The College of General Dentistry has congratulated the British Dental Industry Association (BDIA) on its 100th anniversary.
Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent, President Emeritus of the College, said:
“Congratulations to the BDIA on 100 years of service and support to the dental profession and the patients it serves. Its work over the last century has unswervingly underpinned the provision of oral healthcare services, meeting the ever-changing needs of the ever-increasing diversity of oral healthcare professionals.
“The BDIA has also helped drive innovation and developments in dentistry with the timely introduction of new materials, instruments and devices, typically from international manufacturers and markets, while protecting the profession from substandard and counterfeit products.
“The College of General Dentistry is grateful for its sterling service and wishes it continued success, and we look forward to working together to further improve standards in oral healthcare during its second hundred years and beyond.”
Dental professionals are being asked to help inform the development of resources to support the mental health and wellbeing of dental teams by filling in a short, anonymous survey.
The survey, part of the Mental Health in Dental Settings UK project (MINDSET UK) aims to evaluate the current status of mental health and wellbeing of dental teams across the country by investigating levels of burnout, depressed mood, experienced trauma and preparedness to provide quality care.
The project is led by the UK Dental Team Mental Health Research and Implementation Group,a collaboration between NHS Education for Scotland (NES), the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP), the University of Plymouth, King’s College London, Health and Social Care Northern Ireland and Health Education and Improvement Wales, and the survey is hosted by the Scottish Dental Practice-based Research Network.
The results of the survey will be shared with policy, service and education leaders in dentistry across the UK to inform the future provision of mental health and wellbeing support and training for dental teams, and may also be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at relevant conferences. It will not be possible to identify individuals from their responses nor in any report or publication arising from the research.
The College supports the Mental Health Wellness in Dentistry Framework and Call to Action, which encourages all members of the dental team to undertake training in stress awareness, and calls for every workplace to have a trained individual to encourage and lead discussion around the mental health wellness, to design a workplace action plan based on early intervention and safe signposting, and to act as a Mental Health First Aider – someone able to respond in a timely, appropriate and safe manner to potential mental health wellness issues.
We encourage all dental professionals to help support improved mental health wellness in dentistry by participating in the survey, which closes on Wednesday 31 May 2023 and is available at https://forms.office.com/e/AAgkcCbTPb
ConfiDental is available 24/7, 365 days a year on 0333 987 5158 to support dental professionals in distress. Its trained volunteers are all practising or retired dental professionals who aim to help you come to your own solution or signpost you to a relevant organisation for further advice.
Mental Health Wellness Framework webinar
Our recorded webinar on mental health in dentistry, held in partnership with the Dental Professionals Alliance, discusses how to act in a timely, appropriate, and safe manner when identifying mental health wellness issues in the dental workplace. College members and ProDental subscribers have free access and can claim 1.5 hours’ CPD. A fee will apply for non-members/non-subscribers.
Spotting and Tackling Poor Mental Health in Colleagues and Patients
This Primary Dental Journal article is available exclusively to College members in the PDJ Archive (see volume 6 number 3 or search for ‘mental health’).
Health and Wellbeing of Clinical Dental Care Professionals: A Systematic Review
This Primary Dental Journal article from June 2022 is available on an Open Access basis here
Clare Denton, editor of Bites, the College’s monthly e-newsletter, offers advice on getting your writing published.
It is becoming increasingly common for dental practitioners to raise their professional profile by creating interesting, relevant content and getting it published on one of the many platforms and channels now available. The Primary Dental Journal (PDJ), is the College’s quarterly, peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles written by a variety of authors. You can read the specific author guidelines for the PDJhere.
There are several types of writing you can generate – reporting on clinical research, opinion pieces or more informal writing about experiences and ideas. If you specifically want information about conducting clinical research and publishing the results, you’ll find a comprehensive and free set of guidance on the CGDent website which will tell you everything you need to know – An Introduction to Research for Primary Dental Care Clinicians.
Here are some general tips about how to be a successful writer and publish your work.
1. Choosing your audience and topic
Your audience and article topic go hand-in-hand. Particular topics, or the angle you choose to focus on, may only interest dental professionals with certain special interests, and vice versa. It’s crucial that your topic, the angle you take and your audience all align. It helps if you’re interested in the subject matter too.
Read other articles on your chosen subject. Is there already a lot written about this? Can you approach the issue from a new perspective?
2. Identify where you want your work to be published
Different channels and mediums demand different styles and tone of writing. A blog can be informal, whereas an article in a peer-reviewed journal would demand a more formal, academic style. Many publications have specific editorial guidelines to follow. Contact the Editor before you start writing to ensure they would consider publishing your writing.
3. Plan your work
Contact the publication’s Editor or editorial team and ask for clear deadlines and a schedule for the issue. You’ll need to know when you will receive peer review comments or editorial feedback, and when you are expected to have revised your paper. Most journals ask for a quick turnaround (three days usually) which you need to be prepared for.
4. Attention-grabbing headline
Although the title is the first thing your reader will see, it’s a good idea to leave composing it until you’ve finished writing your piece; the stand-out point of your piece will be much clearer. Titles should be eye-catching, humorous or clever, but also a true summary of the content.
5. Give credit where it’s due
Compelling images or video to accompany your article are vital. Check the copyright of any visual material included and if necessary, obtain a permissions licence from the copyright holders and credit them.
6. Include a variety of voices
Incorporate poignant quotations from different stakeholders to bring your work to life. Quotations reinforce and validate the points you are making, add more detail and give a personal perspective from key players. If quoting from existing published work, make sure to cite the sources on your reference list.
Author bio
I have been the Editor of Bites since 2017, when I first started working with the Faculty of General Dental Practice and now the College of General Dentistry. My career in marketing and communications is centred around creating engaging content in digital and print, and I particularly enjoy the visual and editorial challenges this brings. When I’m not working, I manage a busy family life and indulge in long-distance running (my longest race so far is a half-marathon) and discussing the latest reads with my book club.
If you’re a CGDent Member and would like to write a blog for our Student Advice page, get in touch and tell us about your blog idea at [email protected]
This student advice blog was originally published by FGDP(UK) and has been republished by the College of General Dentistry with the author’s permission.
Royal Society of Medicine, 1 Wimpole Street, Westminster, London, W1G 0AE
Bruxism can cause multiple debilitating problems throughout the body and can be difficult to diagnose and even harder to manage.
This one-day course was designed to help clinicians, including dental professionals, understand the condition and learn how to diagnose it sooner and create realistic and achievable multi-disciplinary treatment plans.
Expert speakers explored the cause and effects of Bruxism, discuss diagnosis and examined possible treatments. The programme ends with a Q&A session with Professor Gilles Lavigne.
Speakers:
Barabara Carey, Consultant in oral medicine
Luke Cascarini, Consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon and head and neck surgeon
Gilles Lavigne, Specialist in oral medicine
Sara McNeillis, Consultant in sleep medicine and anaesthesia
Javier Moraleda, consultant ENT
Clare Simon, lead and founder of The London Dental Sleep Clinic
Fees:
Dentist £150
Dental Team £99
**COLLEGE MEMBERS RECEIVE 20% DISCOUNT IF THEY BOOK BY MIDNIGHT ON MONDAY 31 JULY 2023**
(You must sign in to the website in order to view the member discount code)
For more information on the Bruxism Diagnosis Management course, click here.
CGDent on-demand webinar, Thursday 21 September 2023
This CGDent on-demand webinar explores the use of the Hall Technique for managing caries in primary molars and focuses on the theory, indications and contraindications for the use of the Hall Technique. Tips for the placement of Hall crowns, the structuring of appointments, challenges with the Hall technique and how to overcome potential difficulties which may arise are discussed.
Speakers:
Reuben Bennett, DCT2 currently working in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery and Oral Medicine in Bristol
Yi Loo, Registrar in Paediatric Dentistry at King’s College Hospital, London
Nabeel Ilyas, Specialist in Paediatric Dentistry, Registrar in Birmingham Community NHS trust and Birmingham Children’s Hospital
It is free to view live for all dental professionals, and College members also have free access to the recorded webinar and can claim CPD hours for free. A £20 fee will apply for non-members who wish to claim CPD.
Membership of the College of General Dentistry is open to all registered dental professionals. Membership is available from £125 per year for dentists, from £83 for other dental professionals, and from £42 for Dental Nurses and those eligible for a concession. See the full list of CGDent membership rates here.
CGDent on-demand webinar, Thursday 7 September 2023
This CGDent webinar examines the role of Dental Therapists in providing aesthetic dentistry within a UK dental practice setting. We will review patient access through collaborative working and a shared care model, referrals, and direct access.
It is free to view live for all dental professionals, and College members also have free access to the recorded webinar and can claim CPD hours for free. A £20 fee will apply for non-members who wish to claim CPD.
Membership of the College of General Dentistry is open to all registered dental professionals. Membership is available from £125 per year for dentists, from £83 for other dental professionals, and from £42 for Dental Nurses and those eligible for a concession. See the full list of CGDent membership rates here.
Dental indemnity organisations have issued a consensus statement encouraging dental professionals to make sure they seek advice from appropriate sources when patient safety incidents occur.
The organisations – BDA Indemnity, the Dental Defence Union, Dental Protection, the Medical & Dental Defence Union of Scotland, All Med Pro, Densura and Professional Dental Indemnity – formed a working group as part of ‘Project Sphere’, an NHS England-led patient safety forum, in order to help move away from the ‘blame culture’ in the profession.
The consensus statement, which is hosted by the College here, discourages use of social media and other informal information sources – which have the potential to leave dental professionals misinformed – and reassures dental professionals that “there is no limit to the number of times you can call for advice, and the frequency of calls does not impact individual indemnity fees.”
Project Sphere is chaired by Jason Wong FCGDent, Deputy Chief Dental Officer for England, and the College is represented in the project by Dr Mick Horton FCGDent, former Dean of the Faculty of General Dental Practice UK (FGDP) and now Chair of the College’s Board of Trustees.
The full consensus statement is available at https://cgdent.uk/indemnity-consensus-statement/
Members of the College of General Dentistry receive a discount on their Dental Protection subscription fees. Full Members qualify for a 5% reduction on their fee, and those admitted to Fellowship benefit from an 8% discount. For further information, visit https://cgdent.uk/discounts/
The President of the College, Dr Abhi Pal, has given evidence to the House of Lords Committee on the Integration of Primary and Community Care.
Addressing Peers remotely during an evidence session held yesterday afternoon, he said that while there are huge potential benefits for patients if dentistry were to become more integrated within wider NHS care delivery, in practice dental care provision remains isolated.
Dr Pal, a general dental practitioner and Principal of an NHS-contracted dental practice in Edgbaston, said there has been a lack of national policy to promote such integration, and that the current dental contract, along with other systemic constraints, actively gets in the way of achieving it.
In wide-ranging evidence, he also:
said dental representation and input into Integrated Care Boards was inadequate and needs to be formalised and properly resourced
noted the role of dental hygienists, therapists and nurses, in addition to dentists, in providing preventive messages in areas like diabetes, coronary heart disease, obesity and smoking
highlighted the bidirectional links between some oral health conditions and some wider health conditions, and the effects of the management of each on the other
referred to the ‘pockets of innovation’ in integrative care and flexible commissioning, such as the limited number of local and regional pilots around urgent care, diabetes and older patients, but made clear that they are exceptions to the norm
suggested that access within dental practices to patients’ medical records could enhance patient care
Dr Pal – the first elected President of the College, which became fully operational in 2021 – was speaking alongside representatives of the College of Optometrists and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, and is the only representative of the dental profession out of over 60 individuals who have either given evidence to the enquiry to date or are currently scheduled to do so.
In March, he addressed the House of Commons Health and Social Care Select Committee as part of an oral evidence session on NHS dentistry in England, telling it that if the government wishes to retain and reinforce the NHS dentistry workforce, it needs to offer greater professional fulfilment and recognition in addition to reforming the NHS contract.
Last year, he also visited No.10 Downing Street for a discussion on access to careers and progression in dentistry, and he has previously discussed these issues with the Shadow Health Secretary.
Alasdair Miller FCGDent talks to Nairn Wilson CBE about becoming one of the first Life Fellows of the College.
Alasdair Miller FCGDent (left) and Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent (right)
Nairn: Alasdair, first and foremost congratulations on becoming a Life Fellow of the College. A few questions, if I may; firstly, what do you hope to contribute to the College as a Life Fellow and member of the 1992 Circle?
Alasdair: I was attracted to the College as its career pathway seemed ideally suited to a practitioner’s working life and rather mirrored my less structured career development with life-long learning at its heart. I have been very fortunate in my career and becoming a Life Fellow and member of the 1992 Circle allows me to stay in touch and continue to contribute. I have assisted with the development of the College’s Certified Membership scheme, based on my experiences as Programme Director of Bristol University’s Open Learning for Dentists and updating the arrangements for Certified Membership Facilitators. Life Fellowship was a logical progression for me: FFGDP to FCGDent to Life Fellow, to support the College as it develops and give something back.
NW: Growth in the number of retired and, in particular, Life Fellows would be a great boon for the College. Why should retired colleagues eligible for FCGDent ‘By Equivalence’ or ‘By Experience’, who are not yet members of the CGDent, consider joining the College?
AM: I have always enjoyed the collegiate nature of the profession and company of colleagues. The College, specifically the 1992 Circle provides a ‘home’ for like-minded retired colleagues who wish to stay connected and involved in the profession, albeit they are no longer practising. Fellowship of the College ‘By Equivalence’ or ‘By Experience’ allows retired colleagues to have their professional experience and achievements recognised and valued, with opportunity, amongst other things, to support young colleagues and put something back into the profession.
NW: What message would you like to send to existing retired Fellows of the College to encourage them to become Life Fellows?
AM: If one is retired and a Fellow, I would ask: What’s stopping you becoming a Life Fellow? In so doing, you provide invaluable support to the fledgling College, helping it to grow and prosper to become the Royal College all Fellows wish it to become.
NW: Is it a strength of the College that all members may aspire to becoming a Life Fellow in retirement?
AM: Yes, it is a strength, specifically as it applies to all members of the dental team. While becoming a Life Fellow in retirement is a personal choice, I hope that all retired Fellows, present and future will consider it a way of enabling the College to continue to grow and prosper.
NW: Finally, as one of the College’s first Life Fellows, what would you most like the College to achieve as it continues to grow and prosper?
AM: I hope the College’s Career Pathway will be valued by the profession and as many practitioners as possible travel up it and become Fellows. Having a structured plan for professional development that is customised to one’s own aspirations and circumstances is unique. The Pathway is a way to have your career development recognised and validated, whilst at the same time acquiring skills and knowledge in areas of interest that support a member’s professional aspirations. It encourages continuous improvement for the benefit of patients, the profession and the professional. I anticipate the College developing programmes that enable College members and others to meet the challenges of modern practice life. In the process, it is to be hoped that the College will be granted a Royal Charter.
NW: Alisdair, many thanks for your insightful views and comments. It is most encouraging and reassuring to know that the College will be able to avail itself of your wisdom and wise counsel during your lifetime. Thank you on behalf of the College for your commitment and most generous support. Enjoy being a Life Fellow.
Subject to being 65 or over and no longer registered with the GDC or an equivalent body, eligibility for Life Fellowship of the College is automatic for retired former Fellows of the FGDP, and for retired current or former Fellows of CGDent, the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons, the American Academy of Implant Dentistry or any of the faculties of dental surgery or dentistry of the Royal Colleges of the UK or Ireland. Retired colleagues from across the spectrum of oral healthcare who satisfy the criteria for Fellowship are also encouraged to apply.Further information is available here.
Nairn Wilson is President Emeritus of the College. Those interested in becoming a Life Fellow are invited to contact him at [email protected]
General dental practices are being sought for an NHS-funded research project, and the researchers are encouraging CGDent members to apply to participate.
Following a successful feasibility study which informed the final design of the PIP study, the researchers are now looking to recruit general dental practices in Scotland and England to each support the recruitment of approximately 11 participants and follow them up at one year. Training, support and remuneration are provided.
The project is being conducted by the Universities of Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Liverpool, Sheffield, King’s College London, plus NHS Education for Scotland and the Centre for Healthcare Randomised Trials and was commissioned by the NHS National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment programme.
PIP study details
Patient participants will need to be at least 16 years old with symptoms indicative of irreversible pulpitis in a pre-molar or molar tooth with deep caries and/or a deep restoration. They must be seeking treatment at an NHS dental practice and receive a full pulpotomy.
Patients whose teeth have immature roots, clinical or radiographic signs of a necrotic pulp, insufficient tissue for a restoration or a poor prognosis (e.g. internal or external resorption) will not be eligible, likewise those with presence of a sinus, tenderness to percussion, buccal tenderness, pathological mobility or evidence off pathology on a periapical radiograph. All participating patients must be able to give informed consent.
Dentists taking part in the study will receive training, with fees and verifiable CPD provided, as well as remuneration covering set up costs, the cost of administration at the start and end of the study, service support cost and attendance of the end of study conference. You would continue to claim NHS fees and any charges for private treatment in the usual way.
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