Occlusion and perio symposia for early career dentists

The College of General Dentistry is delighted to partner with the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation to host a series of symposia for early career dentists, in collaboration with FMC, on the topics of Occlusion and Perio. 

Carefully curated for early career dentists, the symposia will be open to dentists who qualified in the UK or overseas between 2019 and 2023 and have been practising in the UK for at least the past two years.

Introduction to Occlusion Symposium

The first of the symposia, Introduction to Occlusion Symposium for Early Career Dentists, will take place on Saturday 5 April 2025 at the Kensington Conference and Events Centre in London.

An unmissable line-up of renowned speakers will deliver a series of lectures to enhance delegates’ understanding of the fundamentals of occlusion and how these principles can support the placement of successful, long-term restorations for patients presenting with tooth wear and other conditions.

The opening lecture will be delivered by Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent, a general dental practitioner with a special interest in restorative dentistry and founder of the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation. Dr Bereznicki’s presentation will be followed by sessions from Professor Paul Tipton FCGDent, Dr Ken Harris FCGDent, Dr Tif Qureshi FCGDent and Dr Shiraz Khan, and Dr Koray Feran FCGDent.

Plans are currently being considered to host the Introduction to Occlusion symposium in the north of the UK later in 2025.

Perio-Occlusion Symposium

The second in the series of symposia for early career dentists will focus on the aesthetic aspects of perio and functional occlusal aspects post orthodontic treatment and will also take place at Kensington Conference and Events Centre in London on Saturday 20 September 2025.

The event will consist of two half-day sessions delivered by distinguished speakers Dr Reena Wadia, a Specialist Periodontist and founder of Perio School, and Dr Raman Aulakh FCGDent, a Specialist Orthodontist, Invisalign Platinum Elite Doctor and co-founder of Aligner Dental Academy.

Alongside the programme of lectures, delegates at either symposia who wish to develop their knowledge of occlusion or perio further, can visit a hand-picked selection of education stands to learn more about leading postgraduate courses available in these fields.

To ensure the symposia are accessible to early career dentists, the fee for each event has been set at an affordable rate of £75 per symposium and they will each take place on a Saturday to avoid time away from clinic.

Tickets for the Introduction to Occlusion Symposium for Early Career Dentists will be made available from January 2025. Bookings for the Perio-Occlusion Symposium for Early Career Dentists will open later next year, and as places are limited, dentists are advised to secure a ticket early to avoid disappointment.

Eligible dentists interested in attending either or both symposia, are urged to ‘save-the-dates’ and sign-up to receive a notification as soon as tickets go on sale.

The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation supports educational initiatives for early career dentists and is working in conjunction with the College, and other collaborators, to provide a range of developmental opportunities for this cohort. Alongside the Introduction to Occlusion and the Perio-Occlusion Symposia, the Foundation funds the CGDent and GC Award for Foundation Trainees, which offers the chance to win fully-funded composite layering training in Belgium. An advanced aesthetic dentistry competition, which will provide each successful candidate with a fully-funded place on a hands-on digital dentistry course, is launching soon and other projects are also planned.

Sign-up to receive the College newsletter to stay informed about all upcoming opportunities with the College and the Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation.

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New PDJ online: Implant dentistry (part one)

The latest issue of the Primary Dental Journal, ‘Implant dentistry (part one)’, is available to view online now.

The implant dentistry theme has been split across two consecutive journal issues – parts 1 and 2. Papers in this part 1 issue include the role of the general dental practitioner in the care of the implant patient; dental nursing in implant dentistry; the hygienist’s role in the management of the implant patient in primary care; and dentolegal considerations in implant dentistry. The main objective of this first issue is to provide readers with a cutting-edge update on the topics, and to raise awareness of the need to manage implant patients in primary care.

The guest editor of this part 1 issue is Amin Aminian FCGDent, a Specialist in Prosthodontics in Greater Manchester. Amin explains the impetus for the collection of papers, and urges readers to share these Implant dentistry issues with all colleagues:

My aim…was to highlight how implant therapy can, and should, be predominantly provided in primary care. The articles highlight how implant dentistry can positively impact our patients’ quality of life, regardless of the care setting.

“I sincerely hope you enjoy the two implant dentistry issues. At the outset, they were intended for all members of the primary care team, be it those who have yet to begin their implant journey or those more experienced in all aspects of the treatment. The articles highlight the important role all members of the team need to play, with the patient central to the care plan.”

Part 2 – which is due out in winter and guest-edited by Professor Ilser Turkyilmaz of New York University – will have a greater focus on clinical aspects of implant dentistry, including complications and adverse events, and recent technological advancements in the field.

Full online access to the majority of articles is reserved for College of General Dentistry members and Primary Dental Journal subscribers, who can also expect their printed copies to arrive in the next 2–3 weeks.

For non-members / non-subscribers, at least one paper in each issue is made available online free of charge, with all other articles available to purchase via the links below.

An annual print subscription to the PDJ is included with membership of the College, which also includes online access to over 1,400 current and past issues in the PDJ Library and a range of other benefits.

On behalf of the College, the PDJ editorial team would like to express its gratitude to all the authors and peer reviewers who have contributed to the publication of this issue.

ISSUE CONTENTS:

CGDent members can view full articles by logging in via the yellow button below, then clicking ‘Access the PDJ Library’:

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New register of implant dentistry mentors

The College has launched an online register of qualified mentors in implant dentistry.

Developed in conjunction with the Association of Dental Implantology (ADI) and the International Team for Implantology (ITI), the new Register of Mentors in Implant Dentistry will support high standards of training and practice in implant dentistry by providing recognition to those who have met specific standards in their clinical and mentoring practice. Freely accessible and searchable by the profession at large, it will also enable those undertaking training in implant dentistry to identify and contact appropriately experienced and qualified mentors.

Mentoring is recognised as a critical element of a practitioner’s training in implant dentistry, and is among the requirements of the College’s Training Standards in Implant Dentistry document, which sets the minimum standards for training which those practising implant dentistry in the UK must have undertaken.

The specific experience, skills and qualities required of a mentor are articulated in the College’s Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines and are the basis for the eligibility criteria for inclusion the new register, all of which must be met:

  1. Postgraduate degree or qualification in implant dentistry, or documentary evidence of completion of a structured implant training course with at least 70 hours of verifiable contact learning and meeting, or (for those who commenced implant dentistry before 2005) demonstrably equivalent training and experience.
  1. Placed and/or restored at least 250 implants in a variety of clinical situations, depending on which aspects of care are being mentored. (Suitability can also be demonstrated from a lower number of cases with appropriate insight and reflection).
  1. Five years’ experience in the specific prosthetic or surgical technique that the mentee is being trained in. This should be in the form of a description of the mentor’s overall post-qualification experience and specifically their implant training, courses attended and clinical experience.
  1. Successful completion of an accredited medical education or mentoring course, or two years in a substantive implant-related teaching post which includes clinical supervision.

Applications to join the register are reviewed by a panel comprising representatives of CGDent, the ADI and the ITI. Once admitted, mentors will be subject to a Code of Conduct to ensure that any mentoring provided is in accordance with the guidelines, and they will also need to provide an annual declaration that they are still undertaking implant dentistry and that they are maintaining their expertise in both clinical and mentoring skills.

There is currently no application fee, however those admitted to the register will pay an annual fee for inclusion. The introductory annual fee is £500, but Full Members, Associate Fellows or Fellows of the College pay only £250. Members of the ADI and ITI also benefit from a reduced rate of £400, and those who are members of both the College and either the ADI or ITI pay just £160 per annum. The effective cost of the fee can be significantly reduced through tax relief.

For further information, visit the Register of Mentors in Implant Dentistry

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New messaging service for members

College members can now contact each other via the new Member Messaging service.

The free service has been developed to enable members to establish or re-establish contact with other members so that they can help, guide and collaborate with each other.

All members of the College can both send and receive messages via the new system, which will also be available to those non-members who join the College’s forthcoming Register of Implant Dentistry Mentors, and will enable College members to contact non-members on that register.

To be able to receive messages, members must opt in within the ‘Preferences’ section of their online account, and must also have not opted out of appearing on the College’s online Member Register. Those admitted to the Register of Implant Dentistry Mentors will be opted in by default. Scroll down for full instructions.

Messages are initiated by clicking the ‘Message’ link on the intended recipient’s individual page on the Member Register. If available, the message link will appear directly underneath the intended recipient’s name near the top of the page, and clicking it will open a new page where a subject line and message can be entered and sent. If the message link does not appear, this means either that the sender has not logged in or that the intended recipient has not opted in to receiving messages.

When a message is sent, the recipient is alerted to it by an email which provides a link to their Member Messaging inbox, where they can read and reply to the message. Their reply is then sent to the original sender’s Member Messaging inbox and likewise triggers email notification.

The system has been designed to keep members’ email addresses confidential, though users are free to share their contact details within correspondence should they wish.

Further information is available on your personal Member Messaging page. Please note this page will only be visible if you are a member of the College, and only when logged in.

How to enable other members to contact you

1. Sign in to your account using the email address you have registered with the College.

If you need to use the ‘Forgot Password’ option, please check your junk/spam folder in case the password reset email is directed there

2. Click Update my account

3. Click  Preferences

4. Under Exclude my details from the Register of Members & Fellows, select No

5. Under Allow messaging by other Members & Fellows, select Yes

6. Click Save changes

If ‘Save changes’ cannot be completed, you may first need to complete other fields on the ‘Update my account’ page

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Award offers hands-on course to Foundation Trainees

The CGDent and GC Award for Foundation Trainees, which promotes clinical skills and patient care, is now open for entries to the 2024/25 competition.

Following a successful inaugural year, and an expansion to the award’s eligibility criteria, dentists and dental therapists who qualified in the UK or Ireland in 2024, or who are undertaking Dental Foundation Training or Dental Vocational Training in 2024/25, are invited to enter. Entrants must submit a restorative case they are about to start treating which involves more than one tooth, and includes at least one anterior tooth, as well as the use of composite to restore teeth.

The number of winning places has also been increased to 18, with each winner receiving a fully-funded place on a hands-on, two-day composite layering course at the GC Education Campus in Leuven, Belgium. The prize is worth around £1,400 per place and includes the costs of international travel, hotel accommodation and subsistence.

The winners of the inaugural competition took part in the bespoke composite layering course in July 2024. One delegate said the course “offered an excellent balance between theoretical and hands-on components of learning” and provided “support to each delegate.” Another commented that they gained “time management, enriched patient communication skills and overall restorative skills.

The 2024/25 award is now open, the closing date for entry is Friday 14 February 2025, and final cases must be submitted by Friday 11 April 2025. The winners will be announced in May, and their course will take place on Thursday–Friday 10–11 July 2025.

The CGDent-GC Award is funded by The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and organised in conjunction with the College of General Dentistry and GC. The Foundation supports educational opportunities for early career dentists in the UK, and was founded by Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent, a general dental practitioner with a special interest in restorative dentistry.

GC is an oral health company which manufactures dental systems and products which are sold around the world, and has won awards for its products and innovations. It provides both online and in-person training covering many areas of dental practice.

Speaking about the award, Dr Tom Bereznicki FCGDent commented:

The Trustees of the Foundation were delighted with the number and high standard of entries for the inaugural award. The winners thoroughly enjoyed the GC course in Belgium and felt that their knowledge and handling of composite materials and restorations was significantly improved over the two days. One of the requirements of the competition was a reflection on the outcome of the case and feedback from those who did not go through as winners suggests they had learnt a lot during the process, which would positively impact treatment they provide in the future. Based on this unqualified success, the competition will go ahead this year and will also be open to Dental Therapists.”

Professor Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent said:

As Founding President Emeritus of the College of General Dentistry (CGDent), Patron of the Tom Berezniki Charitable Educational Foundation and a career-long collaborator with GC, I am delighted to encourage all those eligible, to consider entering the 2024–2025 CGDent-GC Award. Based on the outcome and feedback from the inaugural award, the winners of this year’s competition will be able to look forward to a highly rewarding educational experience at the fantastic GC Campus in Leuven, Belgium.”

John Maloney, GC’s Director and Country Manager for the UK, Ireland and South Africa, said:

GC are proud to continue our collaboration with The Tom Bereznicki Charitable Educational Foundation and the College of General Dentistry, to deliver high quality education to dental professionals at the very start of their career. Our team in Belgium were delighted to host the first cohort of award winners, and we look forward to meeting the successful 2024/25 candidates in July next year.”

Click the button below for further information about the award and links to guidance for entrants and the entry form.

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Report calls for improved provision of preventative oral healthcare

The College and Haleon have published a report on improving the provision of preventative oral healthcare.

Preventative care is defined as proactive dental care and advice that helps a patient to take action to maintain a healthy mouth, protecting against tooth decay, gum disease and more serious issues such as tooth loss and negative impacts on general health. The new report, The Dental Health Barometer, provides recommendations based on the experience and insight of general dental professionals on how to bridge the gap between intentions and practical delivery.

The underlying research began last year with a survey of 2,000 UK dental patients and over 500 dental professionals which highlighted inconsistencies in the provision of preventative oral healthcare advice. (A poster summarising those findings is available, as is a webinar examining them in more detail). This has since been built upon with rich discussions held with 77 oral health professionals, from all dental team roles, in focus group meetings hosted at eight general dental practices throughout the UK.

The most consistent finding is that oral health professionals seek redesigned NHS contracts to allow for more time and financial support in giving preventative oral care advice. The research also finds that the profession would like to see more resources devoted to providing nationwide preventative oral healthcare education, and a national communications campaign to tackle oral health misinformation.

The report highlights wider societal barriers to improving preventative oral care, such as competing social media narratives around oral health, diet and appearance; the erosion of long-term patient relationships; a continuing professional skew in some practices towards clinical treatments; and a tendency among non-dental health professionals not to deliver basic oral health messages.

Additional recommendations include:

  • Simplifying the government’s Delivering Better Oral Health toolkit to make it more user-friendly, and
  • The creation of a consumer-facing version of the Delivering Better Oral Health toolkit
  • Working with non-dental health professionals such as health visitors and midwives to inform them of the benefits of preventative oral care
  • Greater provision of CPD on the delivery of preventative care
  • Encouraging businesses to provide dental cover to employees
  • Celebrating team members such as dental hygienists in the mainstream media
  • Better use of digital communications such as apps and video streaming platforms

Roshni Karia MCGDent, President of the College, said:

“Our focus groups found that many dentists may feel that they are conducting a lonely battle against entrenched patient habits around oral health care, and doing so within NHS contracts which are unfavourable to providing adequate preventative advice. Our work with Haleon highlights the need to take action to support oral health professionals in a real time of need.”

Bas Vorsteveld, Vice President of Haleon and its General Manager for Great Britain and Ireland, commented:

“With a new Prime Minister in 10 Downing Street, our findings could not come at a more pivotal time for the future of dentistry in the UK. Working alongside the College of General Dentistry, we outline the key opportunities, our jointly developed solutions to safeguard the future of preventative oral care provisions for UK consumers and oral health professionals alike. We welcome the new Labour government’s plan to rescue the UK’s dental sector, but we urge them to go further and make NHS contracts fit for purpose by prioritising prevention. Only by working alongside the profession and industry can the new government make the step-change that UK dentistry clearly needs.”

Haleon, formerly the consumer healthcare division of GlaxoSmithKline, is the manufacturer of well-known oral health products such as Sensodyne, Corsodyl, Aquafresh, Poligrip, Biotene and Parodontax.

The College and Haleon will continue to work together to advocate for improvements in the provision of preventative oral healthcare.

The College and Haleon would like to thank all those College members who volunteered to host a focus group in their practice, and all the members, colleagues and patients who participated in the research.

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Editor sought for Primary Dental Journal

The College is recruiting a new Editor for the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ).

As it approaches its 50th issue, the journal’s longstanding Editor, Professor Igor Blum, will be standing down in 2025, and the College is now seeking a highly accomplished individual to succeed him.

The Editor is the academic lead of the PDJ. They commission individual themes and papers, appoint guest editors, authors and peer reviewers, and act as decision maker in editorial matters, giving final approval of all content and issues. They are also the public face, representative and main spokesperson for the PDJ, helping to ensure that it continues to be seen as a leading journal for primary dental care and that it fulfils its aims as well as those of the College.

The ideal candidate for the role will be a clinically active dental professional who is qualified to consultant level and has experience encompassing primary care, secondary care and academia. A full person specification and role description is available below:

Applications should be made by CV and a covering letter addressing the requirements described in the role profile. This must be received by Friday 18 October 2024, addressed to [email protected]. Interviews will then be held.

There is no fixed term for the role, and it is intended that the successful candidate will be in place by December 2024. Initially this will be as Editor designate to work with the current Editor on the development of journal issues for publication in the second half of 2025.

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College informs NAO investigation

The President of the College, Dr Roshni Karia MCGDent, attended a meeting earlier today to help inform a National Audit Office (NAO) investigation into NHS dentistry.

The NAO’s London office, the Grade II listed former Imperial Airways Empire Terminal

The public spending watchdog, which supports Parliament in holding government to account for its expenditure, is in the process of looking into how the previous government developed its ‘Dental Recovery Plan’ for NHS Dentistry, what progress has been made since the plan was announced, and how the government plans to evaluate and monitor its impact.

The College was among the organisations invited to give evidence on the extent and nature of any involvement of the profession in the development of the dental recovery plan; what opportunities there have been to engage with the ongoing delivery of the plan; and how it assesses the likely impact of specific measures in the plan.

The Dental Recovery Plan, announced in February 2024, set out a range of initiatives, both new and previously-announced, intended to help tackle some of the many longstanding problems facing NHS dental provision in England. These included a Smile For Life programme, a new patient premium, mobile dental vans, the use of private practices to deliver NHS care, a ‘golden hello’ for new graduates, an increase in dental school places, medicines exemptions for dental hygienists and therapists, an increase in the minimum value of a Unit of Dental Activity (UDA), more community water fluoridation, more places and sittings for the Overseas Registration Examination and Licentiate in Dental Surgery, faster entry to the NHS Performers List, provisional registration, and the identification of qualifications from outside the European Economic Area which meet the required standard for GDC registration.

The College was not involved in the development of the Dental Recovery Plan, and following its publication issued a point-by-point response.

An update on the new patient premium, minimum UDA value, ‘golden hellos’ and mobile dental vans was published by NHS England in May. The College continues to engage in discussions around introducing medicines exemptions and expanding community water fluoridation, both of which are longstanding government policy, and has also participated in early discussion of provisional registration.

The NAO is expected to publish its report later this year.

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Retiring this year?

If you are planning to discontinue your GDC registration at the end of the year, you can maintain a link with dentistry by staying a member of the College.

Retired members enjoy the same benefits, rights and privileges of the College as practising members, but enjoy a fee discount of up to 66% from their next renewal.

If you retire as an Associate Fellow or Fellow of the College, or are eligible to upgrade to one of these statuses, you will be eligible to attend our biannual Fellows’ Receptions.

If a Fellow and 65 years of age or older, you will also be eligible to become a Life Fellow of the College for a one-off payment, which the College can treat as a donation (and, with your approval, add to it with Gift Aid).

It is also anticipated that retired members will provide a rich resource of mentors for early career colleagues.

Retired Fellows of CGDent or the former FGDP are also eligible to join the 1992 Circle, which is named to commemorate the formation of the FGDP and gathers informally twice a year before Fellows’ Receptions, at no further cost. This provides the opportunity to maintain some professional standing and status throughout your retirement, and to support the further growth and development of the College – for example, Circle members have recorded the history of the FGDP and spearheaded fundraising to support the College’s application for a Coat of Arms. Circle members also receive information on the events and activities of the Lindsay Society for the History of Dentistry.

Retiring and retired members are invited to contact Sir Nairn Wilson CBE ([email protected]), for further information.

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Education partnership with Dentistry Show London

The College will once again be an education partner at the upcoming Dentistry Show London 2024.

CGDent speakers at Dentistry Show London 2024: Helen Kaney (bottom left), Kaushik Paul (top left), Andrew Gulson (top right) and Sukhvinder Singh Atthi (bottom right). Top centre: representatives at the College exhibition stand

The College will be a partner for the Enhanced CPD Theatre, which will feature 11 lectures over the two-day conference, with experts in their fields sharing their extensive knowledge, and offering practical advice, on an array of important CPD areas. All lectures will be free of charge for both members and non-members of the College. Four of these lectures will be delivered by College representatives:

Medical emergencies

Friday 4 October, 9.15am – 10.00am

Dr Kaushik Paul BDS, MFDS, MJDF, Cert (MOS), Cert (Dental Practice Appraisal), PgCert (Leadership and Management), PgCert (Education), Dip (Con. Sed.), MSc (Oral Surgery), FCGDent, FHEA; accredited Tier 2 Oral Surgery provider and sedation trainer, Clinical Director for MyDentist in the North West.

The Dental Guidance Notes, 2nd edition – what you need to know 

Friday 4 October, 1.15pm – 2.00pm

Andrew Gulson, Principal Radiation Protection Specialist and Dental X-ray Protection Services Technical Manager at the UK Health Security Agency; Specialist Radiation Protection Scientist; certified Radiation Protection Adviser; editor of Guidance Notes for Dental Practitioners on the Safe Use of X-Ray Equipment

Obtaining patient consent: how to protect yourself 

Friday 4 October, 2.15pm – 3.00pm

Dr Helen Kaney BDS, LLB, MBA, FCGDent, FFFLM; dually qualified dentist and solicitor; Dento-Legal Advisor with the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland

Intravenous sedation governance: update for the dental team

Saturday 5 October, 2.15pm – 3.00pm

Dr Sukhvinder Singh Atthi BDS, MFDS, Cert (MOS), Cert (Dental Practice Appraisal), PgCert (Conscious Sedation), PgCert (Leadership and Management), PgCert (Learning & Teaching in Higher Education), Dip. FFGDP(UK), MSc Oral Surgery, MSc Orthodontics, FCGDent, FHEA, ILM; Lecturer in oral surgery, University of Birmingham; Tier II-accredited oral surgeon 

Full details of all the College lectures are available via the above links, and details of the full programme for the Enhanced CPD Theatre and other theatres are available here.

College representatives will also be available throughout the conference at Stand F61 to talk to attendees about all aspects of membership, fellowship and the College’s vision for the profession.

It is not possible to register for any specific lecture in advance, however those wishing to attend will need to register for Dentistry Show London 2024, which is free for all dental professionals. Conference attendees will have access to up to 100 CPD lectures, as well as 180 exhibiting suppliers, and the opportunity to network with 4,000 dentists, practice managers, hygienists and therapists, dental nurses, technicians and laboratory owners.

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