Mike Gow: Dentistry and Brexit by Mike Gow BDS (Gla) MFDS RCPS (Gla) MSc Hyp (Lon) PGCert (Edin), Editor, DentaltownUK magazine

by Mike Gow BDS (Gla) MFDS RCPS (Gla) MSc Hyp (Lon) PGCert (Edin), Editor, DentaltownUK magazine

At the time I wrote this article, the forceps were poised and ready to extract the UK from the European Union. Some would argue that there was a lack of fully informed consent, that the information given to us by those with the experience and knowledge was unsatisfactory—or indeed worse than this, that it was incorrect—and as such an informed decision was not actually made for this procedure.

It is too late for that now, however, because the procedure is already under way. The extraction will take place. The main issue now is not about the informed consent—however, we should indeed investigate this in the future—but about how the procedure will take place and the aftercare. Once the UK has been removed, what plans are in place for the immediate care, what are the postoperative instructions and what options do we have moving forward? There have been two years to develop these and to ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible, yet we are weeks away from it happening and things seem to remain very unsettled politically. There are many reasons for this, and I believe that among those are the individual political agendas of each party. Rather than working together for the benefit of the people of the UK, there seems to have been little that the parties have found to agree on.

At the time of writing this, the Parliamentary votes have just taken place to reject ‘Theresa May’s deal’ but that the government have the confidence of Parliament (by a narrow margin).

So, should we to be worried? If so, what should we be worried about? What are the implications for dentistry of everything that is going on and that might happen? Will we have issues with recruitment and employment? Will there be any issues importing dental materials and equipment from Europe? Should we be stockpiling? In this edition of DentaltownUK, we asked the dental profession for their opinions about any concerns or reasons to feel optimistic.

I also recently met with Brian Whittle MSP and talked with him about dentistry and Brexit. You can watch the full interview here.

I also took the opportunity to talk to him about the health of dentistry (looking at how dentists might improve their own health) and prevention (the importance of prevention in dentistry and what more could be done by politicians and the dental profession). These can be found as two separate short interviews.

Brexit is like a divorce in many ways. Professionally, I have already been aware of regret and even some negativity from European colleagues toward the UK over its decision to leave. Of course, no one wants to be left by their partner and it understandably stirs up emotions and resentment. Usually after these emotions have settled down and the logistics are worked out, it is possible to move forward.

I suspect that we may have to endure some ongoing complications for quite a while with regard to trade, employment and law. Sadly, we may even also drop a couple of places in the Eurovision song contest. Last year we came 24th out of 26, so that doesn’t bode too well for our aspirations in this arena!

Whatever happens in the coming months, I do believe that ultimately things will be OK. The UK has a history of being resilient and able to cope with change. Once the procedure is over, the healing process can begin. And we will heal.

Mike Gow BDS (Gla) MFDS RCPS (Gla) MSc Hyp (Lon) PGCert (Edin), Editor, DentaltownUK magazine