September 14, 2020 | News

LONDON, UK: Though it has been more than three months since dental practices in England began to reopen after lockdown restrictions were relaxed, guidance on how to safely treat dental patients continues to be updated. On 28 August, Chief Dental Officer (CDO) for England Dr Sarah Hurley wrote to dental practices across the nation, detailing the revisions made in the latest versions of Standard Operating Procedure: Transition to Recovery and COVID-19 Guidance and Standard Operating Procedure, which now include more validated evidence and expert consensus.

September 11, 2020 | News

Though the spread of SARS-CoV-2 has had an undeniably deleterious effect on many elements of the dental world, it has also opened up new possibilities for imagining how dentistry should be delivered. That is the contention of Dr Richard Watt, professor of dental public health in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London, in a recent letter to The Lancet. Watt spoke with Dental Tribune International about how points of emphasis in dentistry may change in a post-pandemic world.

September 10, 2020 | News

LONDON, UK: Dentists in Scotland have recently voiced their concerns over receiving stocks of free expired personal protective equipment (PPE). Since the Scottish government has failed to provide robust evidence to prove the safety of the out-of-date face masks provided by NHS National Services Scotland (NSS), the British Dental Association (BDA) has urged NHS NSS to make alternative arrangements for supplying PPE to dentists. In the meantime, it has advised dentists against using such masks, since doing so may pose significant risks to their health as well as to the health of their teams and patients.

September 4, 2020 | Advertorial | Business | Education | News

ZÜRICH, Switzerland: If it were up to Swiss oral health brand Swiss Smile, oral care would not be ordinary. Swiss Smile combines clinical expertise with timeless design, using nothing but the finest of ingredients and materials. Its gift sets are popular with luxury hotels, and its brushes and toothpastes with those who see oral hygiene as a ritual of wellness and enjoyable self-care. Last week at the Swiss Deluxe Hotels Partners Day, Swiss Smile distinguished itself as the go-to partner for luxury oral care products.

September 2, 2020 | News

What if we could replace the cumbersome process of validation for our devices, banking and other secure entry points with a flick of the tongue? According to the designers behind UK-based Project Stealth Tech, the inside of our mouths is not only a rich source of unique biometrics, but also offers concealment by default. Dental Tribune International spoke with Paul Mendieta, one of the four graduates of the Royal College of Art in London who developed the Stealth mouth wearable, which is worn on the palatal rugae. Mendieta says that the prototype device aims to take authentication inside the mouth and that further uses for the technology are under development.

August 31, 2020 | News

Prof. David Denning is professor of infectious diseases in global health at the University of Manchester and the chief medical adviser at DenScreen, a company providing a new screening system for dental patients developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, he discusses the principles underpinning DenScreen and explains how its antibody testing can provide benefits to dental practices and patients alike.

August 24, 2020 | News

LONDON, UK: The dental industry has gone through many sudden and extreme changes since the start of the pandemic, and it is now evident that access to oral care will remain restricted in the months to come, which may result in new challenges and bring uncertainty to the dental profession. To help healthcare workers navigate the healthcare crisis, the UK government has recently awarded National Health Service (NHS) doctors and dentists a pay rise for their vital contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic.

August 20, 2020 | News

LONDON, UK: Social distancing and isolation measures introduced in countless countries during the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have undeniably helped to curb the virus’s spread. One unintended and negative side effect, however, has been a rise in the incidence of domestic violence. A paper recently published in the British Dental Journal (BDJ) sought to clarify what role dental professionals, particularly oral and maxillofacial surgeons, play in such situations and how they can better help patients who have been affected by this form of abuse.

August 19, 2020 | Interviews

Dentistry can be a stressful profession in which the importance of mental health is often overlooked, and the uncertainty about where to seek help can be overwhelming. Over time, this has led to high rates of depression and suicide among dental professionals in the UK. In order to improve the situation and work towards prevention, the helpline Confidental was founded, which offers emotional support for dentists provided by their peers. In an interview with Dental Tribune International, Dr John Lewis, who works as a dentist at Ghyllmount Dental in Penrith in the UK and who is part of the Confidental network, shared some insights into the important work the helpline is doing.

August 13, 2020 | News

LONDON, UK: A report from Amnesty International, released last month, has revealed that more than 3,000 healthcare workers worldwide have died as a result of COVID-19. The organisation further stated that this figure is likely to be a considerable under-estimate as a result of under-reporting, prompting the American Dental Association to reassert its support for front-line healthcare workers throughout the world.

August 11, 2020 | News

LONDON, UK: The British Dental Association (BDA) has temporarily taken its website offline as a consequence of what the trade union has described as “a sophisticated cyber-attack”. The website attack occurred on 30 July, and the BDA is still investigating the motive, along with what information the hackers were able to obtain.

August 6, 2020 | News

LONDON, UK: As experts continue to accumulate evidence on the social, economic and psychological effects of COVID-19, a recent survey issued by Dental Protection, a leading protection organisation globally for doctors, dentists and healthcare professionals, shows that the dental industry has not yet recovered from the pandemic and that dental professionals are still experiencing the devastating effects brought about by the healthcare crisis.

August 4, 2020 | News

LONDON, UK: As part of the dental industry’s ongoing support for the resumption of widespread dental treatment, the British Dental Industry Association (BDIA) has launched a new online directory of members’ products and services that will allow dental practices to provide the best possible oral care safely to patients under challenging circumstances.

August 3, 2020 | News

BRUSSELS, Belgium: In 2018, the European Federation of Periodontology (EFP) released a new global classification system for periodontal health, diseases and conditions—the outcome of a joint workshop held by the EFP and the American Academy of Periodontology the previous year. Following up on this, the EFP has now released an evidence-based treatment guide for periodontitis, with the aim of improving periodontal treatment throughout Europe and beyond.

July 31, 2020 | News

LEIPZIG, Germany: Researchers and health bodies around the world are advising health practitioners in the northern hemisphere to actively prepare for an expected second wave of SARS-CoV-2 infections. According to the UK’s Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS), the summer months must be a period of intense preparation for a worst-case public health scenario this winter. So what can dental practices do?

July 30, 2020 | News

LONDON, UK: Though the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, it has been going on long enough for certain lessons to have been gleaned from the way in which different countries have responded to it. This proposition forms the thrust of a recent British Dental Journal opinion article, which compares and contrasts measures implemented in the UK with those instituted in South Korea—two countries that have been affected by the spread of SARS-CoV-2 on vastly different scales.

July 28, 2020 | News

Dr Simon Chard has fast become one of the UK’s most influential dentists. He is a proponent of minimally invasive techniques and sits on the board of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (BACD). In this interview, he discusses his patient-centred, sustainable approach and how his embrace of all things digital has helped steer Rothley Lodge Dental, the dental practice he co-owns with his wife, Dr Meghan Chard, through this tumultuous COVID-19 period.

July 23, 2020 | News

LEIPZIG, Germany: At this point, it almost goes without saying: the future of dentistry is digital. Though modern dental practices still frequently rely on the manual skills of dental practitioners, digital tools such as diagnostic imaging and electronic patient records have been integrated into existing workflows with haste owing to their ability to improve quality of care and simplify routine procedures. However, there are certain issues that arise from this increased digitisation, none more pertinent than cybersecurity.