Mr Sebastian Evans

Next year’s ARF for dentists is £438 and for DCPs £90. John Chope explains how DCPs can avoid the increase and considers some of the factors influencing the amounts that different registrant groups will pay in the future.   How to save £18 per DCP   One of the more contentious debates at the GDC…

Health minister Ben Bradshaw has been heavily criticised for his comments that patients who cannot see a dentist should visit their GP for treatment instead. The minister was speaking on BBC4’s Today programme, in response to a survey conducted by the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, an NHS feedback body. The findings…

This year’s ‘Smile of the Year’ campaign has been launched with the search to find the denture wearer with the best smile in Britain under way. Leading denture companies Steradent and Schottlander are leading the campaign, which recognises the millions of people of all ages in the UK who wear dentures and feel confident and…

Scientists at University College Cork are working on a biodegradable gum that can be digested or worn away by the elements. Elke Arendt, head of the research team, said the gum is based on proteins from cereals rather than synthetic rubber. The project, which started in the spring of this year, involves isolating proteins from…

People who can’t get access to an NHS dentist in England are being forced to go without treatment or even pull out their own teeth, according to a new survey. The survey of 5,212 patients found that 20% of respondents had refused treatment because of high cost and 6% had treated themselves at some point.…

The British Dental Association has welcomed the announcement of £5 million extra capital funding to help dentists in Scotland prepare to meet new guidelines on decontamination that take effect in 2009. The announcement, made by Minister for Public Health Shona Robison at NHS Education Scotland’s annual dental conference in Dunkeld, will see money made available…

Problems in the public dental system are causing services for children and special-needs patients to suffer, according to dentists. The Irish Dental Association is blaming the problems on a failure to properly review the dental scheme for medical card holders. It reports its members have lost faith in the public system and the situation is…

Our series focusing on different career options in dentistry is now well under way. First we looked at careers in the community service and then, the most common pathway, of practice life. We showed you how to choose a practice, what questions to ask at interview and what you should be looking for when you…

Introduction Ceramic veneers were introduced in the late 1930s (Pinkus 1938) but only became widely accepted by the dental profession some 50 years later following the introduction of acid etching and porcelain silanisation. Although the literature contains a variety of recommendations with regard to tooth preparation, luting cement and ceramic material (Sadowsky 2006), the technique…

Are you happy to work within the NHS? There are a number of dentists who are happy having a large list of patients and working on a ‘conveyor belt system’. However, many of us are doing some private dentistry, or looking at seriously converting the practice to private only. There are a number of proven…

Kevin Lewis imagines a world where, heaven forbid, a new contract wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.   The Emperor’s new contract   Once upon a time in a land far, far away, there lived some gentle folk called the Teggie Tubbies who spent their lives looking into the mouths of human people.…

The Dental Defence Union (DDU) has announced the outstanding teachers and trainers who have reached the final of the 2007 DDU Educational Awards. The finalists, selected from a shortlist of nominees, will be competing in three different categories at the award ceremony on Wednesday 7 November at The Caledonian Club, London. The two finalists in…

John Chope considers the next stumbling and uncertain steps towards a reformed GDC.   Jittery GDC plays it safe   Last year it was Scotland so this time it was the turn of Wales to host the September Council meeting. The GDC is now approaching the autumn of its five-year term and this gusty session…

The winners of the Dentistry\.co\.uk Website Awards 2007 have been announced. The inaugural awards, sponsored by Dental Focus Web Design, were introduced to officially recognise excellence in practice website development. The results from the judges are in with each entry having been examined thoroughly. All of the shortlisted websites were marked according to our strict…

Dentists are now carrying out fewer fillings, radiographs and crowns in a typical course of treatment than they did three years ago, suggests a new report. The report, titled Dental Treatment Band Analysis, England 2007 and published by The Information Centre for health and social care (The IC), provides an early indication that the care…

Students are being invited to enter a unique talent show in order to raise awareness for mouth cancer. The Mouth Cancer Foundation is launching a brand new initiative, the Mouth Cancer Voice Awards, which gives students who think they’ve got what it takes to be the next Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue, Peter Kay or Catherine…

Cumbria’s tourist board has announced another attraction to woo visitors – a trip to the dentists. Cumbria Tourism believes it is the first regional tourist board in Britain to have signed up a dental practice into its membership of 2,300 businesses. Now Grange Dental Practice, of Grange-over-Sands, South Cumbria, will be listed among the hotels,…

All dental, medical and surgical healthcare professionals are invited to the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK)’s annual study day, to be held at The Royal College of Surgeons of England in London on 16 November 2007. Sponsored by Denplan, this unique event offers delegates an opportunity to explore the interaction between themselves and the…

The Mouth Cancer Foundation has come a step closer to making sure all patients suffering from the disease have access to a new drug, currently not widely available on the NHS. The drug in question is called Cetuximab and is a new cancer treatment available in Scotland since July 2006, but not England and Wales…