Tag: Standards & Guidance

‘Preventing antimicrobial resistance together’ is the theme of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) 2022. Held annually from 18-24 November, WAAW is led by the World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership this year with the World Organisation for Animal Health, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the UN Environment Programme.

The World Health Organization has declared antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity, requiring urgent multisectoral action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Members of the wider oral healthcare community, including decision makers and those with influence in governmental, non-governmental, academic and regulatory domains, must therefore consider their impact on AMR as a critical part of the sustainability agenda.

During WAAW 2022, the College of General Dentistry, Association of Clinical Oral Microbiologists and Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, are highlighting the importance of working together to tackle AMR, supported by the Association of Dental Hospitals, British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, British Association of Dental Nurses, British Association of Dental Therapists, British Association of Oral Surgeons, British Association of Private Dentistry, British Dental  Association, British Endodontic Society, British and Irish Society of Oral Medicine, British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy, British Society of Periodontology and Implant Dentistry, the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

“Everyone delivering and supporting oral healthcare has a role to play.”

They are reminding all those who deliver or support the delivery of oral healthcare that they have a role to play –working together, dental teams can identify service improvements and help keep antimicrobials working by auditing their prescribing practices, and the wider oral health community can reduce the need for prescribing of antibiotics by ensuring access to the right oral healthcare, at the right time and in the right place.

The organisations are encouraging dental teams to use a number of free resources to ensure that antimicrobials are used only when strictly necessary and appropriate:

• Guidelines for antimicrobial prescribing in dentistry: https://cgdent.uk/standards-guidance, https://www.sdcep.org.uk/published-guidance/drug-prescribing/, https://bnf.nice.org.uk
• CPD for prescribers: https://www.baos.org.uk/elearning/
• Free course for the wider team: http://www.futurelearn.com/courses/tackling-antibiotic-resistance-dentists

They are also highlighting the Dental Antimicrobial Stewardship Toolkit (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/dental-antimicrobial-stewardship-toolkit), which provides links to a range of guidance, training, audit and patient-facing resources (including those above) which will be useful for all members of the dental team, including but not limited to prescribers.

The College has endorsed the menopause policy and advice recently published by the British Association of Dental Nurses (BADN).

In the UK, 99% of dental nurses, 96% of orthodontic therapists, 94% of dental hygienists,  92% of dental therapists, 52% of dentists and 27% of dental technicians are female – 78% of the regulated dental profession as a whole – and the policy outlines the challenges faced by menopausal women in the workplace and suggests ways in which employers can support menopausal employees. 

The Association is asking dental practices, laboratories and clinics to adopt the policy and implement it in their workplace, and is asking dental organisations to support it by encouraging its widespread adoption.

The College of General Dentistry, membership of which is open to all dental and oral health professionals, is the first organisation representing dentists to do so. The College is the independent professional body into which the Faculty of General Dental Practice transferred last year, and is the UK’s only medical college run by and for oral health professionals.

Abhi Pal, President of the College of General Dentistry, said:

“The BADN’s Menopause Policy is important, practical and succinct advice which helps dental professionals to better understand the menopause, to appreciate relevant employment law, and to implement a menopause policy in their practice.

Making appropriate adjustments for staff affected by the menopause is both a moral duty enabling committed and experienced colleagues to remain in valuable employment, and a legal duty not to discriminate on the grounds of gender, age or disability. Supportive dental practices and understanding employers will also find they benefit in return from improved staff retention and reduced sickness absence.

On behalf of the College, I congratulate the BADN on its publication, and am pleased to endorse it.”

The policy is also supported by the British Society of Hygiene and Therapy (BSDHT), the British Association of Dental Therapists (BADT), the British Dental Industry Association (BDIA), the Dental Laboratories Association (DLA), the Dental Technologists’ Association (DTA), the Orthodontic National Group (ONG), and the British Veterinary Nurses’ Association (BVNA).

The publication is available on the BADN website here. 

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