Sebastian Evans

We all know that the GDC (General Dental Council) is here to protect the public from errant dental professionals, but how well does it work? Certainly the report from its own regulator, the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), wasn’t glowing. The GDC is a strange organisation, it takes money from the dental profession in order to regulate…

Emotional energy A key to managing a busy and stressful life is having control over the emotional energy button: knowing when to turn up the focus and just as important, when to shut some things out. Right now my own stress levels are through the roof through a lot of big problems demanding mostly emotional…

Practice Plan has developed a comprehensive and easy-to-use resource library that is packed with articles, hints, tips and advice designed specifically to help you tackle the issues affecting the practice you work in and provide education in the areas you need – all for free. The information is easy to access too. All articles are…

During a commons debate, Jane Ellison faced warnings that the number of head and neck cancers – including of the mouth, lips and salivary glands – was approaching an 'epidemic'. There is growing criticism that a national vaccination programme for the human papillomavirus (HPV) – for girls only, to prevent cervical cancer – is failing to…

The pelvic region is under pressure in all work that is undertaken while primarily sitting. This is also the case for dental care, where the work is mostly done seated, often in awkward and static postures (Wunderlich et al, 2010). The associated musculoskeletal problems, particularly in neck, shoulders and lower back, have been well recognised…

The awards allow dental professionals to self-nominate or refer a colleague, team, practice or laboratory, if they believe they deserve acknowledgement for their efforts within the workforce. The awards are judged by individuals in alignment with their expertise to ensure that the process is carried out fairly and professionally. Entries are assessed by judges anonymously…

Since the General Dental Council (GDC) announced a ‘consultation’ into a proposed rise in the annual retention fee of 64%, thousands of words have been written all across the dental media. For me though, two sentences encapsulate what is wrong with the GDC. They were spoken by its chairman, Bill Moyes, a month ago, when…

Practice manager Donna Brown tells how, in the space of only 12 months, Cwmdulais Dental Centre has moved seamlessly from paper-based to paperless with Exact. ‘When I first joined the practice it was almost entirely paper-based, and although at the time the team was working with recently upgraded computerised practice management software, it was not…

I know that many of you are deeply unhappy with the GDC’s (General Dental Council's) proposal to increase its annual registration fee (ARF) for dentists and DCPs (dental care professionals). I and my colleagues on the council take seriously the concerns being expressed, which is why I want to make sure we have set out…

Can you describe your current perception of the UK implant market? At the moment we are basing a lot of our local strategies on the feedback coming from our customers in the market. This feedback is telling us that the market as a whole is more competitive; patients are more cash sensitive; and there is…

Have you noticed that people do not listen. The government does not listen, the BDA does not listen, the GDC does not listen – why? My father always says: 'You were given one mouth and two ears son…use them in that ratio', but I ignored that – joke. Experts say that 80% of communication is…

Its structure and functions Since 2000 the GDC (General Dental Council) has changed out of recognition. Back then most of its 50 members were dentists, of whom 18 were elected by the profession. Since 2013 it has only 12 members, of which 12 are lay people. It is headed for the first time by someone…

The Chartered Institute of Public Relations says this about reputation management: ‘With increased access to information, everyone is an expert and a cynic: no one takes what you say at face value. Saying you provide the best service or product, or you are a good employer or partner, isn’t enough. ‘People are going to ask…

Never has such a weight of opinion and support in the recent condemnation of the GDC (General Dental Council) been seen in the profession. The uniting of the profession behind a common cause, bringing all registrants together in their criticism of a regulator that has been acting disproportionately and unjustly against those trying their best…

These competitively priced brushes allow dentists and consumers to do a good deed every time they sell or buy a brush. For each Good Deed brush sold, a brush will be given to a child somewhere who has no access to a toothbrush normally. Good Deed is aiming to give 3 million toothbrushes to children…

With today’s consumer expecting the convenience of booking anything and everything online, the pressure is on dental practices to target these consumers and grow the patient base in an effective way, without adding to the administrative burden. It’s clear that reliance on traditional dental practice booking channels have experienced consistent declines over the past few…