Mr Sebastian Evans

I was recently privileged to attend a team meeting at Elmsleigh House Dental Clinic in Farnham, Surrey – the principal is a good friend Dr Tim Thackrah. Tim and I have known each other for six years and, in that time, I have seen him grow the clinic into a £2.5 million specialist referral centre…

Q. How did you get where you are today? A. I arrived in the US as a refugee from the Vietnam war. After living in New York for a short period, I moved to Australia to reunite with my family. The land of Down Under was very kind to me, I was trained as a…

Times are changing, especially if you are considering a career in oral surgery. Since this area of dentistry became a specialty in 2007, a lot has been going on behind the scenes, including developing appropriate training pathways for potential specialists. Oral surgery has always been a career option that has appealed to young dentists; it…

We dental professionals acknowledge that oral health is an important aspect of general health and well-being. Oral diseases are readily preventable but we face many challenges in creating opportunities and conditions for change. Clinical techniques in dentistry have advanced to make dental treatment more effective but treatment approaches alone will never eradicate oral diseases. Thus…

Britain’s leading oral health charity has called for a UK-wide ban on sales of fizzy drinks and sugary snacks on healthcare and education premises. The British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) applauds NHS Tayside’s recent announcement that it will stop stocking unhealthy drinks in vending machines and canteens, and calls for similar schemes to be rolled…

Many of you are now well aware that as part of my VT scheme I divide my time between general dental practice and the HSE, where I mainly treat patients under the age of 16. Within the HSE, one of the many challenges I have repeatedly faced over the last few months is dealing with…

Patients who miss their dental appointments would face a £10 penalty charge under plans being considered by the Liberal Democrats. Norman Lamb, the party’s shadow health secretary, told the Lib Dem autumn conference in Bournemouth last month that the ‘persistent’ failure of a minority of people to attend appointments was a form of ‘irresponsible behaviour…

The first students to become qualified orthodontic therapists have graduated from the University Hospital’s Bristol NHS Foundation Trust’s Bristol Dental Hospital. Orthodontic therapists are the newest group of dental care professionals (DCPs) created by the General Dental Council (GDC). They can assist dentists in carrying out orthodontic treatment and provide some treatment themselves. Six students…

Lack of training is the main reason why so few dentists offer dental implants, according to new research released today. A little over one in three UK dentists carry out implants, with 64.5% of dentists who don’t offer this service claiming it’s because they don’t have the necessary skills or training. This is followed by…

A leading dental chain claims it has room to treat NHS patients, despite the current controversy raging over long waiting lists. Oasis Dental Care says 7,095 NHS appointment slots went spare across its practices last month and has about 7,500 spare NHS places this month (October). Oasis has 150 dental practices throughout England and Wales.…

The Government has bowed to Parliamentary critics by accepting key findingsof a damning report into the NHS dental contract. The Department of Health, responding to a report by the Commons health select committee, said it agreed with the committee’s view that ‘progress on improving access has been disappointing to date’. It said: ‘We take very…

Dentists are urgently needed to check and fix the teeth of the capital’s homeless this Christmas. The check ups will be a part of the medical services on offer to London’s homeless people, many of whom may not have access to professional dental care for some time. Crisis Christmas is running from 23-30 December and…

Feedback from dental professionals confused over guidance regarding non-surgical cosmetic procedures (NSCP) has prompted a promise by the General Dental Council (GDC) to clarify the position as soon as possible. The GDC’s Standards Committee aims to have the final guidance details available later this year.Duncan Rudkin, Chief Executive and Registrar of the General Dental Council,…

The British Dental Trade Association (BDTA) found its Recipe for Success, announcing this year’s Showcase as a record-breaker. An unbeatable 13,000 visitors attended the three-day dental fest at London’s ExCeL in the heart of Docklands, with 327 companies and organisations exhibiting the latest dental products, technologies and service. It makes Dental Showcase 2008 the biggest…

Have you ever noticed how there never seems to be enough of the three resources?On 1 October 2008, I ended 22 years of self-employment and have been reflecting on my time as a ‘solopreneur’.There has never been a moment during those 8,000-odd days that I haven’t bemoaned the fact that:• I never had enough money…

The General Dental Council opened its new Specialist List in special care dentistry last week. Special care dentistry is concerned with improving the oral health of individuals and groups in society who have a physical, sensory, intellectual, mental, medical, emotional or social impairment or disability or, more often, a combination of a number of these.…