ARR guidance notes now fit for purpose

The National Association of Specialist Dental Accountants and Lawyers (NASDAL) has played a key role in making sure dentists' working in the NHS receive the correct pension entitlement.

New guidance notes to accompany the Annual Reconciliation Report (ARR) have been produced by the NHS Pensions Service (NHSPS) and they are clearer and more comprehensive as a result of co-operation between NHSPS and NASDAL.

Calls for workplace health to feature in Budget

Ahead of today’s budget announcement, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) is calling for improved measures to address the state of workplace health.

Dentist hails advanced aesthetic dentistry

Dr Dhvani Shah is an associate dentist at Oradental in Kings Lynn, and has just graduated from the UCL Eastman Dental Institute with a certificate in ‘Advanced aesthetic dentistry'.

Low staffing levels 'harms elderly care'

The care of the elderly is being compromised in UK hospitals because there are too few nurses, according to the Royal College of Nursing.

No drilling required!

Icon is a caries infiltration therapy that reinforces and stabilises demineralised enamel without the need for drilling or sacrificing healthy tooth structure.

Cabinet members 'bang table' over Lords NHS win

Conservative and Lib Dem ministers have "banged" the table at a cabinet meeting to mark the impending passing of the NHS reforms into law, No 10 has said.

Resistance to antibiotics could bring "the end of modern medicine as we know it", WHO claim

The world is entering an antibiotic crisis which could make routine operations impossible and a scratched knee potentially fatal, the head of the World Health Organisation has claimed.

Texting Patients a must

New research suggests text message reminders could ramp up dental attendance.
Research carried out by the BDA discovered that at least 3.5 million dental appointments are missed in England each year, and is a common problems across the whole of the health sector.
But a study from overseas has shown that text message reminders could be a solution to improve attendance rates.
In a recent trial, dentists in India who sent patients a text reminder found that four in every five people attended their appointment on time.

Does your practice website tick GDC boxes?

Dentists are urged to review their practice websites to ensure they comply with strict new GDC guidance.

UK-wide dental defence organisation MDDUS is advising every practice to check their website includes all relevant and up-to-date information as detailed in the GDC's Principles of Ethical Advertising.

Under the new rules, practice websites must include a range of information including the dentist's professional qualification and GDC number, the GDC's address and contact details, details of the practice's complaints procedure and the date the website was last updated.

MDDUS welcomes the clarity of the GDC's website criteria – which came into force on 1 March – in an age where an increasing amount of information is accessed via the web.

Complaints experts advise private patients

The Dental Complaints Service (DCS) is encouraging private dental patients to talk to their dental professional if they have any concerns about their treatment.

The DCS helps dental patients and dental professionals in the UK resolve complaints about private dental treatment. They aim to do it fairly, efficiently, transparently and quickly by working with both parties.

Staff from the DCS will be at the Vitality Show in London's Earls Court 2, Stand H376 from 22-25 March 2012 to remind patients that the first step if a problem arises is to speak to their dental professional.
The show is the UK's largest health, beauty, fitness and wellbeing event and is at Earls Court Two from 22-25 March.