Oosh Devalia took over as president of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) at its Annual Scientific Conference this month.
On 11 and 12 September, BSPD members gathered for a conference on the theme of ‘foundations for the future’ where Shannu Bhatia handed the presidency over to Dr Urshla (Oosh) Devalia, a paediatric dental consultant working at the Eastman Dental Hospital.
Dr Devalia’s opening address set out her vision pushing for whole-person healthcare, including the Mini Mouth Care Matters initiative designed to support practitioners with holistic care for children.
Commenting on the success of the conference, she said: ‘”Foundations for the future” was a strong theme that was brought to life throughout the two days of the conference. We know how important prevention is when it comes to children’s oral health and as I listened to the presentations, I reflected on how determined and creative we must all be to look for every opportunity to protect children’s teeth and gums to ensure that they can smile with confidence in the future.
‘I am passionate about whole-person healthcare and the year ahead will be my opportunity to support Mini Mouth Care Matters (Mini MCM). This programme, to give mandatory training for all healthcare professionals seeing children in their care, has already been expanded to numerous healthcare settings and is endorsed by BSPD and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH).
‘However, I am determined to go further and push for Mini MCM to receive systemwide support and become part of the standard healthcare toolkit. Watch this space!’
Conference highlights
Among the many speakers offering their insights at the conference, highlights included:
- Paula McGowan OBE shared the story of her son, Oliver, who died after reasonable adjustments were not made for his autism in a healthcare setting. She has since developed a training programme to help healthcare professionals care for neurodivergent children and young people
- Abdulaziz Alkandari discussed the role of paediatric dentists in child protection
- The second day focused on the importance of appearance in children’s oral health, with presentations on the topic from Maja Thornton and Susan Parekh.
A number of awards and poster prizes were also awarded as follows:
- Jane Goodman Clinical Governance prize: Lauren Pickles, University of Leeds, ‘Parental referral of paediatric patients to a UK dental hospital: a pilot’
- Research prize (sponsored by Consultants in Paediatric Dentistry Group): Laura Johnston, Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, ‘What are the oral health needs of children with phenylketonuria (PKU)?’
- Clinical Prize (Sponsored by RA Medical): Hiba Al Diwani, Leeds Dental Hospital, ‘Management of a child with hypocalcified amelogenesis imperfecta, defective STIM1 and immunodeficiency-10’
- DCP poster prize: Gemma Wardle, Northumbria Healthcare Trust, ‘Vaccinations alongside paediatric dental general anaesthetic: Establishing a new service in Northumbria’
- Poster prize: Claudia Heggie, University of Leeds, ‘Co-design of a resource to support photobiomodulation adoption in paediatric cancer care’.
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