DT UK 2609

framework established for Steele recommendations / News / News & Opinions / A hair/money raising event / The 10th Dimension… the power of 10 / Company Promotion / Clearing your finances / Get out of your comfort zone / A cut above: using lasers / Planning makes perfect / Dental Protection looks at the risk factors associated with composite materials / Revisiting our protocol / Dental professionals on a mission / Industry News / Blowing your own trumpet

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Table of contents

October 26-November 1 2009

PUBLISHED IN LONDON
News in Brief

News

News

VOL. 3 NO. 26

Money Matters

Events

X-Factor Rating
A dentist, who gave a lecture
at Smile-on’s Clinical Innovations conference earlier
this year, was given the job of
whitening the teeth of X-Factor
panellist, Cheryl Cole and the
other members of pop group,
Girls Aloud.
Dr Wyman Chan whitened the
group’s teeth at The Smile Studio in London’s West End, after
which he provided them with
Sonicare toothbrushes and replacement brush heads.
A British Association of Cosme
tic Dentistry survey has revea
led that 10 per cent of respon
dents rank Simon Cowell’s
smile as second to none. The
X-Factor impresario advoca
tes that co-stars and protégés
have their teeth sorted before
they go before the cameras.
As the X-Factor finalists are
re-styled en route to stardom,
the winners will be offered
FlexCare toothbrushes.

Dr Koray Feran
Dr Koray Feran has been elected unopposed as the Association of Dental Implantology’s
(ADI) committee representative for London until 2011.
He said: “I am delighted to add
ADI committee representative
for London to my posts and
look forward to supporting
my peers and improving the
standards of implant dentistry
through continued education,
as well as encouraging scientific research.”
Dr Feran’s other roles include
section editor on Implant Dentistry Today, and guest lectureships on aspects of Implantology in the UK and abroad.

Practice Makes Perfect
Customers of Practice Plan,
are helping man its stand at
this year’s Dental Showcase.
Nigel Jones, sales and marketing director, said: “We are
fortunate to have such a great
bunch of customers and some
of them have volunteered their
time to explain to visitors how
we support them in their practice. They will tell you how
the personalised support and
additional services we offer
make it easier for them to run
their business, plan for their
future and take their practice
where they want it to go.”
Practice Plan is even transforming its stand into a cocktail lounge.

Winning smiles

Practice opening

Financial clearing

On a mission

A dentist from Washington has
won the 2009 FDI & Wrigley
Photographic Award

New practice opening in Maidstone draws large NHS crowd

Ray Prince highlights 10 key
questions to ask as you consider
your finances

Barbara Koffman reports on her
experiences in Uganda bringing
dental relief to the country

page2

page 4

page 14-15

page 24-25

framework established for
Steele recommendations

T

he framework for implementing the recommendations of the Steele
review into NHS dentistry has
been established by the Department of Health (DoH).
According to the implementation structure, there will be five
work streams that the Programme
Board will be looking into:
•
•
•
•

•

Pathway, Quality &
Workforce Development
Commissioning Development &Business Support
Contract Pilots and
Evaluation
Communications, Patient
Empowerment &
Information
Finance

Stakeholders from across the
profession have been invited to
participate across the streams,
including SHAs/PCTs, Clinicians
(including Dentists and DCPs),
Deaneries, NHS Choices/Direct,
DoH, Patient Groups etc

One group who has extended
their support across the board
is the British Dental Association
(BDA). The BDA has committed
members of its GDPC (General
Dental Practitioners’ Committee) to be involved in each of the
work streams.

Constructive
engagement
Commenting on the news,
GDPC chair John Milne said:
“When I was first elected I believed the best chance we had of
improving the situation for NHS
dentists was by more constructive engagement with the Department of Health. With this in
mind we have worked hard over
the last few months to achieve
this.
“I was personally delighted at
the recent GDPC meeting where
we agreed to endorse the committee’s engagement in taking
forward the Steele recommendations.”
Dr Milne added: “There is a

www.dental-tribune.co.uk
The diagram sets out the implementation structure for the Steele Review

huge amount of work to be done.
We need to rebuild some trust
between the groups involved in
NHS dentistry and have the courage to grasp the opportunities the
Steele review has presented us
with to improve dental services.
“There are five main work
streams and there will be an
executive Committee member
on each of them. We have also
committed to bringing another

GDPC member to each of the
work streams and will provide
deputies as well if needed.”
Lead author of the review,
Prof Jimmy Steele, said: “Clearly,
I am delighted to see that, even
in difficult financial times, there
seems to be a commitment to
maintain the momentum of the
review, and the Health Select
Committee report which preceded it. DT

[2] =>

2 News

United Kingdom Edition

October 26-November 1, 2009

Winning image for a winning smile
A
dentist from Washington in the US has won
an all-expenses paid trip
to next year’s FDI World Dental
Congress in Salvador da Bahia,
Brazil, thanks to a picture!
The FDI World Dental Federation, in partnership with the
Wrigley Company ran the 2009
FDI & Wrigley Photographic
Award to find out what makes
dental care professionals smile.
The grand prize/overall winner of the 2009 FDI & Wrigley
Photographic Award was from
the United States in the North
America region. The winner,
Richard from Tacoma, Washington, received the Brazil trip
and, as the North America regional winner, he also received
the regional prizes of a $1,000US
voucher for photographic equipment, a one-year subscription to
the International Dental Journal,
and a year’s supply of Wrigley
chewing gum.
Dental professionals from 63
counties around the world submitted photographs during the
2009 competition which ran from
March 16 – July 8. A variety of
entries were received, including

funny family photos, landscapes,
friends having fun, animals, and
candid shots of individuals. All of
the photographs were reviewed
by a panel of judges for creativity in addressing “what makes
you smile,” and six regional winners and one grand prize winner
were selected.
The other five regional winners of the 2009 FDI & Wrigley
Photographic Award were:
•
Africa region: Sandy from
Gauteng, South Africa
•
Asia-Oceania region: Pujan
from Singapore
•
Europe region: Jan Eric from
Altstatten SG, Switzerland
•
Latin
America
region:
Gunther from Cartago, Costa Rica
•
Middle East region: Neda
from Tehran, Iran
Each regional winner has
also received the same regional
prizes noted above.
In addition, WOHP (Wrigley
Oral Healthcare Progammes) is
donating $25,000US total to the
FDI’s World Dental Development Fund (WDDF), which supports oral health education and
projects worldwide. DT

Report highlights commissioning
dental services challenges
A

number of challenges for
local commissioning of
dental services must be
addressed, according to the results of a survey released today.
Alongside the survey is a practical guide to dental commissioning, produced by an independent
working group led by Professor
Chris Drinkwater of the NHS Alliance, to help primary care organisations to meet those challenges.

The survey, which quizzed
both commissioning leads and
Local Dental Committee secretaries, found that 60 per cent
of commissioners said that the
national contract did not allow
sufficient flexibility to meet local oral health needs, with 77 per
cent of LDC secretaries agreeing. Less than a third of dental
leads (29 per cent) agreed they
received contracting assistance
or advice from their strategic
health authority and 27 per cent
said they did not have the resources to develop changes to
the national contract.
How long primary care trust
and local health board commissioning staff had been in post

was also investigated. More than
a quarter (26 per cent) of the
primary care organisation dental leads questioned had been
in their role for less than a full
year, with an average tenure of
3.4 years.
But despite concerns about
the constraints placed on commissioners by the national contract, the survey found very
positive attitudes towards liaison
between practitioners and commissioners. Eighty-seven per
cent of dental leads and 85 per
cent of LDC secretaries felt the
regular contact they had with one
another was helpful. Consensus
about priorities for dentistry was
also obvious with access for new
patients the most commonly cited for both groups.
Building on these findings,
the Local Commissioning Working Group Report maps the
commissioning cycle from start
to finish, and provides practical guidance, tips and ideas for
commissioning general dental
services. It also sets each stage
of the commissioning cycle in
the context of the World Class
Commissioning framework, ex-

plaining how competencies can
be achieved and exceeded. The
report is available at: www.bda.
org.

Launching the report, Professor Drinkwater said: “The research underpinning this report
has presented some excellent examples of innovation on the part
of commissioning teams around
the country, but it has also demonstrated room for improvement
in others. Drawing on examples
of best practice and building on
the World Class Commissioning

competencies framework, this
report has a clear focus on quality. We hope that it will be a valuable tool for both new and experienced commissioners, helping
to achieve local oral health improvements and reduce inequalities.”
Dr Susie Sanderson, Chair
of the BDA’s Executive Board,
welcomed its publication: “Effective local commissioning is
essential to meeting the needs
of local populations. This report
provides a really good resource

for commissioners, that encourages excellence in the delivery of
primary dental care. Importantly, in developing the work Professor Drinkwater has engaged
with Professor Jimmy Steele, author of the review of NHS dental
services published in the summer, to ensure that the two pieces of work are complementary.
What’s important now is that
Government, dentists and the
commissioners of care, work
together constructively to improve the delivery of care to
patients.” DT

International Imprint
Executive Vice President
Marketing & Sales

Peter Witteczek
p.witteczek@dental-tribune.com
Chairman
Torsten Oemus
t.oemus@dental-tribune.com

Published by Dental Tribune UK Ltd
© 2009, Dental Tribune UK Ltd. All rights reserved.
Dental Tribune UK Ltd makes every effort to report clinical
information and manufacturer’s product news accurately, but
cannot assume responsibility for the validity of product claims,
or for typographical errors. The publishers also do not assume
responsibility for product names or claims, or statements made
by advertisers. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and
may not reflect those of Dental Tribune International.

Managing Director
Mash Seriki
Mash@dentaltribuneuk.com
Editor
Lisa Townshend
Tel.: 020 7400 8979
Lisa@dentaltribuneuk.com
Director
Noam Tamir
Noam@dentaltribuneuk.com

Advertising Director
Joe Aspis
Tel.: 020 7400 8969
Joe@dentaltribuneuk.com
Marketing Manager
Laura McKenzie
Laura@dentaltribuneuk.com

Dental Tribune UK Ltd

4th Floor, Treasure House
19–21 Hatton Garden
London, EC1N 8BA

[3] =>

United Kingdom Edition

News 3

October 26-November 1, 2009

Editorial comment

‘

I attended the launch of
the BDA’s Local Commissioning Working Group
report last week, and it
was great to see a BDA
report that wasn’t overtly negative in its tone towards the new
contract and the framework for
local commissioning. That’s not

This is also highlighted in
too say it carpeted over the very
the
high level of involvement in
real issues that exist regarding
the programme board for implelocal commissioning and the
mentation of the Steel review.
varying degrees of difficulty for
John Milne, the chair of the
commissioners and clinicians
General Dental Practice Comacross the country; rather there
mittee at the BDA, is very exwas a real sense of ‘let’s get incited by the challenges ahead
volved and make a difference for
for those
everyone Interdental
concerned’.
Ad.pdf
1
13/10/2009
16:08 involved in the im-

‘

Air of Steeley optimism

plementation of Prof Steele’s
recommendations, and it will
be interesting to watch the developments over the next few
months (and years!) to
see how they impact on
NHS dentistry for dental professionals, PCTs
and patients. DT

Do you have an opinion or
something to say on any Dental
Tribune UK article? Or would you
like to write your own opinion for
our guest comment page?

If so don’t hesitate to write to:
The Editor,
Dental Tribune UK Ltd, 4th Floor,
Treasure House, 19-21 Hatton
Garden, London, EC1 8BA
Or email:
lisa@dentaltribuneuk.com

Greener
dental
magazine
relaunch

T

he British Dental Practice Managers’ Association (BDPMA) has gone a
shade greener with the re-launch
of its quarterly magazine.
The publication, which has
been re-named Practice Focus, is
now printed on the Isle of Wight
by Crossprint Ltd on 50 per cent
recycled paper using vegetable
based inks.
It has the same format and
number of pages as the previous
magazine, with a varied selection of articles and features of
interest to practice managers,
contributed by industry experts
and BDPMA members.
C

BDPMA chairman, Amelia
Bray, said: “We were already
fairly kind to the environment
because most of our communication is by e-mail and we
hold team meetings via conference calls. However, our
magazine was something we
needed to look at. I’m pleased to
say that as an indirect benefit of
going green, we actually saved
money yet enhanced the look of
the magazine.”
M

NEW innovative design delivers

high cleaning performance
• Easy and intuitive handling
to encourage patient
compliance

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

The autumn issue of Practice
Focus, which was recently distributed to BDPMA members,
includes features on team development, website design, how
to obtain, Investors in People,
status and practice management
software. Produced four times
a year and complemented by a
monthly e-newsletter, Practice
Focus is one of the many benefits
of BDPMA membership.
The BDPMA, which began
in 1993, is the association for
dental management team members and promotes standards of
excellence in practice management. It organises management
development seminars available to both members and nonmembers. In addition to the national executive team, there is a
network of regional coordinators
covering the whole country. DT

• Tri-ProxiTM Triangular cross
section for high cleaning
performance

• Available in 4 colour coded
sizes

Developed with patient compliance in mind.
For further information please call the Colgate Customer Care Team on 01483 401 901.

[4] =>

4 News

United Kingdom Edition

October 26-November 1, 2009

Dental Nurses Oppose
Annual Fee

he British Association of
Dental Nurses (BADN) has
condemned the General
Dental Council’s (GDC) freezing
of the Annual Registration Fee
(ARF) for its members.
It describes the GDC’s maintenance of the ARF at £96 per
year for dental nurses as “woefully inadequate”.
BADN president, Angie McBain,
said the GDC failed to take into
account that many dental nurses,
especially those in general practice, were paid a minimum wage
of less than £12,000 per year.
She added: “In addition, a
significant percentage of dental
nurses only work part-time, but
the GDC still refuses to accept
that the imposition of such a high
fee on the lowest-paid members
of the dental team is causing financial hardship. It is outrageous
that the GDC expects dental nurses to pay the same registration fee
as hygienists and therapists, who
are paid a minimum of £25,000
when newly qualified.”
She pointed out that general
nurses, whose starting pay on
qualification is nearly £21,000,
are only charged £73 a year to
register with the Nursing and
Midwifery Council.
She said: “Why should a dental nurse, working part-time on
minimum wages, be expected to

pay £96? By my calculations, the
GDC collected just under £4m
in registration fees from dental
nurses alone, in August. I find it
hard to believe that it costs that
much to cover the costs of dental
nurse registration.
“Already, after the first full
year of registration, 10 per cent
of registered dental nurses have
disappeared from the register
because they cannot afford to
pay the retention fee, as well as
CPD costs and now the new ISA
registration fee. This refusal of
the GDC to face economic facts
is causing, and will continue to
cause, immense damage to British dentistry, because many dental nurses simply cannot afford
to work.”
BADN is calling for a complete revision of the registration
fee to include lower fees for dental nurses and reduced fees for
all those registered as working
part-time. It wants payments to
be spread across at least two installments over the whole year.

Staff at the new facility

Maidstone practice opens
and brings a smile

undreds of people in
Maidstone queued patiently to make an NHS
appointment at the opening of a
state-of-the-art dental studio.
The official opening of the
NHS facility, the Kent Smile Studio and private facility, Kent Implant Studio, earlier this month,
was documented by ITV television and local press.
Mayor of Maidstone, Councillor Peter Parvin, officially cut the

red ribbon and made an address
to staff and the waiting crowd on
the opening day.
Many patients in the queue
said they had not had been able
to access an NHS dentist for several years. Some had previously
needed to travel up to 40 miles
for an emergency appointment
or even attended the neighbouring hospital’s accident and emergency unit. All were thrilled to
have the brand-new dental fa-

cility in such close proximity to
them and their families.
Dr Shushil Dattani, principal
dentist and owner of The Kent
Smile Studio and Kent Implant
Studio, said on the day: “We are
very excited to be taking on so
many new patients and we are
looking forward to working with
our colleagues to offer patients
access to outstanding implant
solutions. I hope that our location, state-of-the-art facility and
highly skilled team will also be
considered to be an asset to other professionals, when they are
seeking a reliable implantology
practice with which to work.”
He said both the Kent Smile
Studio and the Kent Implant
Studio aimed to offer an outstanding service to both patients
and referring dentists, as well as
high-quality aesthetic and restoration solutions.

The association is also demanding that it is fully consulted on all matters pertaining to
dental nurse registration in the
future procedure. There is also
an interactive forum in which
patients and dentists can participate and a directory through
which interested parties can
find a cosmetic dentist in their
locality. DT

For further information on the
Kent Smile Studio or the Kent Implant Studio or to obtain a referral
pack, call 01622 754 662. DT
Patients waiting outside

Web-based accessible learning for dental teams

mile-on is proud to continue
supporting all dental professionals by offering flexible education and accessible learning to help
build fulfilling and successful dental
careers for the whole team.
Together with DENTSPLY, Smileon News to offers dental health professionals the chance to attend and discuss up-to-the-minute dental lectures
without having to leave the comfort
of their own home, following on from
the huge success of last year’s webinar events.

Its innovative webinar series,
which is running for the remainder of
this year, features world-class lecturers. These include Justin Stewart, who
will be discussing dentures and impression-taking and Dr Trevor Bigg, who
will be exploring the latest in teethwhitening tips.
Taking their pick from a large range
of accessible webinars suitable for the
entire dental team, recipients of the informative Smile-on newsletter can also
enter the prize draw to attend webinar
events absolutely free.

Smile-on is the source for cuttingedge software and training resources
right across the dental industry, recognising as it does, the need throughout
the industry for education and training
solutions which are flexible, engaging
and inspiring.
For more information on the series
of webinars or to receive the Smile-on
newsletter call 020 7400 8989 or e-mail
info@smile-on.com. DT

[5] =>

[6] =>

6 News & Opinions

United Kingdom Edition

October 26-November 1, 2009

call centre does it
again... and again

enplan is celebrating
once again after out-performing national competition and achieving second
place in both the CCF European
Call Centre awards and the Top
50 Call Centres for Customer
Service

Dental professionals are urged to help put a smile on the faces of the homeless this festive season

Crisis Christmas call
V
olunteers are urgently
needed to offer dental
services to homeless people in London over the festive
season.
Crisis - the national charity
for single homeless people which
started 38 years ago - is looking for qualified dentists, dental
nurses and hygienists to help
run the dental service at Crisis
Christmas this year. The charity wants to build on last year’s
success when more than 200 patients received dental treatment
over the Christmas period.
Shifts run from 8.30am to
6pm from Christmas Eve on
Thursday, December 24 through
to Tuesday, December 29, with

volunteers expected to donate
a minimum of two shifts. The
service relies on qualified dental
health professional volunteers to
provide a range of routine dental
treatments including checkups,
scale and polish and fillings, as
well as providing basic dental
health advice and education.

Senior dental nurse and volunteer at Crisis Christmas 2008,
Bianca Payne, said: “I was immediately affected by the warmth of
the place. The dentistry was carried out in fully- equipped vans.
There were people everywhere
holding steaming hot cups of tea
and coffee, engrossed in wholesome conversations and having a
good laugh. We all worked hard,
but had plenty of time to sit down,

have a chat with the guests and
share stories with the other volunteers. At the end of my threeday stint, I wished my day-to-day
work was as much fun as this.”
Leslie Morphy, chief executive of Crisis, said: “Crisis
Christmas would be impossible
without the time and dedication
shown year in and year out, by
our thousands of volunteers.
They provide invaluable companionship and services to some
of society’s most vulnerable people, but also gain much from the
experience in return.”
For more details, email: volunteering@crisis.org.uk or apply
online at: www.crisis.org.uk/volunteering. DT

The Top 50 Call Centres for
Customer Service is the biggest
ever call centre benchmarking
exercise, conducted by independent market research company
GfK Mystery Shopping. The study
was commissioned by Call Centre Focus magazine and Denplan
came in second place for the second year running, with a score of
94.78 per cent. First place went to
F&C Investments with 94.95 per
cent and third place went to last
year’s winners, First Direct, with
91.73 per cent.
The CCF European Call Centre Awards formally recognise
professional excellence right
across Europe and, now in its
14th year, has become a firmly
established annual event. It rewards individuals and companies that have made a real impact over the previous 12 months
and Denplan were thrilled to be
commended in the ‘Best People
Practice’ category. Denplan was
ranked as ‘Highly Commended’
at the awards and was pipped to
the post only by Cable & Wireless.
Julia Dawson, Director of
Customer Services at Denplan commented: “Both of these
customer service accolades are
testament to the hard work and

dedication by the customer advisor and customer services teams
here at Denplan. Everyone here
really values the great service
we offer and to have all our hard
work recognised is just wonderful, especially given the quality of
the competition.
“Our team of Customer Advisors are monitored on a monthly
basis and the team are always
ready to meet the exciting challenges facing UK dentistry today.
Dentists and patients nationwide
also recognise how they can
benefit from our winning team,
making us the number one provider of dental payment plans.”
Simon Thorpe, Programme
Director - Top 50 Call Centres for
Customer Service added: “Customer service is becoming more
important than ever as consumers are more careful about where
and how they spend their money.
Companies are realising that in
order to retain customers during
difficult financial periods customer service has to be first class.
We would like to congratulate
Denplan for their excellent performance. We hope this initiative
will inspire other call centres to
improve their levels of customer
service to reach the standards set
by our Top 50 members.” DT

Fundraising march
for mouth cancer

ental team staff from a
Kent practice went on a
fundraising walk in order to raise greater awareness
about the symptoms of mouth
cancer.
Dr Laura Lynch along with
two dental nurses from her surgery in Croydon Road, Beckenham, completed the 10km sponsored walk for the Mouth Cancer
Foundation.
Money raised from the walk
around Hyde Park in central
London is going towards helping
the charity improve its support
for patients and carers.
Dr Lynch, 38, said: “We decided to do the walk as a team as it
is relevant to our work, because
early detection of mouth cancer
is crucial.
“We think that the Mouth

Cancer Foundation does a great
job of raising awareness about
the symptoms of the disease, so
we want to support them in any
way we can.”
Common symptoms of oral
cancer include unexplained
bleeding in the mouth, loose
teeth, or white or reddish patches inside the mouth or lips.
The Mouth Cancer Foundation was established in 2004 as
a professional support organisation for people with mouth, throat
and other head or neck cancer
and their carers and health professionals. It also aims to relieve
sickness and raise awareness of
the illness among the public in
general.
To sponsor Laura and her
team visit justgiving.com/LauraLynch Association of Dental Implantology Appointee DT

Katie will be responsible for website updates

BADN staff addition

he British Association
of Dental Nurses has
appointed a new administration assistant. Katie Ball,
19, from Thornton in Lancashire joins the team at the BADN
head
office
in
ThorntonCleveleys. The other team
members currently consist of
chief executive Pam Swain, membership administrator, Shirley
Wetherley and front office administrator, Christine Cass.

Katie will be responsible for
the administration of the corporate affiliate scheme and the national education group, as well
as updating of the BADN website
and assisting the chief executive
in the organisation of the National Dental Nursing Conference.
Katie, who is currently completing her European Computer
Driving Licence, has just signed
up for an NVQ in business ad-

Katie Ball, the new BADN
admin assistant

ministration at Blackpool and
Fylde College, as part of the business administration apprentice
scheme.
Chief executive, Pam Swain,
said: “We are delighted to welcome Katie to the BADN staff and
are looking forward to introducing her to members, suppliers
and dental companies at Showcase in November, following on
from her attendance the National
Dental Nursing Conference in
October.” DT

[7] =>

DTads_May6:Precision

12/10/09

17:14

Page 1

News & Opinions

Access figures rise

he recently published
Scottish Dental Practice
Board (SDPB) annual
report for 2008-2009 highlights
significant gains in access to
NHS dental services in Scotland.
The report’s main findings
show that the percentage of the
Scottish population registered
with an NHS General Dental
Services (GDS) dentist was 80.1
per cent for children and 61.3
per cent for adults on March 31,
2009. This is an increase from
77.4 per cent for children and
57.2 per cent for adults, at the
same date the year before.
The report also reveals that
the total expenditure on NHS
GDS child and adult dental care
for the year ending March 31,
2009 was almost £220 million.
This was an increase of 10.6
per cent - £21 million - from the
previous year.
The average cost to the NHS
GDS of treating a child during
2008/09 has increased by £4
from £58 to £62, with the average cost of treating an adult
during 2008/09 up £1 from £42
to £43. Analysis of thse figures
shows that this increase is related to the associated costs of
increased patient registration
numbers, as well as increased
volume of treatment.
SDPB chairman, Donald
McNicol said: “Our annual
report demonstrates that significant gains in access to NHS
dental services were achieved
throughout all NHS board areas
in Scotland. This is due to the
continued commitment of general dental practitioners and the

Excellent Quality
Excellent Value

continued support of the Scottish Government Health Directorates.
“These two components continue to deliver a high quality
service to children and adults
in Scotland and should be commended. In that regard we now
have record levels of patients
registered with an NHS dentist
in Scotland.”
The number of tooth extractions carried out by NHS GDS
dentists increased by 3.8 per cent,
from 467,871 in the year ending
March 31, 2008 to 485,698 in the
year ending March 31, 2009.
There was an increase of
four per cent in the number of
ordinary fillings, seven per cent
increase in the amount of root
fillings and five per cent increase
in crowns this year, compared to
the previous year.
The number of principal
dentists working in the GDS increased by five per cent, from
2, 099 last year to 2,204 this
year.
In 2008/09, 92 per cent of the
post-treatment referrals which
resulted in examinations, received a satisfactory treatment
grading from the Scottish Dental
Reference Service.
The SDPB is a statutory body
accountable to Scottish ministers, which oversees the authorisation of payments to dentists
by NHS national services Scotland practitioner services division. It contributes to clinical
policy, monitors the GDS and
advises on the quality of GDS
treatment. DT

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®

Budget cuts are causing controversy

ublic dentists in Ireland are
to be balloted with regard
to taking protest action
if the Health Service Executive
(HSE) makes further cutbacks to
the sector.
The decision to ballot members was taken earlier this month
by the national committee of the
public dental surgeons group of
the Irish Dental Association.
Public dental surgeons are
employed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to provide
free dental services to vulnerable
adults and school children. The
service mainly focuses on special
needs patients, children of medical card holders and children in
disadvantaged schools.
The association said cutbacks
meant that vacancies were not
being filled and that more and
more dental surgeons were leaving the service due to difficult
working conditions. They said
protest action would be taken if
the HSE undermined the standards of care available to patients
or made unacceptable changes
to terms of employment. DT

he Department of Health
has completed a series
of reforms to healthcare
regulatory bodies including the
General Dental Council (GDC).

to raise professional standards
in healthcare and encourage
more transparency and highquality services for patients and
the public.”

The aim of the reforms is to
strengthen the focus on public
protection in the overall regulation of health professionals,
which includes dentists and dental nurses.

The newly-appointed GDC
consists of eight dentists, four
dental care professionals, 12 laymembers and a chairman drawn
from the lay or professional membership. Its first meeting was set
to take place on October 15.

The reforms are part of the
Government’s programme to
make safety and quality a top priority in the care of patients, as set
out in the White Paper – Trust,
Assurance and Safety.
Features of the reforms include
the GDC’s move to a fully-appointed council with parity between
lay and professional members, in
order to ensure that professional
interests do not take precedence.
New GDC members need to be
independently appointed against

The reforms aim to protect patients

specific criteria relating to their
skills and expertise.
Health minister, Ann Keen,
said: “Healthcare professionals
work extremely hard to provide
high standards of care that patients expect. Regulatory bodies
play a vital role in maintaining
these standards and ensuring
that those few professionals who
fall below them are dealt with
fairly and firmly. The changes
we have introduced will continue

JUST LAUNCHED!

Irish
dentists
ballot

General Dental Council reformed

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The Council for Healthcare
Regulatory Excellence (CHRE) recently described the GDC as
displaying ‘excellence’ and ‘good
practice’ in its initiatives. These
include focusing on customer
service and encouraging dental
patients to expect higher standards.
Other regulatory bodies affected by the reforms include the
General Medical Council and the
Health Professions Council. DT

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[8] =>

8 News & Opinions

United Kingdom Edition

A hair/money raising event
As we approach Hallowe’en, we speak to one practice manager
who has a haunting way to raise money for charity...

ver the years that I have
managed Thompson and
Thomas dental practice, I
have to admit, I have usually been
behind the various situations the
team has found itself in, when it

comes to team building. From
appearing on national television
in Test the Nation with Anne Robinson, to scanning our new BDS
students during induction their
as part of a security procedure…

with a product scanner, I like to
think these situations make the
process more fun, so you would
think that letting me know about
your fear of ghosts was not a
bright thing to do.

So when the time came to
organise another event, I wanted to arrange something different. So rather than jumping out
of a plane, we found ourselves
in a cold and dark haunted jail.

October 26-November 1, 2009

I assured the team everything
was going to be all right – it was
only for one night after all. And
although it hasn’t been my brightest idea so far, it’s certainly been
one they have not forgotten.
I contacted Derby Jail, which
is known for being haunted
and booked us all in for the
night. One dentist conveniently
said he couldn’t make the night
I’d booked for, so I expressed
my sorrow and rearranged it –
it didn’t seem right going without him.

Dutch courage

LittleSister

I must admit we had to have
a couple of drinks before we
entered. We had the jail to ourselves from 9pm to 4am, with
the inclusion of three members
of staff from the jail.

Enjoy
Complete
Confidence

On entering, it is a small and
dark, damp place; it was certainly eerie, and halfway through
the night I doubted my decision,
when we heard noises and things
went bump in the night. Time
went slowly, and 4am seemed
like a lifetime, but we made it.

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of infection control products
including our new Decon360
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with complete confidence.

However, what we didn’t account for was that we would put
ourselves through this strange
ordeal several more times. I proposed we turn this night into a
way of benefitting others, which
is why now for the past couple of
years the team at Thompson and
Thomas have found themselves
spending the night in various
haunted locations. Between us
all, we have raised money for
various charities including the
Anthony Nolan Trust for Leukemia, Alzheimer’s Association,
Mouth Cancer Awareness, Epilepsy, Diabetes, Help a Hallam
Child and Sugar Diabetes.

And, when you buy your new
Little Sister autoclave or washer
disinfector direct from Eschmann,
CarePlan warranty and service
cover, including HTM 01-05
validation and testing, is
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All the above charities have
a connection with various members of our team. We understand
that this is a strange way of raising money some may not agree
with, but these events have been
a talking point with many patients, many of whom have sponsored us, and quite a few contact
the practice just to find out how
we’ve all got on. DT

About the author

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Jane Armitage
is practice manager at Thompson & Thomas dental practice in
Sheffield

[9] =>

United Kingdom Edition

October 26-November 1, 2009

Practice Management

The 10th Dimension… the power of 10
Ed Bonner and Adrianne Morris discuss starting up your own practice

e are in the midst of
the worst global recession in living memory, so the idea of starting up (or
even for making changes to improve) your own dental practice
or business might seem risky in
the extreme. Yet, surprising as
it may seem, if you are thinking
of starting your own practice, or
improving and redeveloping it,
a recession can provide opportunities that, by the time they
come to fruition, will be there
and ready with wheels churning
to take advantage of the industry
upturn. Setting up on your own
will not be easy, but if you start
your planning process right now,
you will be ready when the time
is more auspicious.

‘Setting up
on your own
will not be
easy, but if
you start your
planning process right now,
you will be
ready when
the time is
more auspicious’
Steps to follow
The following are 10 steps
recommended
by
Business
Link* that you need to follow:
1. Research your idea, and
choose your business name
2. Understand the special needs
of your business sector
3. Finalise your business plan
4. Choose your source of funding; raise finance and manage
your money
5. Set up your premises; set up
your operations
6. Employ people
7. Promote and sell your product
or service
8. Protect your business
9. Set up your IT and e-commerce
10.Sort out your tax and record
keeping.

Research your idea
It is vital that in the first instance you create a mental image
of the type of practice/surgery/
business you want to create. Are
you looking to be in single-handed practice or in association with

others? City, town or country?
High street or suburban? Serving family or business-folk? Decide on the area, and investigate
the demographics. What is the
breakdown in percentage terms
of the local population age-wise?
Blue collar or white? Children or

elderly or the bit in-between?
Although it seems premature
to be choosing a name this early
on, the thought process required
will help to crystalise your ideas
and aims. The name encapsulates in a single word what is go-

ing on in your mind. Smile = cosmetic; health = prevention; clinic
= medical; spa = beauty; and so
it goes. You can always change it
later.

Understand needs
Dentistry is entirely service-

based. Unless you consider inlays, crowns and bridges to be
objects that dentists sell, we do
not actually sell stuff, the odd
toothbrush excluded.
We generally do not carry
à DT page 10

[10] =>

10 Practice Management
ß DT page 9

an inventory of goods except for
those that assist us in carrying
out the services. The number of
staff we employ relative to the
number of patients/customers we
serve at any given time is high,
compared to, say, a restaurant.
We have to spend a high percentage of our income for equipment
and for subcontracting services
such as dental technicians. All of
these factors will exert substantial impact on our ability to offer
services effectively.

Finalise business plan
Going into a new venture
without a carefully considered
business plan is like going into
the desert without a compass
and water. Your chances of survival are significantly impaired.
The plan needs to be realistic and
achievable, rather than a summation of your ultimate dreams.
Within it should be a realistic
cash flow forecast and projected
income and expenditure for at
least three years. It needs to reflect best-, expected- and worstcase scenarios.
It needs to look at the ‘What
If?’ factors: ‘What if I don’t grow
as quickly as I expect?’ ‘What if
setting up costs me more than
I have budgeted?’ It needs to be
looked at in terms of strengths
and weaknesses, those of the
business and your own.
All this having been said, it
should not be full of unnecessary
words and should not exceed say
six pages in length. You should

DentalSky 210x150 Ad:Layout 1

United Kingdom Edition

October 26-November 1, 2009

present it to your bank manager
neatly bound – first impressions
count, as we well know.

Managing money
There
are
only
three
sources of money/capital: i) inherited; ii) already earned (ie,
from the sale of your last practice) and iii) borrowed. It is most
likely that we will have to borrow at least a proportion of our
set-up and initial running costs.
This will come from a building society, a bank, or through a
dedicated leasing company. Research the costs and benefits of
each, and employ a financial advisor and/or accountant to assist
you. Never underestimate how
much you will need. Indeed, the
opposite is sensible. Your business plan, including budgets and
cash-flow forecast will get you
what you need.

‘Launching
into a new
venture without a carefully
considered
business plan
is like going
into the desert
without a
compass and
water’
25/9/08

13:36

Page 1

Premises & operations

Promoting your
business

Whether you are setting up a
new squat or converting existing
premises, list every conceivable
function you will need or would
like to carry out, and try to incorporate these in the brief to your
surgery designer and/or architect. You may not be able to have
everything, but it beats having to
say, ‘I wish I’ thought of …’

We are an example of a small
business operation, therefore we
need to do what businesses do:
tell others what we do. A business that does not tell the undecided masses out there what it
does will watch as the masses go
to businesses that do. A business
that does not actively ‘sell’ its
products and services will fail.

Employ people

Protect your business

How you seek, select, induct
and train your new staff will be
key to your future operational success. Pay well, but demand value.
Create a remuneration system
that incentivises your staff. The
more fertile soil you provide for
them to develop and grow, the
more your venture will thrive.

Whilst I find over-insurance
abhorrent, we do need at least
minimal cover in terms of protecting our health and property
and being indemnified against
patients’ negative experiences.
You will never get rich on insurance, but it beats going belly-up.

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Great Service

Our friendly, efficient sales team are on call from 9am to 6pm to take
your order, and we aim to despatch all
orders received before 5pm weekdays for
delivery next working day.

IT & e-commerce
It is not a question of whether
you can afford to go digital, rather of whether you can afford not
to. Digital recording and storage
of data, electronic banking, diagnostics; there’s a computerised
system for everything. Spend the
money and use the time and information it creates to earn even
more than it costs.

Tax and record keeping
In addition to your family and
employees, there is another person whom, whether you like it or
not, you have to support: the Collector of Taxes. So take it on the
chin, look for the loopholes, but
above all keep good records and
plan ahead. Get an accountant
or financial advisor who dislikes
the taxman as much as you do.
Taking these steps will ensure that you remain ahead of the
game, and that your venture will
prosper. Conversely, just sailing
on and hoping for the best will
see you flounder against unexpected rocks, which is not a heap
of fun. Also remember that like
any vessel owner, having a captain who has done it before is a
very wise move; so don’t fear the
cost of seeking advice, because,
when push comes to shove, it can
save you a shed-load of money.
* www.businesslink.gov.uk

About the authors
Adrianne Morris
is a success coach whose aim is
to get people from where they are
now to where they want to Ed
Bonner has owned many practices and now consults with and
coaches dentists and their staff to
achieve their potential. If you are
interested in attending a seminar
entitled, “Running a Profitable,
Successful Practice” for practice
owners and managers in November, would like a free consultation, or to subscribe to The Power
of 10 e-zine, feel free to contact Ed
at bonner.edwin@gmail.com, call
07776 660 1338 or email Adrianne
at alplifecoach@yahoo.com.

[11] =>

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Seeing
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images using a powerful blue light-emitting diode (LED). Rapid, easy
imaging results in a quantum leap in CAD/CAM precision[1], clinical
reliability and efﬁciency. Capture a quadrant in less than one minute.
Create precise models and perfect restorations including long-term
four unit temporary bridges with CEREC AC.
Enjoy every day. With Sirona.
Ceramic Systems Ltd
Telephone: 0845 070 0137
e-mail: sales@ceramicsystems.co.uk
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Telephone: 08700 102041
email: sales@henryschein.co.uk
www.henryschein.co.uk

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Telephone: 0845 071 5040
e-mail: info@sironadental.co.uk
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BDTA Showcase demonstration…
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Henry Schein Minerva Stands S06/T08
Sirona Dental Systems Stand T02

[12] =>

12 Company Promotion

United Kingdom Edition

October 26-November 1, 2009

[13] =>

Me & Henry Schein
“Practices are becoming increasingly reliant on environmental
as well as clinical excellence - it’s not enough just to be an
experienced clinician, treatment now has to be delivered in
an atmosphere that patients find attractive, comfortable and
safe, these factors are playing an increasingly important role
in practice success.”
Sally Dawson – Henry Schein Minerva Field Sales Consultant

Partnership in Practice

Practice Software

To develop your partnership

Business Solutions
Consultancy Services

email: me@henryschein.co.uk

Surgery Design & Installation

www.henryschein.co.uk

Best Value Dental Consumables

Henry Schein Minerva Dental Centurion Close Gillingham Kent ME8 0SB
08700 10 20 43

London

Cardiff

Glasgow

Belfast

[14] =>

14 Money Matters

United Kingdom Edition

Clearing your finances
Ray Prince highlights the 10 key questions you
really need to ask yourself in order to better
organise your financial life

o matter what stage of
career you’ve reached,
or even if you’ve retired,
there are a number of key questions that you need to answer

to give yourself the confidence
you’ve addressed all the important areas of your financial planning. With that in mind, let’s get
started.

1. Have you really thought
about what you want for the
rest of your life?
The dreaded ‘setting goals’
part...You’ve already done this for

your career and no doubt in other parts of your life as well. So,
now’s a good time to take stock
and think about how you want
your life to look from now on. It
may well be that it’s in tip-top order and nothing needs to change
– the key is to go through this
‘discovery’ process with yourself
and your significant other.
2. Have you organised your
various assets and analysed
how they will help you achieve
your goals?

October 26-November 1, 2009

‘So, the question is: will
what you’re
doing now
with your finances allow
you to achieve
your most important goals?’
A major goal for all dentists
is planning towards retirement. I
presume you have other goals as
well, ones that will require money to achieve? So, the question
is: will what you’re doing now
with your finances allow you
to achieve your most important
goals? You may or may not know
the answer to this. After all, it can
sometimes be difficult to work
out whether you’ll have enough
money for your future.
3. Have you completed a detailed expenditure plan so
that you’ll know how much
money you’ll need to live the
life you want when you stop
working?
How much money, after tax,
will you need to fulfill all your
goals once you’ve stopped working (and the salary/net profits
have ceased)? £3,000 per month?
£5,000? £10,000?
What’s your number? This
exercise is crucial and it’s what
drives many of the financial decisions you’ll face between now
and giving up work.
4. Created your own financial
forecast to show when your
‘Financial
Independence
Day’ will be?
At what age could you give
up work if you chose, even if
you decided to continue working? Financial forecasting will
allow you to see your financial
future and help you make your
financial decisions. Now, it probably is possible for you to do this
exercise yourself, maybe using
Excel or a similar tool. However,
I would advocate using the services of a financial professional
that provides this sort of analysis. Not all do, so you may need
to do some detective work.
A good place to start is the
Institute of Financial Planning’s
website at www.financialplanning.org.uk. Here, you’ll be able
to search for Certified Financial
Planners. While this will not
guarantee that they offer financial forecasting to their clients,
there’s a high probability that
you’ll find one that does. The key
benefit is that you’ll be able to
work alongside someone that is
able to provide you with an objective viewpoint without having

[15] =>

United Kingdom Edition

October 26-November 1, 2009

you. That’s fair enough. But just
because you don’t have the time/
interest/inclination doesn’t mean
you should ignore it.
As with point five, get it outsourced to a competent professional. The end result you’re
looking for is to check how much
you’re being charged and whether you are able to reduce these,
where possible.

Have you looked at your retirement savings to ensure you have what you need?

an emotional attachment (that
inevitably you and your friends
or family would have).
5. Have you an overall written
financial plan and strategy to
guide?
If you’ve taken the time to
take action on the steps above,
it’s vital that you actually take the
next step and implement your
plan. What action do you need
to take to increase your chances
of achieving your most important goals? You’ll probably find
that there’s quite a bit of work
involved initially, but if you set
things up the right way, the ongoing time required to keep your
financial plan on track should be
minimal, especially if you are using a financial planner to ‘drive’
the whole process for you.
Yes, I’m obviously a little biased in my comments seeing as I
earn my livelihood from working
as a financial planner. But let me
ask you a question. How valuable is your time? Looking at it
another way, do you do your own
accounts each year? Exactly! So
why spend hours each year trying to learn a skill that you can
outsource to a competent professional who performs that role all
their working lives?
Choosing the right financial
planner is a very important decision. Take your time and make
sure they are offering a longterm strategic financial planning
service, rather than a productretailing service (the latter may
be fine if that’s all you need).
You do have a Will, don’t you?
If not, this step is crucial. Let’s
say you’ve gone to the trouble
of putting in place all the steps
highlighted. By not taking this
last step, all your hard work
could be undone. Without a Will,
you would die ‘intestate’ and
your assets may not be distributed in line with your wishes. So,
contact a solicitor and get it set
up! The cost is not too much and
once you’ve done it you’ll be able
to tick another box on the road
to creating your robust financial
strategy.

documents and they provide
consent to another party to act
on your behalf to deal with your
relevant financial matters should
you be mentally incapable of doing so.
7. Have you investigated how
much risk you are taking with
your investments?
If you have money invested in
traditional investment schemes
such as personal pensions and
equity ISAs, you owe it to yourself to take the time to analyse
how risky your investments
are. Sadly, some dentists believe
they have diversified their risk
simply by holding a number of
funds within their ISA/pension.
But what if all these funds are
equity-based funds? It’s entirely
possible that they are taking too
much risk with their money but
may not necessarily have access
to the right information to make
better investing decisions.
8. Have you analysed how
much risk you should be taking?
Even if you have a good grasp
of how much risk your money is
exposed to, do you actually know
whether you should be taking
more or less risk in order to
achieve your goals? For example,
if you’re on track to achieve your
goals, you may be able to reduce
the amount of risk you are taking
and still remain on track.
9. Have you checked how
much you are paying in investment costs?
When you invest any amount
of money into ‘mainstream’ products, such as Equity ISAs and
personal pensions, a certain percentage of your money will be
taken in charges levied by the
investment
company/product
provider. Typically, these may
include:
•
•

•
•
•

While you’re getting the Will
sorted, ask the solicitor about
setting up Lasting Powers of Attorney. In brief, these are legal

Sales/advice commissions
Initial charge for the investment (usually ranges between 0-5 per cent)
Ongoing annual management fee
Other fund expenses (known
as Total Expense Ratio)
Trading costs within the
fund(s)

Now, I appreciate that delving
into all this may not overly excite

10. Have you recently completed a proper psychometric
risk evaluation?
What makes you tick? Do you
know why you’ve made certain
investment decisions in the past?
What influences your decisionmaking process? Rather than
simply judging your attitude to
investment risk on a scale of 1:10,
you need to go ‘deeper’. There
are tools available to help you
understand how you make financial decisions and how to improve your ability to make these
important decisions. Ask us, or
your financial adviser/planner,
for more information.
11. Have you an investment philosophy to take
you through good times and
bad?
Does your investment portfolio consist of a collection of funds
that were selected a number of
years ago (and have not been reviewed since), or do you have an
investment philosophy that underpins all your decisions?
It’s probably fair to say that
many dentists will fall into the
former camp, although that’s
often the case because their financial adviser/planner has not
developed an investment philosophy of their own. Ask your
adviser/planner (if you use one)
what philosophy they are using for the management of your
money.
Free audio CD
To learn more about your retirement planning options, you
can request a free copy of one
of Rutherford Wilkinson’s Audio
CDs: ‘How To Avoid The 3 Most
Common Retirement Planning
Mistakes’. Just call Catherine
Lowes on 0191 217 3340 and a
copy will be posted to you (please
quote ref: DT). DT

About the author
Ray Prince
is a fee-based certified financial planner with Rutherford
Wilkinson Ltd and helps dentists plan towards their ideal
retirement, as well as getting
the best deals on mortgages,
protection and investments.
You can contact him on 0191
217 3340 and ray.prince@
rwpfg.co.uk. To register for
the free, twice-monthly enewsletter containing financial advice and tips, visit www.
medicaldentalfs.com.

Money Matters 15

[16] =>

16 Money Matters

United Kingdom Edition

Get out of your comfort zone
Accountant Geoff Long gives dentists some timely advice on how
to survive the current economic downturn

ver the past 15 years I
have probably visited
around 20 per cent of
dental practices in the UK. One
of the most common problems I
come across in the dental profession is under performance. Dentists seem to find a comfort zone

within which they are happy to
work, which is way below the
potential of their practices.
In my estimation, most dental
practices operate at 40 per-cent
to 50 per cent of their true capability. Add this to the problems

being caused by the current economic downturn and many dentists are finding trading is tough.
So – what is the answer?

failure will hang on whether the
patients perceive him as a “nice
person”. Patients will think you
are a nice person if:

Be a nice person

•
•

When a young dentist buys
his first practice, his success or

You listen to them
You smile when you talk to
them

Alcohol Free high level disinfection

October 26-November 1, 2009

•
•

You do not hurt them.
Your work stays in for more
than six weeks

Until you educate them otherwise; the quality of your work
and post-graduate CPD will
mean nothing to them.

The right spot
I am continually amazed by
the number of dentists who set
up practices in London. London
has a dental practice in virtually
every square mile, with many
overseas dentists further adding
to the competition. Overheads
are also much higher, particularly rent and staff costs (a Harley
St Nurse can command £30,000£35,000 per year). In addition,
many patients have a much smaller disposable income because
their wages are eaten up by the
high cost of living.
The exact opposite is true for
practices outside of London. I
can think of four practices in one
small town in the North West all
grossing over a million pounds;
a rarity indeed in the capital!

New patients
A professionally produced
high-quality brochure is a must
for any dental practice these days.
A budget of £2,500-£3,000 will
produce the sort of quality necessary. Indeed, I have seen dentists
spend as much as £15,000 on
their brochure – and still make
a handsome return out of it. The
brochure should:
•
•

List your dental services
Explain your dental philosophy

And do not forget to have it
proofread by a nine-year-old
child. Any words they cannot understand means the brochure is
too complicated.

‘The opposite
is true for practices outside of
London. I can
think of four
practices in
one small town
in the North
West all grossing over a million pounds; a
rarity indeed
in the capital!’
Scale and polish larceny
Alkapharm UK Limited, Pillaton Hall, Pillaton, Staffordshire ST19 5RZ Tel: +44 (0) 1785 714919 www.alkapharm.co.uk

There are two ways to rapidly expand a practice. One is to
worth-lead the growth, the other

[17] =>

United Kingdom Edition

October 26-November 1, 2009

salesmen talking people into expensive items they do not really
want. ‘I can’t do that Geoff, it’s so
unprofessional…’ they say.
This brings me onto the concept of ethical selling. That is informing patients of the range of
clinical options available to solve
their dental problem, along with
the associated costs. Dentists are
often surprised by the uptake of
sophisticated treatment plans
by patients who they never imagined cared about their oral
health!

Intra-oral cameras can be very helpful in selling treatment plans. Image courtesy
of PracticeWorks

is to hygiene-lead it. A hygienist, working a private book, will
add £10,000 per annum to your
profits for each day of the week
they work.
One of my pet hates is dentists who do hygiene work. They
usually manage to reduce the
hygiene visit to a chargeable offence, taking three minutes 52
seconds at the upper end and one
minute 21 seconds at the lower end. The result is the patient leaves the surgery feeling
cheated, muttering… ‘I wish I
could earn £25 for three minutes
work!’
If you leave the cleaning to
the hygienist, you will have more
time to put together the complex
treatment planning, instead of
the “£50” dentistry widely practised at the moment.

Associates
Associates are generally detrimental to practice profitability.
The reason is twofold:
•
•

Low grossing
Instability.

The monthly break-even
point for an associate is usually
£8,000 to £9,500 per month, depending on practice overheads.
Many associates work-part time
or do not make the break-even
gross.
I took a sample of associates’
pay and the results were staggering. Depending upon ability, an
associate can earn the principal
anything in the range of -£20,000
to +£10,000 a year profit. On top
of that, taking on an associate
will probably add £10,000 to your
practice overdraft, whilst you
found the increased overheads
for the first few months. In fact,
if y ou added all the associates in
the country together they would
produce no net cumulative profit
for their principals as a whole!
What a waste of time.
To overcome this inbuilt
problem with associate’s profitability, I have rewritten the Asso-

ciate Contract to include a more
representative proportion of the
practice’s fixed overheads. This
not only helps the associate appreciate how expensive it is to
run a business, but also transfers
some of the financial risk from
the principal to the associate. It
also strengthens the associate’s
self-employed status under the
new Health Service Contract.
On top of that, there is the
problem of instability. The
minute they get their gross to
£10,000 a month, they invariably
leave to start their own practice
or get another job. To overcome
this problem, the principal needs
a much more sophisticated recruitment strategy than sticking
an advert in the back of the BDJ
– along with all the others.

Craneofiscal drag
The problem of craneofiscal
drag involves the dentist costing out the treatment plan at, say
£375, but when facing the patient
£175 or even worse £120 comes
out of his mouth.
To get this widespread malaise out of your system, practice
in front of the mirror:
•
•

‘I’m so frightened I’ll do it
for free’
‘Don’t worry about the cost,
I will pay you, Mr Patient’

Good, feel better now you’ve
got that off your chest?
Put together a price list, display it in reception and stick to
it. It is surprising the response
you get from patients when you
offer them treatment plans of
differing sophistication. Remember, patients will always buy the
best-quality dentistry they can
afford, providing the choice is
given and the quality of solution
is perceived. If you do not believe
it, think about the car you drive
and why you bought it?

Ethical selling
Many dentists I advise hate
the idea of selling dentistry.
It conjures up images of slick

To assist in selling dentistry,
buy yourself an intra-oral camera. They can now be bought
for as little as £600. A picture is
worth a thousand words; a tooth
magnified 40 times can be very
persuasive when you are selling
dentistry!
Unlike some, I am not the sort
of dental accountant who simply says, ‘Leave the NHS and go
private’. There is a lot more to it
than that. Profitable practices are
usually mixed, retaining a small
NHS element as part of their
overall independent provision.
Next, buy yourself a desk with
two chairs, to sit the patient at
when discusing treatment options.
Do not try selling when the patient is at 45 degrees with a bright
light shining in his eyes. All he
wants to do is to get out of your
chair as quickly as possible!

Word of mouth
Eighty per cent of your marketing effort should be aimed at
word of mouth recommendations. Only 20 per cent should be
placing adverts.
Over the years, I have seen
some excellent dentistry but few
dentists have systems in place to
ask patients for a recommendation. This is important because
patients are often busy people
themselves and forget all about
your excellent dentistry the moment they walk out of the door.
In any case you’ve a state-ofthe-art surgery with all mod
cons – you obviously don’t need
any new patients do you? If only
they knew the truth. Put together, these ideas form the starting
point for your plan to gross a million pounds. DT

About the author
GEOFFREY LONG FCA
is a specialist dental accountant based in Hertfordshire.
Geoff advises on a range of
dental tax issues and regularly writes for the dental press.
Geoff has over 15 years experience with dentists’ accounts
and is recognised for his
proactive approach to dental
taxation and business problems. He can be contacted on
01438 722224 or by emailing
office@dentax.biz.

Money Matters 17

[18] =>

18 Education

United Kingdom Edition

A cut above: using lasers
Dr Ian Clift explains why Biolase is the way forward when it
comes to performing laser surgery in your practice

A

s a dental implantologist
and orthodontist who
strives to be at the forefront of advances in the dental
profession, I have long been
interested in the use of lasers
in dentistry. But until recently,

their application has been somewhat limited.
Rapid advances in their development is likely to see them
becoming an integral, everyday
tool in dental surgeries, as laser

technology enters a whole new
era. Lasers reduce the need to use
high-speed drills on the surface
of teeth and can remove enamel,
dentine and decay as well as cutting soft tissue around the tooth
in the time it currently takes for

anaesthetic to numb the site.
Despite their many advantages, dentists are still unable to
replace drills with lasers in their
practices, because they can’t as
yet cut surfaces such as metal and

t
N EchW
ed a

PracticeWorks

Oralinsights

Laun Dental
A
BDT wcase
Sho 09
20
5
i ntel l ig en t o ra l cl ea ni ng
0
.
J
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n
a
t
S

Oralinsights is an interactive, personalised education system exclusive to PracticeWorks.
It is proven to motivate long lasting improvements in brushing behaviour and technique.
There are also equivalent improvements in plaque removal.
A modern and motivating system which really helps to correct and educate resulting in:
• higher patient satisfaction levels
• increased practice proﬁle
• a new revenue stream

October 26-November 1, 2009

porcelain. That said, research is
moving on a pace and it will not
be long before their range of applications has advanced to an extent where they can be utilised to
undertake these procedures both
efficiently and cost-effectively.

The laser revolution
Originally developed by Theodore H Maiman using a theory
devised by Einstein, lasers were
reportedly first used in oral surgery in 1977, but the dental laser
revolution did not get underway
until the mid 1980s. The arrival
of the D-Lase 300 – a laser system invented by Dr Terry Meyers
and his brother William – led to
the establishment of American
Dental Laser, which became
part of laser company Biolase six
years ago.
The laser system, which involves laser energy, water and
air being combined to remove
enamel and dentin, was cleared
for use on adults and children in
1988, allowing Biolase to sell and
market its product globally.

‘The laser light
was focused
on a fine beam
of water and
the water molecules expanded 300 times
to create mini
explosion creating a cavity’
The benefits to dentists and patients are myriad, given the ease
with which decayed matter can be
removed and teeth and soft-tissue cut. The analgesic advantages are also welcome, as lasers
save time in waiting for the local
anaesthetic to take effect and,
from the patient’s perspective,
sometimes negate the need for
injections – a procedure which
many dislike and fear.

Get it right for life with Oralinsights
Available exclusively from PracticeWorks
Revealed at BDTA Dental Showcase 2009, Stand J05
For further details or to place an order call 0800 169 9692
or visit www.practiceworks.co.uk

PracticeWorks

© PracticeWorks Limited 2009

To find out exactly what lasers are now capable of and how
their introduction could benefit
my own practice, I attended a
two-day intensive course at dentist Mark Cronshaw’s practice in
East Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
Mark runs a holistic dental
practice and has been using Biolase for the past 10 years, amassing a wealth of experience. The
course featured an excellent
presentation, practical demonstrations and slide shows.
Because there were only
three of us in attendance, we received personal tuition and saw
for ourselves how efficient the
laser was. The laser light was

[19] =>

United Kingdom Edition

Education 19

October 26-November 1, 2009

focused on a fine beam of water and the water molecules expanded 300 times to create mini
explosion creating a cavity. This
felt totally different from using
a drill, and wearing loopes was
essential. However, within a few
hours we had all mastered the
technique.

Hands-on practice
Our practical assignment
involved cutting teeth and soft
tissue on a pig’s head. We also
learned how to service the
equipment, which is essential if
you are to maintain your laser in
good condition. Additionally, we
each received a folder containing well-presented, user-friendly
material about Biolase to take
away with us.
There is no doubt that Biolase offers many advantages including cutting soft tissue, cleaning and sterilising canals during
endodontics and periodontal
procedures. The new revolutionary turbo head cuts teeth very efficiently, leaving a neat cavity.
Implementing laser technology represents a major investment for surgeries and the full
Biolase package costs approximately £50,000. However, a less
expensive version for use in soft
tissue cutting and whitening
teeth is available for £8,000.

Me & Henry Schein
The Waterlase MD, available exclusively from Henry Schein Minerva,
has revolutionised my practice. This highly adaptable, all-tissue laser
efficiently cuts through enamel, dentine, bone and soft tissue, making
it suitable for use in most clinical situations. The Waterlase MD has
been a real practice builder for me, the lack of contact and
vibration enhances patient comfort and a reduction in pain and
post-surgery swelling vastly improves the overall patient experience.
Dr Mark Cronshaw - BSc(Hons) BDS LDS RCS (Eng) MFHom (Dent)

Partnership in Practice

The Biolase course proved
worthwhile and I would highly
recommend it to other practitioners who are keen to learn
more about the laser. DT

About the author
Technology

To develop your partnership

Practice Software

email: me@henryschein.co.uk

Business Solutions

www.henryschein.co.uk
Dr Ian Clift
graduated from the University of Sheffield in 1982, and
has been principal dentist at
Dentique dental practice in
Leicester for more than 20
years. Ian has a special interest in implantology, has
several years’ experience in
the field and has completed
his Postgraduate Diploma in
Implantology from the Royal
College of Surgeons.

Consultancy Services
Surgery Design & Installation
Best Value Dental Consumables

Henry Schein Minerva Dental Centurion Close Gillingham Kent ME8 0SB
08700 10 20 43

London

Cardiff

Glasgow

Belfast

[20] =>

20 Education

United Kingdom Edition

Planning makes perfect
Take time to perform an accurate orthodontic diagnosis, says Andrew McCance, and the patient can be guaranteed a natural smile

cessible and affordable for the
it is great to see how much ass GDPs consider the
UK’s patients.
sistance is provided for dentists
benefits of offering comlooking to branch out into orthoprehensive
orthodonOne system has its own indontic treatment. What makes
tic treatment to their patients,
house Diagnostic Faculty, which
this doubly pleasing is that this
it is important to highlight
provides a service to the dentist
will help to make orthodontic
the importance of treatment
OPT_DentalTribune_210x297_OCT_PressAd:Layout
22/8/09 ac10:11through
Page 1the specialist orthodontreatment more 1convenient,
planning.

tist planning each case, producing a detailed report for the dentist, which will usually include
several treatment options.
First of all, the Diagnostic Faculty will require a high-quality

October 26-November 1, 2009

impression. The best approach
uses a two-part putty and wash
Vinyl Polysiloxane material. A
heavy putty with a high-shore
strength is essential, with a separator sheet to ensure that there is
an even 1mm gap for the wash to
flow. The putty should set in the
patient’s mouth, which takes approximately two minutes, and
then the separator sheet is removed and the wash added. The
tray is then returned to the patient’s mouth, while the wash
sets. Impressions always need to
be accurate and detailed. A suitable bite registration material such
as the light body wash is then
used to take a bite registration.

Up-to-date records
The Diagnostic Faculty will
require comprehensive patient
records in order to treatment
plan. The dentist must furnish
the faculty with photographs and
radiographs, including:

The Clearstep System

Extra-oral photographs of the
patient’s profile, three-quarter
profile, full face (relaxed) and full
face (smiling).
l Intra-oral photographs of the
anterior, left and right buccal, upper and lower occlusal areas.
l Radiographs including an Orthopantomogram and upper and
lower occlusal images.
l

In certain cases, ie with child
patients on a Class II or III skeletal base where functional jaw correction is planned, a lateral skull
radiograph will be required.

Discussing the options

Comprehensive invisible orthodontics made easy
The Clearstep System is a fully comprehensive, invisible
orthodontic system, able to treat patients as young as 7.
It is based around 5 key elements, including
expansion,space closure/creation, alignment, final
detailing and extra treatment options such as functional
jaw correction.
GDP friendly, with our with our Diagnostic Faculty
providing full specialist diagnostic input and treatment
planning, no orthodontic experience is necessary. As
your complete orthodontic toolbox, Clearstep empowers
the General Practitioner to step into the world of
orthodontics and benefit not only their patients, but
their practice too.

Personal Accreditation
Receive a visit from a Clearstep Account Manager,
providing a personal accreditation in your practice at a
time convenient to you.

Further Courses
Once accredited, further your orthodontic expertise with
our hands on course, where you will learn sectional
fixed skills and other methods to reduce your costs and
treatment times.

Clearstep Advanced Techniques
Hands On Course dates for 2009
1st - 3rd December
London

About the author

Accreditation Seminar
This accreditation seminar is aimed at General
Practitioners, providing you with all the knowledge and
skills required to begin using The Clearstep System
right away.

After the dentist receives the
full report and treatment plan,
it is then time to discuss options
with the patient. Having supplied
all of the above information, the
dentist has the peace of mind in
knowing that treatment will be
planned in full light of the facts of
the patient’s dentition, and that a
full survey of everything from root
length and impaction through to
unerupted teeth and root fracture
will have been taken into account.
With this level of care taken in
planning, the patient will also
feel confident that everything will
be done to make the treatment as
successful as possible – resulting
in a beautiful, natural smile that
will light up the patient’s life. DT

To find out what Clearstep can do for you,
contact us today.

01342 337910
info@clearstep.co.uk
www.clearstep.co.uk

Dr Andrew McCance
Since qualifying in dentistry
from Glasgow University, Dr
Andrew McCance has gained
a wealth of experience in multi-disciplinary practices. In the
mid 1990s, Dr McCance began
to develop the Clearstep brace,
based on the demands of the
4,000 patients treated annually in his specialist practices.
For more information, call the
OPT Laboratory & Diagnostic Facility on 01342 337910,
email info@clearstep.co.uk or
visit www.clearstep.co.uk.

[21] =>

United Kingdom Edition

Composites module 16.2

Composites module 16.3

Composites

records, along with a summary
of any discussions that took placeprior to treatment.

are most likely to be won or lost,
and no consent to the placement
of composite fillings can be considered valid unless these issues
have been properly explored

Dental Protection looks at the risk factors
associated with composite materials

C

omposite fillings are
naturally an attractive
alternative to silver amalgam restorations, particularly
in clinical situations where the
restorations would otherwise be
visible. Added to this, there has
been concern expressed from
some quarters, and a certain
amount of media attention, focusing upon the safety of silver
amalgam restorations, in view of
their mercury content.
Meanwhile there has been a
reappraisal of the clinical tenets
that a generation of dentists had
relied upon over many decades,
and the advancement of new materials and techniques has placed
at the dentist’s disposal exciting
restorative possibilities for etchretained, Gluma-enhanced and
other ‘bonded’ restorations, and
‘adhesive’ dentistry, allowing a
more conservative management
of tooth tissue when planning for
the retention of restorations.
All of these factors have together added further impetus to
the rapid growth in the use of
composite restorations, and the
benefits of such restorations are
very easy to convey to prospective patients. As a result, the acceptance rate of treatment plans
involving these restorations is
relatively high when compared to
some other kinds of restoration –
particularly fixed (cast) restorations, where the cost might well
be considerably greater.

Clinical 21

October 26-November 1, 2009

ticularly where large posterior
restorations are contemplated.
When these are embarked upon
While it is easy enough to exas an alternative to a fixed restoplain the benefits of composite
ration – perhaps for reasons of
materials, it is equally important
cost – then this should be clearly
to stress the limitations and dis2453
DPL
ad
A4:Layout
1
10/08/2009
09:18
1 the patient’s clinical
set Page
out in
advantages of the technique, parfully aware of the likely outcome.

It is perhaps on this question
of considering the altern tives to
composite material that cases

à DT page 22

Don’t read this...

Failures
Many complaints and claims
centre on the premature failure
of composite restorations, and
in particular the failure of large
composite restorations which
have been placed in posterior
teeth. Such restorations are extremely
technique-sensitive
and can be deceptively difficult
to place to a consistently high
standard, especially when direct
placement is carried out – as is
often the case.
Amongst the common problems in these cases are microleakage due to polymerisation
shrinkage of the deeper layers
of composite materials, occlusal
wear or fracture, defective contact points or interproximal contour and occasionally, marginal
overhangs.
Central to most allegations
of negligence is the question of
consent. The patient who is faced
with the need to have multiple
composite restorations replaced
after a short period, will understandably argue that they would
never have proceeded with the
treatment if they had been made

...unless you are interested in:
 Lower professional indemnity subscriptions
 Free personal indemnity for every dental nurse and/or
dental technician you employ for both clinical negligence
and professional matters

 Free annual subscriptions to a comprehensive online
information resource including a wide range of business
and healthcare legislation and regulatory requirements
 CPD for the whole dental team

 Free Indemnity for practice managers and receptionists

 Employment law helpline

 Dispute resolution assistance for disputes between
professional colleagues

 Practice management and clinical audit tools to make your
practice safer, more easily managed and more successful

An Xtraordinary Indemnity Programme for the Whole Practice
For more information go to www.dentalprotection.org/uk/dplxtra or call our Membership Helpline on 0845 718 7187

[22] =>

22 Clinical

October 26-November 1, 2009

Composites module 16.7

Composites module 16.6

United Kingdom Edition

‘The rationale for such treatment should
be very carefully explained to the patient’
Prominent amongst these, from
a dento-legal perspective, is the
difficulty of achieving an optimal contact point when placing a large composite restoration directly (perhaps leading
to food packing and periodontal
problems), and the problems of
shrinkage when curing larger
restorations, even when placed
incrementally.
There are of course other considerations, from a clinicalperspective, but these are less likely
to lead specifically to dento-legal
problems.

ß DT page 22

with the patient, and as fully as
he or she wishes. Patients who
allege that they were ‘talked into’
having composite restorations
placed, without a proper discussion of the alternatives and how
they compare, will find that their
clam is greatly assisted by the
absence of clear record card entries which can demonstrate otherwise; dentists beware.

Amalgam alternatives
This question assumes particular importance where practitioners have elected to avoid the
use of silver amalgam altogether
in their practices. Here, it is important to stress to patients that
although this is the basis upon
which this specific practice has
chosen to operate, there are
other practices that may take a
different view and be willing to
offer amalgam as an alternative.
Ultimately, the choice must rest
with each patient, having been
presented with the facts in a fair,
balanced and rational way.
There are no short cuts in the
use of these materials, and one
must ensure that sufficient time
is allowed for the meticulous attention to detail that is required
in order to maximise the quali-

ties and minimise the pitfalls inherent in their use.
Composite resin restorations have an important place in
modern restorative dentistry, but
their use for large posterior restorations needs to be approached
with great caution.

Materials
The successful use of composite resin materials relies
upon a proper understanding
of the wide range of available
materials, their scientific basis
and properties, their handling
characteristics and not least, the
rationale for the techniques involved in their placement. The
different clinical situations in
which composites are deployed,
demand entirely different characteristics of the materials to
be used. Strength, flowability,
particle size/mix and aesthetics
are all critical features which
assume greater (or lesser) significance on different occasions.
The choice between self-cure,
light-cure and dual-cure is another important consideration.
Compomers, and luting and
bonding materials have further
widened the armamentarium of
the up-to-date clinician seeking
to use the right material on the

Composites module 16.5

Composites module 16.4

Curing lights

right occasion, thereby minimising the chances of failure.

Interim measure
Some clinicians like to use
composite resin materials as a
short-term interim measure, or
provisional restoration. When
adopting this approach, it is important to make it clear both
when speaking to the patient,
and in the clinical notes, but this
is not intended to be a final or
permanent restoration.

Rubber dam
While the marginal seal of
composite resin restorative materials can be excellent when
bonded to previously etched
enamel margins, any contamination by moisture, saliva, gingival
or crevicular fluid, or blood, can
severely compromise the final
result. The use of rubber dam
can therefore play an important
part in reducing the potential for
problems to arise from the placement of composite restorations.

Indirect composites
For the larger restoration,
particularly in molar teeth, there
are several reasons why the use
of an indirect technique is less
likely to lead to problems, than
placing a large, multi-surface
composite restoration directly.

Light cured composite materials present risks of an entirely
different kind arising from the
properties of the lights used in
the process. Appropriate protection must be ensured for the eyes
not only of the operator, but of
any nursing staff and of course
the patient. The same applies
for any fourth party who may be
present in the room – for example, the parent or other person
accompanying a child patient.

Sensitivity
A problem which has been
associated with direct composite
restorations – particularly larger
ones – is that of postoperative
sensitivity. Usually attributed to
shrinkage, or microleakage associated with voids in the material or deficiencies in the marginalintegrity, this can lead to
complaints unless the patient
has been prepared in advance for
this possible adverse outcome.
Particular care needs to be
taken when there is a suspected
crack in the tooth, and composite is being used in the hope of
achieving a successful and stable
bond on either side of the crack,
thereby preventing the extension
or deterioration of the crack.
The rationale for such treatment should be very carefully
explained to the patient, ensuring that the patient understands
that a crack may well already
exist in the tooth. If no such explanation and preparation takes
place, and a cusp either fractures
subsequently, or the pain persists, or the tooth becomes nonvital, the patient may well blame
these eventualities upon the dentist who had placed the composite – particularly if a second den-

tist subsequently tells the patient
that the tooth was either cracked
by the composite filling, or that
the presence of the crack was not
noticed by the dentist who had
placed it.

Anterior restorations
Composites can provide a
conservative way of ‘masking’
surface blemishes and irregularities of anterior teeth, using a
‘veneering’ technique. It should
certainly never be suggested
that the use of bonded composite
material in this way is entirely
‘reversible’. Patients may find
the material attractive not only
because it is often cheaper than
many of the alternatives, but also
because it allows single visit restoration and minimal tooth preparation.
When discussing these and
other benefits, however, the patient needs to understand the
limitations and disadvantages of
the material and technique, before embarking upon the treatment. For example, it is important to explain to patients that the
material may discolour over time
– particularly at the margins,
where staining can be prone to
occur, and also that when used
to restore unsupported incisal
edges or angles – especially in
the areas of high occlusal loading – they may not be as strong
or as durable as other kinds ofrestorations. DT

Summary
One of the concerns in
cases involving the multiple failure of posterior
composite restorations, is
that the quantum (ie financial value) of such claims
is often very high indeed,
compared to the cost of the
original treatment. Not infrequently, the ‘remedial’
treatment involves root
canal therapy and crowns,
or implant-supported replacements for teeth that
have been lost and there
are invariably associated
claims for other general
and special damages.

[23] =>

United Kingdom Edition

Revisiting our protocol

aving returned to our
practice from a wonderful summer break
refreshed and ready to improve
our patient care, we all met for
our staff meeting.

•

A great loss

It helps to look at the motivation protocols for patients

This year has been a sad
one for prevention, seeing two
of my heroes in the periodontal
world losing their battle with
cancer, so our thoughts go to the
families and friends of Graham
Smart and Bernie Kieser. But the
brilliant message they spread
lives on. And that message is
that without good oral hygiene
at home, all the surgery and root
planning in the world won’t save
your patients’ teeth. Our scaling
skills are secondary in importance to our motivational skills.

with its owner, otherwise again
the improvement was amazing. Most of the mobility had
stopped, pockets had reduced by
up to five mm and the tissue was
incredibly healthy looking. We
used the desensitiser Sensitrol
to reduce discomfort, light anaesthesia where necessary, and
carried out a full-mouth debridement using mainly ultrasonic
instrumentation.

He had not attended for over
20 years, had advanced periodontal damage, was a smoker
and had accepted the inevitable
tooth loss. In June of this year,
Kimberly and I worked with
him to develop a good split bristle technique and supported the
single-tufted brush with some
chlorhexidine gel. We gave a
cursory explanation of what was
happening, with a view to seeing
the patient two weeks after to
tailor a programme, take diagnostics and plan his treatment.
For one reason or another,
the assessment and advice appointment did not happen for six
weeks. The difference in that patient’s mouth was amazing. He
could see that his actions were
responsible and his motivation
was high. We charted all recession, pocket depth and mobility, fine tuned his cleaning technique and made plans to debride
the mouth prior to review with
our dentist.
Again, for one reason or
another, we did not see the patient for debridement until very
recently. One of the very wobbly teeth had parted company

•

Setting a protocol

Over the past year, our attendance at various CPD meetings,
GSK talking points for example, has led us to want to expand
our oral health assessment and
advice for new patients and patients with difficulties. We like to
examine our protocol annually
to update according to research
and recent thinking. We feel we
need to extend our prevention
protocol.

This was proven once again
to me today, when I saw a patient
for his full-mouth debridement.

vant to dental health and should
therefore be looked at and noted.
Having a documented protocol for the team can really help
to keep continuity in advice for
a patient and help to keep the
focus on prevention in the practice. Setting up a protocol is not
as hard as it may seem.

As research and thinking develops, practice
protocol should effectively be updated to reflect
the changes, says Mhari Coxon

A case in point

Clinical 23

October 26-November 1, 2009

It can also be used as a risk
assessment for diabetes, heart
disease, obesity, addiction, stress,
nutrition; all of which are rele-

•

saying to a patient is half the
battle
Review the protocol regularly as part of your practice
audit to maintain standards

The difference this can make
to your practice can be dramatic.
And the thanks and praise from
the patients is always nice too! DT

About the author

Have a meeting to discuss
opinions and beliefs of all
staff regarding preventative
advice. You might be surprised how different your
thoughts
Find research to support the
suggestions of the team, or
to discount them
Look at templates available
on the internet for inspiration
Try to make the forms easy
to read. Making all questions
answer ‘yes’ if the answer is
a positive to health and no
if it is a negative to health
can make it easy to see at
a glance the patient’s weak
areas
Instil the importance of prevention in the whole team;
believing in what you are

Mhari Coxon
is a dental hygienist practising in Central London. She
is chairman of the London
British Society of Dental Hygiene and Therapy (BSDHT)
regional group and is on the
publications committee of its
journal, Dental Health. She is
also clinical director of CPDforDCP, which provides CPD
courses for all DCPs. To contact her, email mhari.coxon@
cpdfordcp.co.uk.

Zhermack Innovations

The review outcome
The patient then moved to be
reviewed by our general dentist
and our oral surgeon. Only two
of the five teeth scheduled for
extraction now needed to be removed before implant restoration could begin. The patient, the
oral surgeon and Philip all sang
my praises. But, let’s be honest,
who did all the hard work? Not
that I mind taking credit if you
want to give me it! I am still
working on the smoking cessation with him and, if I succeed
there, then I will feel I earned
their praise.

hydrosystem
Reduced impression
voids in A-Silicone

hydrorise
Hyper-hydrophilic
A-Silicone

elite glass
Clear silicone

hydrogum 5
5 day stability alginate

Gaining information
And so we decided we wanted to send our new patients away
with a health assessment questionnaire to fill in and bring with
them for discussion with our
oral health adviser, Kimberly.
We also decided that some people may only need one session
focused solely on prevention,
others might need more. We are
refining the protocols and targets
to allow clarity for both patient
and clinician.
This questionnaire would allow us to accumulate information and introduce the ethos of
prevention to our patients. It is
not intended to replace the interview process, but complement it.
We want to use it as a motivator,
updating it and showing the improvement to the patient.

used as a matrix
for temp. composite veneers

For more details contact
Zhermack UK 07870 690811
or email uk@zhermack.com

[24] =>

24 Events

United Kingdom Edition

October 26-November 1, 2009

Dental professionals on a mission
Barbara Koffman reports on her experiences on Christian Relief Uganda’s most
recent dental mission and details how you can get involved in future relief missions

O

n our mission to Uganda
in March this year, we
were fortunate to have
five UK members in our dental
team: Paul and Aliya (GDPs),
Michelle (a practice manager/

dental nurse) and Michael (nondental, but on his second trip
with CRU and already trained
in sterilisation techniques). In
Uganda, we were joined by two
UK gap-year students, Todd and

Lucie, Todd was directed to us
by the oral health charity Dentaid to undertake research on infant oral mutilation (IOM). This
is traditional practice in several
East African countries, in which

the deciduous canine tooth buds
are gouged out as a “cure” for
“tooth worms” which the village healers believe cause diarrhoea and sickness in an infant.
They teach that the baby may die

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sc
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e is
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ve
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g
uin
n
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t
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for

Lucie volunteered to act as
dental nurse. Dental therapist
Elizabeth (resident in Uganda)
and her hygienist friend Christina joined us for a clinic at Elizabeth’s Hope Ministries project at
Bwerenga. At various times we
were augmented by the services
of 16 dental professionals resident in Uganda who were available at different times throughout
their stay.
Pain-relief clinics were set
up in nine different rural areas
of southeast Uganda, working
in churches, schools and health
centres; as well as in a Government Rehabilitation Centre for
convicted child criminals and
street children.

Possible treatments
All the equipment has to be
transported in our vehicles and
also by boat, so it is limited to
hand instruments and forceps,
elevators etc, local anaesthetics,
Duraphat varnish and glass-ionomer cements, non-electric sterilisers and three Dentaid portable dental chairs. This enables
us to set up a clinic with desig-

(www.swiss-smile.com)

Register via: www.fullfaceglobal.com
vise
d
A
s
ni

if this barbaric treatment is not
given. Dentaid has set up an Action Group to combat this widespread practice of which I am a
member.

he following organisations
its by t
:
d
e
r
c
n
o
i
cat
edu

www.fullfaceglobal.com
www. damonsystem.com

Academy

of General Dentistry

C.E Hours
apply to IAO
Program Approval for
Tier Advancement Continuing Education

PACE

R

Continuing Education Recognition Program

‘the deciduous canine
tooth buds are
gouged out as
a “cure” for
“tooth worms”
which the village healers
believe cause
diarrhoea and
sickness in an
infant’

[25] =>

United Kingdom Edition

‘I consider it
most important for each
volunteer to
have opportunities for rest
and relaxation as well as
work, so there
is plenty of
opportunity for
sight seeing’
nated areas for triage, treatment,
postoperative care, sterilisation
and oral health education. Our
team was quickly organised with
responsibilities for the different
tasks, and as the days went by,
became very efficient at setting
up a clinic in a new place.
The service we can give covers screening, extractions, scaling and atraumatic restorative
treatments (using hand instruments to excavate caries and
then filling the cavity with glass
ionomer cement).
Patients with more complex
needs are referred to the nearest health centre for further help.
(This can mean using CRU funds
to transport the patient and to pay
for their treatment.) Last September we found a little boy suffering from Burkitt’s lymphoma,
an aggressive cancer, and were
able to organise hospital treatment for him. We saw him this
time and he is vastly improved.
I consider it most important
for each volunteer to have opportunities for rest and relaxation as
well as work, so there is plenty of
opportunity for sight seeing.

Ugandan girl with severe decay.

find out more?
We have a further trip planned
for 22-29 November 2010 to climb
Mount Elgon, an extinct volcano
and the fourth highest mountain
in Eastern Uganda. Along with
the clinical team, I will be taking
a team of volunteers to provide
oral health education and IOM
lectures. All necessary training

October 26-November 1, 2009

for this will be provided. For
more information, visit www.
christianreliefuganda.org, email
bkoffmancru@hotmail.com or
call 07970 163798.
Christian
Relief
Uganda
wishes to thank Derek Hampton
of the Acteon Group of Satelec
UK Ltd of St Neots for his generosity in arranging the long-term
loan of an ex-demonstration
Trans’Care Max portable dental
unit for use in the dental missions to Uganda. DT

Setting up the clinic.

Events 25

[26] =>

26 Industry News
Impression materials

Digital imagery
set to be the
future of
impression
taking
Since 3M ESPE’s launch of
the revolutionary Lava chairside
oral scanner (C.O.S) in May this
year, more and more dentists
from across the country are offering patients this ultimate experience in oral care.
Early adopters of the new 3D
digitalised scanner technology
are able to provide precise fitting restorations whilst ensuring
patient comfort throughout the
procedure. This offers patients
a more reassuring and reliable
treatment compared with traditional impression making processes.

•

•
•
•

Unique Duo Shade System
for easy and time-saving
shade selection
Excellent blend-in properties on tooth tissue
High gloss polishing within
minimum time
One product range for all indications

Synergy® has been improved to keep pace with our
customers’ needs and requirements. Synergy® Nano Formula
stands for advancement of filling
particles and addition of new
particle types. This optimizes
results, excellent handling properties to produce top quality
restorations. Generous special
offers on Syringes and Tips,
contact your preferred Dealer
or call Coltene Whaledent’s free
phone number 0500 295454 ext
223/224 www.coltenewhaledent.
com

Using an easy to manoeuvre non-intrusive digital wand
the Lava C.O.S takes real-time
3D in motion images of the patient’s mouth which the dentist
can review on screen to ensure
all necessary data is captured before sending electronically to the
laboratory.
Dentists using the Lava C.O.S
process have been overwhelmingly pleased with the results
reporting “greater accuracy”,
“a more positive patient experience”, and considerable increases in turnaround time, as the key
benefits of this product technology.
To take part in this digital
revolution and give your patients the very best oral care
available please call 3M ESPE
today on 0845 602 5094 or visit
www.3mespe.co.uk/lavacos

What has
already been
the formula
of success of
Synergy® for
so many years
continues to be
an attribute of
this label

United Kingdom Edition

October 26-November 1, 2009

addition cured silicones provide
high quality, accurate and consistent impressions every time.
Exafast NDS allows you to produce very smooth and highly
precise impressions in only 2
minutes, thus improving your
productivity and maximising the
comfort of your patients.

the fit to be superb as the margin
for error has been removed, the
function, wear, durability and
aesthetics of a CEREC prosthesis
is second to none.

Impress with
VPS!
It’s all about choice at Evident
with their new VPS Impression
Materials, the latest addition to
their Desirable Consumables
range.
Evident have the ideal impression material for every technique
and speed, allowing you to easily
select the most suitable impression material for all your clinical
needs. This extensive collection
offers you the choice of precise
setting times ranging from First
Quarter, the super fast setting
impression material, with a total
setting time of only 105 seconds
through to Star VPS, a regular set
impression material, with a total
setting time of 4 ½ minutes.

GC Exafast Putty is an extremely fast setting putty material, ideally for use in the single
step technique. In combination
with other GC Exafast NDS materials its working time of 45 seconds and setting time of 2 minutes 15 seconds offers you the
perfect combination of speed and
precision.
The Exafast wash material is
available in 3 viscosities to suit
your preferred technique. All are
supplied in cartridges for speed
and ease of application. As the
material sets so quickly there
is less risk of distortion due to
movement during the setting.
For
further
information
please contact GC UK Ltd on
01908 218999 or e-mail gcuk@
btinternet.com

With VPS Impression materials you can be sure you’ll be using the highest-quality polymers
and fillers and in addition the
super-hydrophilic wash materials delivers a high-gloss surface,
all guaranteeing an accurate and
detailed final impression.

Dental Sky
Will Impress
You!
Dental Sky supply an impressive range of leading brand impression materials.
The R&S Turboflex from
Dental Sky is the perfect
addition cured silicone that provides exceptional detail reproduction. This complete range
allows you to use your existing
technique, be it the wash technique or double mixing.

Make the right choice for
your practice with VPS Impression materials and experience
improved precision and control
over the dental impressions you
create.
Impress with VPS! Visit Evident stand Q02 at 2009 BDTA
Showcase in Birmingham, or
if you are unable to attend
FreeCall Evident on 0500
321111 or visit www.evident.
co.uk

With a very good dimensional
stability and high elastic memory
removal of the set impression is
made simple. The material is so
stable that you can make several
models from a single impression
without any risk of deformation.
So, whether you choose your
existing brand of impression
material or would like to try
Dental Sky’s cost effective Turboflex, call Dental Sky on 0800
294 4700

Traditional
Impressions
Not Needed
with CEREC
3D CAD/CAM
Traditional time consuming
and often messy impressions are
no longer needed when you opt
for the CEREC 3D CAD/CAM
System. As we all know, impressions are not always 100% accurate, which can result in costly
remakes, and patients do not often enjoy the experience!

The light bodied materials within the range are easily
injected and do not slump even
when placed in the upper arches. Having extremely high levels
of hydrocompatibility Turboflex
impressions will always provide precise impressions even
when in contact with gingival
fluid and blood.

Faster
Impressions
with GC
Exafast NDS
GC has produced a range of
impression materials that set
in super fast time with Exafast
NDS.
The Exafast NDS family of

To find out how the Sirona
team can directly support
your practice and for a demonstration of the CEREC 3D
system contact Sirona Dental
Systems Limited on 0845 071
5040 or email: info@sironadental.co.uk.
www.sironadental.co.uk

The CEREC System takes an
optical impression of the preparation and the antagonist, resulting in probably the most accurate
impression you will ever have
taken. To allow you complete
control of the finished prosthesis
you specify the positions of the
margins and the proximal contacts. The CEREC system goes
on to swiftly fabricate the crown,
inlay, onlay or veneer accurately,
quickly and to the very highest
quality.
The CEREC 3D CAD/CAM
System will help you to produce
probably the best ceramic restorations possible. You will find

Modulmix –
automatic silicone mixing
machine
The Modulmix is a universal
mixing machine for all A-Silicone
cartridges on the market. Modulmix has two-speed dispensing
with left and right dispensing buttons. Five different coloured side
cills are also available to match
surgery décor. Modulmix costs
£635 and has a 2 year warranty. Currently Modulmix comes
with 4 different FREE impression material packs. 1.Hydrorise
Maxi Putty. 2.Heavy/light body.
3.Monophase. 4.Freealgin Maxi
(alginate alternative).
Contact Zhermack for further details – 07870 690811,
uk@zhermack.com or www.
zhermack.com

Hydrosystem &
Hydrorise solutions for
reducing impression voids

Hydrosystem is a 10ml liq-

[27] =>

United Kingdom Edition

uid solution for reducing voids
in A-Silicone impressions. This
is achieved by reducing the surface tension on the preparation.
Hydrosystem is applied with an
applicator and air dried prior
to applying silicone around the
preparation eg a Wash (light
body) or Monophase (medium
body). Priced at only £8 this is
a welcome addition to enhance
impression taking. Also new is
Hydrorise, an A-Silicone range
with a hyper-hydrophilic formula. Hydrorise comes in putty,
heavy, monophase & a choice of
3 washes in hand mix, cartridge
and mixing machine deliveries.

rial comes in standard 50ml cartridges or 380ml hard cartridges
for automatic mixing machines.
The 380ml hard cartridges are
foil free delivery which means
the cartridge drops straight into
the machine, i.e. easier to load
with no foil bag to push into
a cartridge sleeve. A selected
number of samples are available,
call 07870 690811 or email uk@
zhermack.com.

Samples available, call 07870
690811 or email uk@zhermack.com.

Colorbite D ehanced bite
registration

Hi-Tray Light
Hi-Tray Light is a range of extra rigid plastic impression trays.
They are split into three different
types. Plastic available in 9 sizes.
Clear in 9 sizes. Edentulous in
6 sizes. These trays enhance the
impression quality with their extra rigid nature minimising deformation. Each tray size comes
in a pack of 12 for £7.95. Currently 2 packs of medium sized
plastic trays (uppers & lowers)
come free with Zhermack’s 5 day
stability alginate Hydrogum5.
Contact Zhermack for more details & a list of suppliers.

Remove the guess work with
Colorbite D the enhanced bite
registration from Zhermack.
Colorbite D changes colour from
green to yellow when set in the
mouth after 60 seconds. It is
highly regarded by technicians
as this A-silicone has extra-ordinary rigidity without being brittle, combining the advantages of
handling and superior accuracy.
Colorbite D comes in standard
50ml cartridges, samples are
available on request. Also new
in this area is Occlufast CAD a
scannable bite silicone for CAD
CAM restorations.
Call 07870 690811 or email
uk@zhermack.com

Samples available on request
– 07870 690811 or uk@zhermack.com

Fast Just Got
Faster with
AlgiNot FS
Freealgin – the
alginate alternative
Zhermack offer a clean and
non-messy alternative to alginate. This material is Freealgin,
with silicone handling and stability along with alginate elasticity. Freealgin has a fast 90sec
intra-oral setting time and an
pleasant exotic flavour. This lilac
coloured medium bodied mate-

The Alginate Alternative
from Kerr
AlgiNot, the alginate replacement VPS material from Kerr,
is ideal for preliminary impressions, provisional impressions,
orthodontic models, bite registration, contact sports mouth
guards, bleaching trays and
many more applications. Now
AlgiNot is available in a faster set
time to increase patient comfort
and reduce chair time without
compromising performance and

October 26-November 1, 2009

Industry News 27

working time. The improved
thixotropic consistency reduces
slumping and displacement from
the impression tray.
As traditional alginates benefit from inherent hydrophilicity, alginate alternatives must
behave the same way. AlgiNot
FS breaks the surface tension
of intraoral fluids and displaces
them to register outstanding detail. And with superior elasticity,
AlgiNot FS rebounds from deformation far better than traditional
alginates—or even other alternatives—to produce an impression
that is a true negative replication
of the patient’s dentition.
For more information visit
www.KerrHawe.com,
contact
your local Kerr representative
or call Kerr International Freephone (00800) 41 05 05 05.
KERR
KerrHawe SA
Via Strecce 4
6934 Bioggio
Switzerland
International Freephone:
(00800) 41 05 05 05
www.KerrHawe.com
www.KerrDental.com

Oral Health

Check Out
That Saliva!
To further enhance GC’s Minimal Intervention programme, the
company have developed a very
exciting new product. GC SalivaCheck Mutans adds another dimension by showing whether a
patient carries a high level of Streptococcus mutan in the saliva.
This chair-side diagnostic
tool helps to demonstrate whether a patient is at further risk of
caries development, without the
need for bacterial cultures. Once
diagnosed, the practitioner can
act upon this knowledge by prescribing effective oral hygiene
measures accordingly.
It takes just 15 minutes to
achieve a result with GC SalivaCheck Mutans, which will show
the number of colony-forming
caries bacteria in the saliva. Perfect for all age groups, GC Salivacheck Mutans helps in the fight
against caries development.
For
further
information
please contact GC on 01908
218999, or visit www.gceurope.com
Beverly Hills Formula/

Purity Laboratories – come
and visit us at the BDTA
Dental Showcase 2009, stand
D17. Upgrade to the healthier side of whitening and stop
Gingivitis before it starts.
The best recommendation
for bright white teeth is the
everyday use of Beverly Hills
Formula from Purity Laboratories, because the range offers a
unique combination of anti-bacterial agents, low abrasion and
anti-stain polishers to protect
and whiten teeth and aims to
provide innovative, high quality, niche products in the oral
hygiene market. Beverly Hills
Formula toothpaste is proven
to effectively remove tooth
staining and offers maximum
whitening power, whilst maintaining extremely low abrasion
(lower than many non-whitening toothpastes). Permathol,
Panthenol, Vitamin E, Folic
Acid and Zinc Ions nourish and
heal the gums, whilst the Xylitol and higher Fluoride level of
1450 ppm F help to strengthen,
remineralise and harden tooth
enamel for cavity protection.
With regular use the Potassium
Citrate formula builds a protective layer on the tooth’s nerve
endings, providing long lasting
protection against tooth sensitivity. A healthy mouth means a
healthy body. The result: teeth
that appear whiter; feel smoother and remain cleaner.

only the newest technology for
hardening but also in cryogenics.
PDT instruments hold their edge
4 to 7 times longer than most instruments available today. The
colour-coded thermal resin handles are not only the lightest on
the market, but are also extremely tactile sensitive. The exclusive
knurling pattern goes right to the
tip, giving a much better grip and
allows for better pull as well as
rotational control, putting less
strain on your muscles, reduced
hand cramping and reduced risk
of carpel tunnel syndrome. For
our latest special offers please
call us on 01535 656312 or visit
www.swallowdental.co.uk , or
come and see us this Autumn
at the BSDHT stand 34, BDTA
stand Q14.
Contact:
Vicki Nunns
Swallow Dental Supplies Ltd
8 Ryefield Court,
Ryefield Way,
Silsden,
West Yorkshire,
BD20 0DL.
Tel: 01535 656312
sales@swallowdental.co.uk
www.swallowdental.co.uk

Industry News

Review your
practise
infection control policy?

For further information please
visit our website: www.beverlyhillsformula.com

The Future
of Periodontal
Instruments
Harder-Sharper-Better. Introducing the future of Periodontal
Instruments, PDT are the most
innovative and progressive hand
instruments available. The working tips on PDT instruments offer
unequalled consistency, angles
and sharpness. PDT’s unique
heat-treating incorporates not

With the
Alkapharm
‘learning
lunch’
The Alkapharm ‘learning
lunch’ focuses on professionally
recognised procedures for the
successful, day to day prevention
of cross contamination within
the dental surgery environment.
Learning Lunch is designed
as a refresher for the whole team
and covers the day to day asà DT page 28

[28] =>

28 Industry News
ß DT page 27

pects of cross-infection control
in the dental surgery. This short
training course designed for the
whole team takes just two hours
and can be scheduled either during the practice lunch period or
at the begging/end of the clinical
day.

United Kingdom Edition

best practice pragmatically, combining effective infection control
with durability and ease of use.
For more information please
call John Jesshop of Blackwell Supplies on 020 7224
1457, fax 020 7224 1694, email
john.jesshop@blackwellsupplies.co.uk

‘Currently being offered to
practices free of charge’ Learning
Lunch helps meet the requirements of the GDC re-certification scheme by updating knowledge and skills for the benefit of
the practice its patients and the
whole clinical team for which
attendees can claim 2 hours of
verifiable CPD.

Trying to sell
equipment?
Taking a long time?
Costing an arm and a leg in
advertising?
Then you need to take a look
at
www.inventorycircle.com
The recently launched site has
been designed to connect dentists across the globe who want
to buy and sell:

For further information or to
arrange a ‘learning lunch’ for
your practise telephone Alkapharm on 01785 714919 or email: enquiries@alkapharm.
co.uk

•
•

Superb Digital
Imaging with
Schick Technologies

Clean injection
with Rotor
Blackwell Supplies’ innovative
and fully autoclavable Rotor Syringe range uses quality
stainless steel and unique Peek
thermoplastics.
These light, moulded components, with a secure snap-fit
assembly, maintain mechanical strength, stability and stress
cracking resistance when exposed to the repeated, long-term
high temperature autoclave
cycles necessary for infection
prevention.
Eeliminating the use of barbs,
the Rotor S/A Syringe design
uses the elasticity of the cartridge and thumb disk to induce
carefully and easily controlled
aspiration, and allows the dentist to check the correct position
of the needle.
They also stop leaking anaesthetics and are resistant to a
broad range of chemicals. The
range includes the 2.2ml and a
1.8ml self-aspirating, imperial
hub thread needle-accepting syringe and is compatible with the
Astra Self-Aspirating Cartridge.
Blackwell Supplies’ Rotor Syringe range helps you achieve

The Cottage Dental Practice
in Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, focuses on all aspects of cosmetic
dentistry, providing a pain-free
and comfortable service to patients in every age group.

•
•
•

Time sensitive (soon to expire) supplies
Returned equipment and
supplies
Used equipment
Refurbished equipment
End of line supplies

And, as a seller it costs you
NOTHING to advertise your
equipment. You only pay a small
percentage once the item has
been sold. Truly payment by results. What have you got to lose?
It is absolutely free to register
on www.inventorycircle.com.
So, what have you got to lose?

“We have found the Schick
Digital Imaging System to be superb for our three surgery practice,” says senior partner Dr Richard W Hale. “The equipment is
very quick and easy to use, providing great quality images.”
Schick Technologies’ CDR
range – celebrated for its superior image quality – includes the
Wireless, Wired and PlusWire
options to cater for every dentist’s unique requirements. Images are transmitted directly to
the PC, oriented and dated automatically, and the size and shape
of the sensors themselves ensure
optimum patient comfort.
Schick Technologies also
offers the new CDRElite, developed in line with customer
feedback and a panel of leading dental experts, the USBCam
which attaches directly to PC,
and OPG solutions to digital cephalometric X-ray. Clark Dental, trusted for over 30 years for
excellent service and expertise,
provides comprehensive installation, training and aftercare for
all equipment.
For more information contact
Clark Dental Wickford Essex Office on 01268 733146 or
email enquiries@clarkdental.
co.uk

Ian Pope, Managing Director for Dürr Dental, commented,
“The evolution of VistaScan technology is not dissimilar to that
of the mobile phone for those of
us old enough to remember the
brick-like Motorola prototypes of
the 1990’s. Although the original
models worked, they were rather
cumbersome and looking at the
elegant models of the twenty first
century you can’t imagine ever
having had such a large model.
For more information please
call without obligation on
01536-526740

Inaugural
Meeting of
UK Kois
Study Club
The first meeting for the UK
Kois study club was held recently at Heathrow Airport. Twelve
delegates gave up their Sunday
to attend the club that is for those
who have attended at least one
Kois Module in Seattle. The aim
of the group is to provide support
and guidance to all participants
of the Kois courses.
Ken Harris was the keynote
speaker and is the first UK dentist to complete all nine modules
of the Kois programme in Seattle
and will be the first UK mentor
of the Kois teaching centre in
Seattle. Ken gave us a fine lecture
on the Kois Deprogrammer.

October 26-November 1, 2009

Implant training programme.
Designed for dentists with
a basic knowledge of implants
who want guidance through simple and safe implant treatments,
the course also offers support on
more complex and advanced cases. GDC registered delegates will
benefit from the many highlights
of this programme including:
•
•
•

•
•

138 CPD Hours
12 modules over 12 months
– 15 days training
Exceeds the GDC training
standards in implant dentistry
60% hands-on live surgery
and 40% theory
A 3 day, hands-on, cadaver
module in Washington DC

Lead by Chris Lucas BDS,
and a 26 strong training team,
delegate feedback has been exceptional with comments such
as: “Very clinically focused, exactly want I wanted” and “A very
different experience from any
other training or development
I have been involved in within
dentistry.
Nobel Biocare continues its
commitment to dentistry by supporting outstanding education
and events programmes offering
quality-training solutions for the
entire dental team.
For more information call +44
(0)116 240 6441 or visit www.
implanteducationcentre.com

After lunch, case presentations were given by Komal Suri,
Josef Diemar, Rob Jukes and
Amjad Malik. The meeting was
concluded by an excellent presentation by Paul Shenfine on
‘bridging the gap’’

Mini But Mighty
Dürr Dental really does believe
that ‘good things come in small
packages’ with the launch of their
VistaScan Mini image plate scanner. This miniature unit is simple to use, does not compromise
on image quality and is extremely
compact so that it can be easily
sited in even the smallest surgery.
X-Ray and scanning can literally
be at arms reach.
VistaScan Mini is priced similarly to a traditional two sensor
CCD system (but offers considerable advantages over this
older technology). It is ideal for
smaller or individual practices
without an OPG. Ironically, it
is also suitable for large surgeries too, as it obviates the need for
the nurse to go out of the room to
process plates.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and a fantastic learning experience was had by all.
A big thank you to Bhavin Bhatt,
Shameek Popat, Ken Harris and
Paul Shenfine for doing all the
hard work in organising the
Study Club.
For further information on
the Study club please contact Bhavin – drbhavinbhatt@
gmail.com or Shameek –
info@rosebankdental.co.uk

Looking to sell
your practice?
Wouldn’t it be good if you
could do this for FREE? (You’re
probably aware of how much it
could cost in advertising).
Well now you can! Visit www.
practicecity.com where you can
list your practice for sale absolutely FREE.

The Implant Education Centre, based in Leicester, in conjunction with Nobel Biocare is
pleased to welcome delegates to
the outstanding One Year Dental

You can post all details of
your vacancy as well as contact
details and web address. You can
even post a video showing potential buyers the practice!

[29] =>

United Kingdom Edition

And, there are a number of
other FREE services including:
•
•
•
•

Job Listings/Jobs Wanted
Classified Listings
Education Listings
Email Alerts

Visit
www.practicecity.com
and register your practice for
FREE today.

Intra-oral
Digital System
We are delighted to introduce
the Velopex Digital Intra-Oral
System featuring both USB and
Wi-Fi products with both size 1
and size 2 sensors. All sensors
have a hard wearing cable connection: the cable is attached on
the back of the sensor for easy
positioning in the mouth and
a flexible anti-traction sheath
helps to prevent the cable from
being damaged when bent. The
package includes:

For all your
various needs...
The NEW NSK
Varios 970!
Ultrasonic scalers are in
daily use in a dental surgery,
providing a patient friendly
and efficient way to meet the
challenges of perio, endo and
minimal intervention treatment
techniques.
The Varios 970, from NSK,
can be used for these treatments,
simply by exchanging the tip –
and with a total choice of 45 tips,
there is always one for the procedure you are undertaking.
The Varios 970 has a very useful second solution container,
allowing you to easily change irrigants during a treatment with
a dial control, also the unit has
3 power ranges; Perio, Endo and
General, that are easily selected
with the push of a button.
The Varios 970 incorporates
the NSK iPiezo PCB with the
very latest, and most advanced,
standards in auto feedback technology, making the performance
smoother and more efficient, so
that, whether you are ultrasonically scaling, endodontically
shaping or preparing minimal
intervention cavities the Varios
970 is your ultrasonic unit of
choice.
For more information please
call Jane White at NSK on
0800 6341909 or visit www.
nsk-uk.com

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Velopex “easy use” Software
Interface Modem
Carry case
Positioning devices
Sensor and cable
Full instructions
24 Months Warranty
USB or Wi-Fi connection between modem box and computer

USB connected systems come
with a 3M cable length between
sensor and modem interface, WiFi systems come with an 80cm
cable length (can be mounted on
chair – close to patient).
The cable and sensor housing can be replaced on a ‘service
exchange’ basis as long as the
sensor is NOT damaged. Systems
can be supplied with 2 sensors of
different sizes and one interface
modem.

Mark Chapman
Director Sales & Marketing
Tel 020 8965 2913
Fax 020 8963 1270
Mobile: 07734 044877
E-mail: mark@velopex.com

First Ever
European Congress exceeds
all expectations for BioHorizons

October 26-November 1, 2009

BioHorizons are pleased to
announce their first ever European Congress in Portugal
reached full capacity at 350 delegates. After a hugely successful
Global Symposium in Chicago
in June the company was looking forward to holding a similar
event for European dentists in
October but never believed the
delegate numbers would reach
these heights.
With the weather in Portugal
close to 30 degrees, the delegates
flocked from all over Europe and
as far afield as Chile and America to see an impressive line-up of
renowned international speakers including Maurice Salama,
David Garber, Hom-Lay Wang
and Marius Steigmann.
Delegate Sanjeev Kapadia
from the Dental Care Centre
in Muswell Hill, North London
comments: “Great congress! A
very well organised event with
quality speakers at a top location,
need I say more?”
In 2010 BioHorizons’ Symposium will be held in two stunning
locales: metropolitan Bogotá,
Colombia on 28th -29th May and
picturesque Antalya, Turkey on
4th-6th November (date to be
confirmed).
For further information on
this and BioHorizons comprehensive range of implants
and regeneration products
please contact the UK office
directly on 01344 752560,
email: infouk@biohorizons.
com or visit our website at
www.biohorizons.com

Industry News 29

NOW to find out how they can
get involved with the campaign;
download free material for their
practices and even read the blog
being written by an orthodontist
to describe how his practice will
be gearing up for NOW.
To participate in NOW or to
find out more, please visit
www.nowsmile.org

Oral cancer-

Routine tests
save lives
New ViziLite® Plus helps the
dental practitioner see what eyes
alone may not. Available in simple, easy to use, disposable kits,
the system utilises chemiluminescent technology to help identify early epithelial changes that
could be precancerous. By identifying oral abnormalities, the
patient can be referred immediately and confidently for further
treatment. Using a unique ‘TBlue’ marker system, precision is
guaranteed in marking and documenting lesions. ViziLite® Plus
has quickly become a critical
element of the dental surgeon’s
preventative practice, contributing to the accepted fact that better screening really does save
lives. ViziLite® Plus is available
in a 40-unit pack £622.78 plus
VAT or in 20-unit pack £311.40
plus VAT. Call Panadent 01689 88
17 88 to ask about special offers
or to order your pack

- National Orthodontic Week
to be launched by British Orthodontic Society

Do it NOW
The BOS is making the announcement NOW to give the
profession plenty of time to gear
up for the event and make preparations for local and practice initiatives which will benefit them
and their patients. A new website www.nowsmile.org has been
created and dental professionals
are being encouraged to log on

Used for just seven days,
Xerostom will significantly increase unstimulated salivary
flow rates, leading to a decrease
in thirst. As a result patients can
enjoy an improved quality of life,
with less chance of suffering
from periodontitis.
The Xerostom range comes
in a variety of applications to suit
all requirements, is suitable for
diabetics and is now available
from Curaprox UK.
For more information please
call 01480 862084, email
info@curaprox.co.uk or visit
www.curaprox.co.uk

Supporting
The Entire
Dental Team!
Smile-on in conjunction with
the NHS West Midlands Workforce Deanery was delighted
with the response from the recent DNSTART free program and
training package that was given
to all practices in the West Midlands region.
To help the teams get started,
there were also several free information and training evenings
around the West Midlands Region with delegates receiving a
complimentary buffet and 1.75
hours of CPD.

NOW

The British Orthodontic Society has announced that the first
ever National Orthodontic Week
will be launched on 22 March
2010. The aim of the week is to
create a cohesive vehicle for all
providers of orthodontic treatment
to come together and
communicate a strong and wellinformed message about orthodontics to the public and to the
wider dental profession.

Xerostom is a new oral hygiene
product line especially formulated to bring relief. The combination of ingredients works
to replenish moisture in the
oral cavity, soothing the tissues
whilst cleaning and protecting
the mouth from harmful bacteria.

Exciting New
Product Range
Launched at
the BSDHT Exhibition

One of the industry’s leading developers of dental products took the opportunity of the
BSDHT Oral Health Conference
and Exhibition, held in Bournemouth on the 16th and 17th of
October, to launch an exciting
new product.
Suffering from xerostomia
can be a significant detractor
from patients’ quality of life, with
the lack of saliva often causing
serious oral health conditions.
Available

from

Curaprox,

DNSTART was designed primarily for new dental nurses
and is also an excellent refresher
course for the entire team. Offering 10 hours of verifiable CPD,
DNSTART explores the role of
the Dental Nurse within the following areas:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Health And Safety
Infection Control
Medical Emergencies
Radiographs
Record Keeping
Surgery Routine

Smile-on is proud to support
all dental professionals by offering flexible education and accessible learning to help build
fulfilling and successful dental
careers
For more information on DNSTART call 020 7400 8989 or
email info@smile-on.com

[30] =>

30 Practice Management

United Kingdom Edition

Blowing your own trumpet
In part one of this three-part series, Dr Solanki highlights why it’s
essential to spend some time and money advertising your services

he boxes on your checklist
have been ticked. You’ve
attended all the courses
(and hung the certificates). It’s
officially time for you to bring
your own brand of life-changing smiles to patients across the

country. But what happens if this
is the same story as hundreds
of other dentists? After a few
months you haven’t noticed an
upturn in profits, how can this
be changed? How will you stand
out from the crowd?

Have you told any of or potential patients that you are qualified
to do many dental treatments including aesthetic work and that
you want to be doing more of it?
How about the equipment that
you use and your specialist team

that will work hard to ensure any
time spent at the practice will be
relaxing, comfortable and worthwhile?
How can you expect patients
to take advantage of your new/

October 26-November 1, 2009

improved services if haven’t told
anybody about them?
If you are relying on dentists
to refer to you, how are you going to explain to your colleagues
that not only is your work of an
outstanding calibre, you are also
at the forefront of customer care?
Meeting other dentists can be extremely difficult to schedule for
both parties and to develop this
kind of trusting relationship, you
need to display very quickly that
you and your team possess all
the necessary qualities.
Meeting at conventions and
training/educational workshops
is a great opportunity to make
introductions to other professionals, but it is also precious
time away from the practice and
networking may not be completely appropriate as you have
your own goals to achieve from
attending classes of this nature.

Protecting your
essential work surfaces
- Clean surfaces. Clean work.

Are you a lab that offers dentists products that could save
them time and money? Is your
premises a modern approach to
working with a dental laboratory
and you have an excellent roster
of technicians at your disposal,
working with the latest materials
and hi-tech equipment?
Many dental professionals
are willing to spend tens of thousands of pounds on new hi-tech
equipment or continuing education yet will be reluctant to make
a small investment in advertising, marketing or creating a
quality website. Consider this, by
making a small investment:
•
•
•

You have control over how
people view your practice
An excellent opportunity to
stand out from the crowd
The chance to entice new
patients and benefit financially

Marketing doesn’t have to
be an expensive exercise, a big
campaign or even time consuming. How are you going to reach
your audience? What is the point
of having a shiny new instrument if it never gets used?

mikrozid® AF - Alcohol cleaner & disinfectant for resistant materials
mikrozid® sensitive - Alcohol FREE cleaner and disinfectant for
delicate materials such as dental chairs.

In the next part of this series,
we will look at simple and effective marketing ideas, targeting
your audience and whether your
practice ready for the push. DT

About the author

Quality. Security. schülke.
Schülke & Mayr UK Ltd.
Sheffield S9 1AT | United Kingdom | Phone +44 (0) 114 2543500 | Fax +44 (0) 114 2543501 | www.schuelke.com

Dr Solanki
studied medicine at the University of Oxford followed by
a PhD, having come from a
business-orientated family he
followed his passion of starting up a dental marketing
company with its strengths
in online search marketing
in early 2007. Dr Solanki now
offers dedicated marketing
strategies for dental practices
on a referral only basis.

[31] =>

United Kingdom Edition

October 26-November 1, 2009

Classified 31

All you need to
know is we’re
the dental
legal experts.
John Grant
Head of Dental Division
Managing Partner
Vice Chairman of the ASPD

And here is how to get in contact with us.
For a FIXED FEE quotation please call FREEPHONE 0800 542 9408
dental.team@cohencramer.co.uk
www.cohencramer.co.uk/services-to-dentists-services.html

Geoff Long
2010

FCA

Tax Planning Slate
Now Available!

office@dentax.biz

Call 01438 7222242

Untitled-4 1

19/10/09 17:03:31

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[cover] => DT UK 2609

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Table of contents

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