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DentaltownUK News July 2018

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Dentaltown UK Magazine - News

FGDP logoNew members elected to FGDP board
Two new members have been elected to the board of the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) for the next three years.

Dr Suzanne SykesDr Suzanne Sykes, who works within Community Dental Services in Devon, has been elected to represent the Faculty’s South West division, and Dr Andrew Parashchak, who practises in Wigan and Rochdale, is the new member for the Mersey and North West division.

Qualifying from Cardiff in 2009, Sykes served for seven years as a dentist in the Royal Navy, later working in NHS practice and out-of-hours services in Devon before moving to CDS. She also works for the Care Quality Commission as a specialist adviser on primary dental care inspections, and is studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in Dental Sedation and Pain Management and a Diploma in Special Care Dentistry.

Dr Suzanne Sykes Mr Parashchak completed a BSc in Biomedical Sciences and an MSc in Immunology and Immunogenetics before studying for his BDS at Peninsula Dental School, from where he graduated in 2012. After working as a general dental practitioner within the NHS, he moved into private practice three years ago. He recently bought his own practice in Rochdale, and still works part-time as an associate in Wigan. Last year he completed the FGDP (UK) Diploma in Restorative Dentistry with a view to progressing to an MSc in the near future.

Jonathan Farmer (not pictured) has also been re-elected to represent Trent & East Anglia. Working mainly in general dental practice since 1988, he currently practises in Lincoln, has a special interest in endodontics, and has worked for the salaried dental service. He is a Programme Director for Dental Foundation Training at Health Education England (East Midlands), Dental Practice Advisor for the Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire/North Midlands NHS Area Team, and has previously been a clinical supervisor at Leeds and Sheffield Dental Schools.


Oral health – where do we go from here? 
On 15 March, Johnson & Johnson hosted The OH! Panel at the British Dental Association in London. Chaired by Stephen Hancocks, it brought together eight key opinion leaders in dentistry: Ben Atkins; Julie Deverick; Penny Hodge; Tim Newton; Anthony Roberts; Julie Rosse; Nicola West; and Helen Whelton.

Each was selected for their ability to provide unique insight into how the dental profession can be best supported going forwards, given the current oral health landscape.

A vision was agreed by The Panel as something all dental professionals should work by to help improve patients’ oral health:

‘The ultimate outcome is to improve oral health and therefore systemic health. The vision is that every dental health care professional, upon seeing a patient with gingivitis and / or periodontitis, can and will:

  • Make a diagnosis(es) and communicate the relevance of the condition to the patient.
  • Explore risk factors and modify behaviour for successful outcomes
  • Help every patient who receives the diagnosis(es) to be empowered to improve their oral health for life.’

Julie Deverick commented: ‘I’m excited about the vision in the statement, because it’s something we can all now bring to our Societies and to our profession.’

Johnson & Johnson have an ongoing commitment to the vision statement, and will work with that in mind, ensuring that all professional communications support the concept, to the benefit of the profession and patients.


Dentaid logoFirst Dental Practices Sign Up For 1000 Smiles Appeal
The first dental practices have been signing up for the Together Dental 1000 Smiles Appeal to raise vital funds for dental charities Bridge2Aid and Dentaid.

The charities launched the appeal in a bid to encourage 1000 dental practices and companies to each raise £100. All the money will be shared equally between Bridge2Aid and Dentaid to help the charities provide essential dental treatment and oral health education programmes in some of the poorest and most remote communities in the world.

First to sign up was High Green Dental Practice in Sheffield who got their fundraising off to a great start with a cake sale, raffle and a “Baby McGarry” sweepstake.

This will be followed by a Colour Run in July when the team will run a 5K obstacle course and get covered in colour along the way. All the events have been generously supported by patients, staff at the practice and local businesses.

“We were aware of Dentaid & Bridge2Aid as individual charities, but the 1000 Smiles Campaign gave us the perfect opportunity to support both”, said dentist Gemma McGarry. “£100 does not seem like a lot of money but it can make an enormous difference – for example pay for 40 Cambodian children to attend the Healthy Kids programme which includes dental treatment and oral health education”.

“I hope we can inspire other practices to get involved as it has been fun to get together as a team and come up with fundraising events. So far, we have a bake sale, colour obstacle run, a baby sweepstake and are currently selling raffle tickets”.

Other fantastic 1000 Smiles fundraising ideas include a sponsored hike in the Peak District by Hayers Dental Surgery in Willenhall, the sale of a rocking horse chair by retired dentist Bryan Osborn and a cake bake from Splash Orthodontics in Hove.

“The great thing about this appeal is that dental practices are able to come up with their own fundraising ideas to bring their teams and their communities closer together”, said Dentaid CEO Andy Evans. “It’s brilliant that we already have some dental practices getting behind the appeal and we hope more will be inspired to join and raise £100”.

Chief executive of Bridge2Aid Shaenna Loughnane added: “We’re hoping that this campaign will show how great the UK dental community is. Not only will it allow the work of our 2 charities to continue, but raising this money together will strengthen teams and hopefully allow them to have some fun. There is a lot of need in the world, but together we are stronger, and together we can all pull together to make a difference”.

The Together Dental project is a joint fundraising campaign between Dentaid and Bridge2Aid who will use the funds to expand their dental health projects in communities where there is insufficient access to dental care. By running training programmes, oral health initiatives and supporting dental professionals overseas, the charities help many people to access safe, sustainable dental care.

To sign up for the Together Dental 1000 Smiles Appeal visit togetherdental.org/smiles/ or email info@togetherdental.org.


A Simpler and Automated Way to Switch Plan Provider
Switching dental plan patients from one provider to another is about to become simpler and automated.

New rules and an accreditation scheme for organisations processing third party Direct Debits, means dental plan providers will soon have to utilise the ‘Bulk Change’ process if a practice wishes to switch its plan administration from one provider to another. The Bulk Change process allows for Direct Debits to be transferred automatically ‘in the background’ from one provider to another, without patients having to sign a new Direct Debit instruction, making life simpler and more convenient for everyone involved. Patient Plan Direct is the first plan provider to obtain accreditation under the new rules.

Simon Reynolds, Commercial Director at Patient Plan Direct, comments: “We welcome these changes, which create a competitively fair market and affords practices the freedom of choice to decide which provider to work with, without being put off by a previously cumbersome switching process”.

For more information visit: patientplandirect.co.uk/simpleswitch.

 
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