of dental decay (caries) in those attending state or privately funded nurseries, nursery classes attached to schools and playgroups. A total of 53,640 children were examined in 145 upper tier local authorities, representing eight per cent of the total age three population across England. Responding to PHE’s figures Dr Christopher Allen, Chair of the BDA’s Dental Public Health


Committee, said: “As tooth decay is largely preventable, parents, nurseries, retailers, governments and dental professionals must all play their part to reduce, if not eliminate this disease.”


GDC ANNOUNCES 54 PER CENT ARF RISE FOR DENTISTS


TRAINEE dentists are facing a 54 per cent rise in the annual retention fee (ARF) with the General Dental Council setting the 2015 rate at £890. This is less than the 64 per cent hike initially proposed but still a substantial increase. Dental care professionals (DCPs) will pay £116 – a £4 decrease. The new fee level was announced after a GDC council meeting


considered forecasts and budget projections for 2015-2017, which had been reviewed by the auditor KPMG. The council was asked to consider options for the 2015 ARF based on three financial models. All three models involved significant fee rises for dentists but two featured fee reductions for dental care professionals. The ARF has not increased for four years but since 2011 the GDC has seen a 110 per cent rise in complaints. This has contributed to rising costs for the regulator which the GDC says must be addressed with a significant increase in the ARF for dentists. The announcement came on the same day that the British Dental


Association (BDA) revealed that its application for leave to bring ‘rolled-up’ judicial review proceedings against the dental regulator has been granted. The BDA claims the GDC has not provided sufficient details of the policy and business case supporting the fee hike – thus “rendering the regulator’s case unlawful”. The judicial review is now confirmed to take place on December 15, 2014 and should enable resolution of the case before dentists are


legally required to pay the new ARF on 31 December 2014. GDC Chair, Bill Moyes said: “The decision is directly related to the


effective delivery of our primary duty of patient protection. The additional funds that will be collected as a result will enable us to deal with the very significant increase in our fitness to practise caseload experienced over the last three years.” GDC Chief Executive and Registrar, Evlynne Gilvarry added: “We will


continue to seek efficiencies in the way we work but significant savings will require wholesale change of our outdated legislation.”


TRAINEES WELCOME PAY CUT U-TURN


A MOVE to abandon plans to cut foundation dentists’ pay by £2,000 has been welcomed by trainees. The Department of Health (DoH) had planned to


reduce the salary of new dentists in England to bring it in line with that of foundation year one doctors. But the British Dental Association launched a vigorous campaign against the move, including an online petition that gathered almost 7,000 signatures. This prompted the DoH to eventually scrap the planned cut. The BDA’s Mick Armstrong hailed


it as “a victory for young dentists and for common sense.”


APPLY NOW FOR AN ELECTIVE GRANT


TRAINEE dentists seeking funding for their 2015 elective are invited to apply to the British Medical and Dental Students’ Trust (BMDST). The charity provides travel scholarships to medical and dental students going abroad for their electives. The deadline for applications for electives between April and September 2015 is January 31, 2015. Those going on electives between October 2015 and March 2016 have until July 31, 2015 to submit an application. Applications should include the presentation


of the proposed project, featuring an introduction, aims, methodology, analysis and benefit/use of data. They should also identify possible applications in clinical practice. To find out more and to download an application form visit www.bmdst.org


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