College of General Dentistry News

Winner of our Wales student prize announced

Emyr Meek, a recent graduate from Cardiff University School of Dentistry, is the winner of the inaugural Art & Science of Dentistry Prize from the College and the Dental Society of Wales – Y Gymdeithas Ddeintyddol. The prize is for dental students in Wales, and Emyr’s submission is a poster about contract reform in Wales.

Emyr Meek
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College of General Dentistry News

College of General Dentistry endorses FGDP(UK) and PHE revised guidance on radiation protection

The second edition of Guidance Notes for Dental Practitioners on the Safe use of X-ray Equipment sets standards of good practice for the safe use of X-ray equipment in dental practice.

The guidance is freely available on the FGDP website, where hard copies are also available to purchase from the online shop, and FGDP members based in the UK will shortly be receiving a complimentary hard copy.

Presenting definitive, detailed and comprehensive recommendations in a logically ordered and intelligible format, Guidance Notes for Dental Practitioners on the Safe use of X-ray Equipment, 2nd Edition is designed as a reference for the whole primary care dental team.

The guidance covers both administrative and practical matters, taking into account developments in dental X-ray equipment, imaging technology and legislation since the first edition, which was published in 2001 by the National Radiological Protection Board (now part of PHE’s Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards).

It was produced by a working party led by Public Health England and consisting of regulatory bodies, professional bodies representing dentistry and radiation protection, consultant dental radiologists and general dental practitioners.

The new publication includes:

  • Existing guidance on dental cone-beam CT (CBCT), hand-held dental X-ray equipment and digital imaging systems
  • Updated guidance on:
    • Radiation controlled areas
    • The training of referrers, practitioners and operators with respect to dental CBCT
    • Acceptance, commissioning and routine radiation safety tests for all dental X-ray equipment and the recommended intervals (extended to every three years for most dental CBCT equipment) between routine tests
    • A simplified system for image quality rating and analysis
    • A simplified approach to quality assurance of digital imaging systems and viewing screens
  • New guidance with respect to the requirements:
    • For dental practices to register with the HSE (or HSENI)
    • To investigate the circumstances when contingency plans are activated, and on the need to rehearse contingency plans
    • To monitor radiation levels at the boundaries of controlled areas
    • To assess doses to persons who need to enter controlled areas
    • For employers to co-operate when employees work with dental X-ray equipment on another employer’s premises, including arrangements for the formal handover of responsibility
    • Regarding what should be expected of service engineers who undertake the installation, testing and servicing of dental X-ray equipment
    • When disposing of or selling-on X-ray equipment
    • For record retention
  • Detailed practical guidance on how to achieve the optimisation of patient dose
  • Template documents, including a radiation risk assessment and the employer’s procedures relevant to dentistry

The guidance supports compliance with the Ionising Radiations Regulations 2017 (IRR17) and the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations 2017 (IRMER17), but does not impose any requirements on employers beyond those required by legislation.

Ian Mills, Dean of FGDP(UK) and Trustee of the College of General Dentistry, said:

“The core function of the FGDP is to raise the standards of care delivered to patients through education of the dental profession and the provision of evidence-based guidance, and we have been delighted to work with Public Health England to publish a second edition of the Guidance Notes for Dental Practitioners on the Safe Use of X-ray Equipment. For almost two decades, this has been an important text in setting standards for the safe use of X-ray equipment in dental practices, and this updated edition will undoubtedly continue to be a key reference document for the whole primary care dental team.

“We are grateful to PHE and the many contributors who have spent considerable time and effort ensuring that it is informative, accessible and highly relevant, and are indebted in particular to Dr Keith Horner FFGDP(UK)(Hon.), whose analysis of the revised regulations three years ago was the catalyst for this project, and who has been involved throughout as the Faculty’s representative on the working group.”

College of General Dentistry News

New Ambassadors appointed by the College of General Dentistry

The College of General Dentistry is delighted to announce the appointment of two new Ambassadors – Dr Wendy Thompson and Dr Yewande Oduwole.

Those Ambassadors of the College who are dental healthcare professionals are drawn from across the spectrum of dentistry. They support the mission and vision of the College and encourage inclusive professional engagement in the development of the College.  Ambassadors help the College promote dentistry as an important element of general healthcare and wellbeing. Ambassadors support the College’s mission to promote life-long, preventatively orientated, minimum intervention, personalised, holistic dental care. 

More Ambassadors will be appointed in the coming months as the College works towards its historic, formal launch, rescheduled for early 2021, COVID restrictions permitting.

Chair of the College Board of Trustees, Professor Nairn Wilson, said: “I am delighted that both Wendy and Yewande have accepted the invitation to become Ambassadors for the College. With their help and support, it is hoped to engage many more early career members of the dental team in the further development of the College, which, as key elements of its mission, aims to provide all dental healthcare professionals with new leadership and much-needed career pathways. The Board of Trustees looks forward to working with Wendy and Yewande in realising the College goal of being valued by a large diverse, inclusive membership.”

Commenting on her appointment Wendy Thompson said: “The College of General Dentistry is a fantastic opportunity for the dental profession to come together. Together we can speak with one voice for the benefit of patients and dentistry. It is a huge honour to become an Ambassador at this exciting moment in the history of UK dentistry. I look forward to supporting the College as it works towards putting oral health at the heart of the nation’s health.”

Yewande Oduwole said: “I am incredibly honoured to become an Ambassador for the College of General Dentistry. It is paramount that young dental professionals like me have an independent college that focuses on providing us with much-needed leadership and support throughout our careers. This of great importance to the further development of postgraduate training and to the  provision of integrated, holistic team care to meet patients’ needs and expectations.”

Wendy Thompson PhD MFGDP(UK)

Wendy is a National Institute for Health Research Clinical Lecturer in Primary Dental Care at the University of Manchester. She is a general dental practitioner, practising in Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria. Wendy is an honorary consultant to the Office of the Chief Dental Officer (England) and advisor to the FDI World Dental Federation on tackling antibiotic resistance.

As a special advisor to National Institute for Health & Care Excellence (NICE), Wendy has been involved with guideline and quality standard development on antimicrobial stewardship and shared decision making. She is co-chair of the Society for Academic Primary Dental Care’s special interest group on academic primary dental care, a member of the British Dental Association’s Health & Science Committee, a Council member of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy and a member of the British National Formulary’s Dental Advisory Group.

Wendy is passionate about equality and diversity across the profession.

Yewande Oduwole BDS

Yewande graduated as a dentist from Peninsula Dental School and is currently completing her Dental Foundation Training.

She was the winner of the 2020 FGDP (UK) Dental Student of the Year Award, which she received for her demonstrable passion for oral health and dentistry. This includes mentoring prospective dental students and the online delivery of oral health advice to the public through her YouTube channel.

Yewande enjoys engaging in community outreach, focusing on oral health promotion in both schools and in her local community. She received a student scholarship from the Afro-Caribbean Dental Association in her third year of dental school. This then led to her embarking on a project in Ghana to provide free dental care and oral health education to communities, schools and orphanages. She has contributed to various articles for Dentistry.co.uk and Young  Dentist Magazine and been a guest on online podcasts.

Yewande has been a student representative for various dental organisations, including the British Dental Association (BDA), British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (BACD), African & Caribbean Dental Association (ACDA-UK) and is currently an Editorial Board Advisory Member for Dentistry Online and a part of the FDGP (UK)/ College of General Dentistry Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Programme Board.