Sebastian Evans

Dyb, Dyb Dyb. Or was it Dob, Dob Dob? Never could remember. But what I do remember was the nerve-tingling excitement of parading a new proficiency badge, especially when it was one that none of the other cubs (or scouts?) had got. I don’t think I ever got my sewing badge, though, so the finished…

A study with a focus on prevention rather than treatment looks set to transform the way in which dentistry is delivered in the NHS. The £1.7 million trial will investigate if a prevention package delivered by dentists in practice can prevent tooth decay in children. The trial will test the cost effectiveness of fluoride varnish…

Ever since the McCarthy report was published last year, dentists have had to keep on their toes, speculating what might become of publicly funded dental care. If truth be told, the writing was on the wall, since the report recommended the abolishment of the PRSI scheme for dental benefits immediately to reduce public sector spending.…

December’s Budget brought with it the body blow of losing PRSI dentistry, and for most of us this will result in a significant drop in income. Hopefully in the two months or so since this happened, the initial shock has worn off and we can begin to plan for a future without it. The need,…

As Dr Stephen Wagner states: ‘What I can tell you is what I have seen. It looks like someone has taken a hammer to these teeth and shattered them’ (Davey, 2005; Broadway Dental News, 2007). You need to treat the whole person, not just the decay. This is a difficult patient to treat, so know…

It is a new year and time to get the new you motivated to achieve all those career and life goals that may have fallen by the wayside in the gloom of last year’s economic climate. As we consider our new year resolutions, let’s ensure our profession is one of our priorities and that we…

A plan to halve the number of smokers in England was announced by the secretary of state for health, Andy Burnham, yesterday. The new strategy – seen by many as ambitious – aims to cut the number of smokers within the population from 21% to 10%. The number of people smoking has fallen by a…

A company providing CPD for dental professionals has teamed up with a dental charity to raise awareness of the problems of oral health in pockets of the globe. DentEd is supporting the efforts of Dentaid to raise awareness of vital dental care in places in the world where it’s lacking.   Dentaid’s chief executive Andy Jong…

Mouth cancer campaigners are calling for the introduction of a new HPV test in Britain which would help diagnose mouth cancer at an early stage. The British Dental Health Foundation – organisers of Mouth Cancer Action Month – has welcomed the screening procedure which detects a virus strongly linked to oral and throat cancer. In…

March sees the first ever National Orthodontic Week aimed at enlightening patients on the importance of straight teeth. It’s the brainchild of the British Orthodontic Society (BOS), the charity which promotes the very best in education, research and care of patients. The campaign has been created to focus attention on the ways the look and…

Dentistry may be among the university courses facing a fees hike if the government follows new advice. Ministers have been advised that they should consider an increase in tuition fees for undergraduates taking courses such as law and medicine. The report suggests that many undergraduates were not opposed to the idea of paying higher fees…

We all have our own individual learning style and, when I went to work for a defence organisation some years ago, I realised that mine was the ‘kitchen towel-style’ – thick, but very absorbent. There was a lot of new information to take on board then, and I recall being instructed in the action to…

Young’s Dental Practice in Snaith, East Yorkshire, has been announced as the Preventive Practice of the Year 2009. Every year, Preventive Dentistry magazine and www.preventivedentistry.co.uk receive countless entries, and it takes a special sort of practice to shine above the rest. This year was no exception. The winning practice had to demonstrate a commitment to…

The number of Brits heading to the dentist has fallen markedly in the last year. A new survey suggests that the proportion of people who say they attend every six months has dropped from three in five, to barely two in five people in just one year (59% to 43%). The statistics also show that…

2009 was a turbulent year for the financial world on many levels. Economic forecasts, banking regulation and interest rates dominated our headlines. Last year also saw the introduction of a number of important financial changes that will impact on some of us at a more personal level. We will review some of these changes and…