Missed out on this week’s dental news? No problem, here’s what happened over the past seven days…
NHS dentists in England to receive a 2% pay rise
The Government has announced a 2% uplift in pay for NHS dentists in England from October.
The move comes after the DDRB recommended dentists’ pay should increase by 2%.
Government is proposing an increase of 3% for expenses in general dental practice (except for staffing costs, which will be limited to 2%).
Despite this the BDA argues the rise doesn’t reverse the ‘decade-long real-terms pay cut’ experienced by dentists.
NHS dentistry experiencing a recruitment crisis
Thousands of patients have been unable to see an NHS dentist due to a recruitment crisis.
Mydentist, with more than 650 practices around the UK, admits that it is struggling to fill vacancies in its practices.
This has led to many patients having treatments cancelled at the last minute and having to find another practice.
Mydentist claims 68% of the UK’s dental practices that tried to recruit last year struggled to do so.
New dental contract successfully reduces levels of tooth decay
The programme incentivises dentists to offer comprehensive oral health assessments and self-care plans on top of traditional treatments.
When piloting the programme, practices said:
- 90% of patients experienced reduced or maintained levels of tooth decay
- 80% of patients had reduced or maintained levels of gum disease
- 97% of patients satisfied with the dental care received.
Cereals are fuelling tooth decay and obesity, dentists claim
Analysis of the 13 top selling cereals showed images on cereal boxes depicting servings three times the manufacturers’ recommended portion size.
If children were to eat this quantity they would exceed their daily sugar allowance by 12.5% in one bowl.
The BDA is calling for sweeping changes to food marketing and product formulation to address the issue.
Obesity levels in children reach record highs
Severe obesity levels in children aged 10-11 years old have reached their highest level since records began.
New figures from Public Health England (PHE) show an upward trend of excess weight, obesity and severe obesity in year six children.
There is also a downward trend of underweight children in reception and year six girls.
Public Health England describes the trend as ‘extremely worrying’ and ‘have been decades in the making’.
NHS dentistry in meltdown
Michael Watson has accused NHS dentistry of being in crisis.
He claims there are not enough people working on dentistry at the Department of Health and Social Care.
He believes this is leading to an issue the dental workforce and a lack of funding in NHS dentistry.
HPV vaccine will be offered to boys in England
The HPV vaccine will now be given to boys aged 12 to 13 in England, the Government has announced.
Up to now the vaccine has only been offered to girls in England aged 12 to 13.
The move now brings England’s policy in line with Scotland and Wales.
Pate – professionalism, the ‘normalisation’ of hate speech and the complicity of those who shout loudest online
Khalid Anis gives his thoughts on the recent case of the GDC vs Pate.
He believes people are losing sight of what Gordon Pate actually said.
And that the GDC was absolutely right to take Gordon Pate through the fitness to practise process.
Mini Mouthcare Matters launches to improve paediatric patients’ oral health
The new programme will train nurses, health care assistants and doctors on the importance of children’s oral health.
As part of Mini MCM, paediatric staff will now ask patients, or their parents, when they last saw a dentist and if they have a toothbrush.
Catch up on last week’s news here.
