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Welcome News


Welcome to your


THE first interaction with any new dental patient can present numerous challenges – particularly in those with extensive treatment needs and possibly due to sub-standard care and/or supervised neglect from another dental care practitioner. On page 8, I offer some advice on “picking up the pieces” without being bounced into any injudicious commentary. Can encouraging vulnerable


patients to improve their oral health bring positive outcomes in other aspects of their lives? Professor Ruth Freeman certainly believes so and has been working on projects with prisoners and the homeless in Scotland, linking oral care and social inclusion (see page 10). In this issue we also offer some clarity (page 4) on crucial differences between indemnity and insurance – and the “gold standard” offered by MDDUS – as more providers enter the market.


On page 5 Liz Price offers some cautionary tales on “bigging up the CV”, and Janice Sibbald also urges caution in using Google to assess potential job applicants on page 6. Dental business coach Alun


Rees gives some practical advice on page 7 on avoiding the pitfalls of embracing new products, and on page 13 we look at how the #metoo movement has highlighted the importance of not just ignoring inappropriate behaviour at work. Former dental core trainee


Kuljit Kaur offers a personal view on managing the transition from maxillofacial surgery back to dentistry on page 12, and our case study on page 14 concerns an accusation of substandard root canal treatment and the value in keeping a clear and comprehensive record of patient discussions.


• Doug Hamilton Editor


INVOLVE DENTISTS IN WIDER


DISEASE PREVENTION DENTISTS could play a much wider role in detecting health conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, says the Faculty of Dental Surgery. The FDS has published a Position Statement on oral health and


general health suggesting that dentistry could be better utilised in the diagnosis of certain wider health problems and also in providing preventative health advice. Professor Michael Escudier, Dean of the FDS at the Royal College of


Surgeons, said: “Good oral health is essential for our overall wellbeing. In recent years there has been increasing evidence of the link between oral health and general health. Dentists and other members of the oral healthcare team always inspect a patient’s mouth in the course of treatment. This provides them with an opportunity to monitor, on an ongoing basis, how their patient’s health is changing. “While checking a patient’s oral health, they can look for relevant


signs of other conditions – chronic gum disease can be an indicator of diabetes and cardiovascular disease, for example. They can also offer advice on what dietary and lifestyle changes patients could make to improve their overall health, which can also help to prevent conditions such as obesity and oral cancer.” The FDS is recommending specifically that oral health should be included in the government’s upcoming Green Paper on Prevention due to be published later this year. It believes that dentists should be involved in all national and local public health campaigns and in the delivery of health and lifestyle advice.


EDITOR: Doug Hamilton BDS LLM MJDF RCS (Eng)


MANAGING EDITOR: Joanne Curran


ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Jim Killgore


DESIGN: Connect Communications www.connectmedia.cc


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


t: e: 0333 043 4444 jcurran@mddus.com w: www.mddus.com ARF OPENS FOR DCPS


THE annual renewal period has opened for dental care professionals (DCPs) in the UK. DCP registrants have until July 31, 2019 to renew in order to remain on the General Dental Council (GDC) register. They must:


• pay the Annual Retention Fee (ARF)


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 Articles of Association. The opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the various authors in SoundBite are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland.


GPst 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.


• make an annual continuing professional development (CPD) statement (or


end-of-cycle statement if their five-year cycle ends on 31 July)


• declare they have, or will have, appropriate indemnity in place.


This is the first year DCPs


are required to make enhanced CPD statements. The quickest way to renew


is through eGDC on the GDC website.


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