Our
popular oral cancer toolkit, developed in partnership with Cancer Research UK helps you identify and refer possible cases of oral cancer.
The toolkit covers oral and oropharyngeal cancers including lip cancer. On completion you can also earn 3 hours of verifiable CPD.
Raise awareness of oral cancer throughout
Mouth Cancer Action Month by furthering your knowledge on prevention and detection.
10:03
CQC's factual accuracy process
The CQC is consulting on changes to its factual accuracy process, which is an important part of practice inspections. When the CQC sends the draft report to practices, you have 10 working days to check the accuracy and completeness of the information it has used to reach its judgements and reply with any comments.
The CQC will review and respond to your observations and decide whether any changes are needed to your report before it is finalised, so it is important to provide timely feedback.
For a chance to comment on the new process, please complete the survey which will close on 30 November 2022.
Thursday 24 November 2022
17:53
Preventing antimicrobial resistance
It's the final day of World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW), led by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The theme for this year is preventing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) together.
As we enter the winter months WAAW is a timely reminder that front-line health and social care staff should reinforce the responsible use of antibiotics, both in practice and in the promotion of self-care to your patients.
Patients should be reminded that:
- Antimicrobials including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and parasitic are medicines used to prevent and treat infections and they are becoming increasingly ineffective
- Antibiotics will not treat/control viral infections such as colds, flu, and COVID-19
- Antibiotics can cause side-effects, including nausea and diarrhoea
- Overuse of antibiotics increases the risk of spreading serious infections as bacteria become resistant to antibiotics
- Antimicrobial resistance leads to longer hospital stays, higher medical costs, and increased mortality
- Good hand hygiene can help limit the spread of infections
- Vaccines and the correct use of antibiotics will help preserve the effectiveness of vital medical treatments
- As a first step in the treatment of dental bacterial infections, use local measures
- Only use antibiotics in conjunction with, and not as an alternative to, local measures.
In addition, the NHS stated "General dental practitioners should be alerted to the updated 2020 evidence-based Good Practice Guidelines and the Chairside synopsis from the Faculty of General Dental Practice (UK) and the Faculty of Dental Surgery and the national Dental Antimicrobial Stewardship Toolkit
13:26
NHS webinar: Digital and AI transformation
The next webinar in Health Education England's DART-Ed programme will focus on how digital technology is transforming the delivery of dentistry in the future.
Digital and AI transformation in dentistry will cover digital readiness, as well as demonstrating the potential role of AI in the future. The panel will include:
- Sam Shah (chair) - Chief Medical Strategy Officer, Numan and Digital Health Research Lead, UCL Global Business School for Health
- Andrew Dickenson - Chief Dental Officer for Wales
- Dr. Hatim Abdulhussein - National Clinical Lead - AI and Digital Medical Workforce, Health Education England
The session takes place on 1 December, and you can register to secure your place online.
11:22
Gas safety certificates
An annual gas safety certificate is not a legal requirement for dental practices but the
Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 state that: "every employer or self-employed person must ensure that any gas appliance, installation pipework or flue installed at any place of work under his control is maintained in a safe condition so as to prevent risk of injury to any person."
While this does not place responsibility on those positions to ensure an annual check, the Health and Safety Executive strongly recommends yearly gas safety checks be undertaken "as best practice of ongoing maintenance." This maintenance might include an ongoing programme of regular inspections, together with any necessary remedial work.
This is especially important ahead of winter when businesses will be using more gas and all work should be carried out by someone on the official Gas Safe Register. Registered engineers will not only check that appliances are safe but also that they're running efficiently – saving your practice money.
Wednesday 23 November 2022
15:01
England: Still no confirmation of NHS contract uplift for 2022/23
We are still awaiting confirmation of the NHS contract value uplift in England. In July, the Government accepted the recommendation on a 4.5% uplift to dentists’ pay from the independent pay review body, the DDRB. However, the contract uplift also includes an element relating to expenses, which is decided by the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) following consultation with the BDA. This process has not yet concluded to allow for the final contract uplift to be calculated and implemented.
For England, this is the latest in the contractual year that there has been this lack of clarity and we have been regularly pursuing this with the DHSC.
We have made the case to the DHSC that the expenses uplift needs to take account of the current extremely high inflation practices are facing and will keep you up to date with any developments.
13:57
England: Band two changes to apply from Friday 25 November
The changes to the UDAs allocated to some band two treatments will apply from Friday 25 November. Courses of treatment opened on or after this date that involve filling or extracting three or more teeth and/or non-molar endodontics will attract 5 UDAs and those involving molar endodontics will attract 7 UDAs.
Changes have already been made to the FP17 to record the information necessary to pay these additional UDAs. Courses of treatment will be allocated to the new sub-divisions of band two based on the clinical information submitted to the NHSBSA. Therefore, it is important that the information submitted is accurate and comprehensive to ensure that the correct UDA allocation is made.
Tuesday 22 November 2022
13:43
Your feedback about BDJ Jobs
We know the recruitment market is really challenging. We would like to
hear about your experiences of recruiting and looking for new roles.
The BDJ Jobs survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and is open until the end of November. Please share the link with any colleagues who can also provide feedback.
Your responses will directly help BDJ Jobs update and improve the services that are provided to you.
Monday 21 November 2022
16:17
Scotland: A model for early cancer detection
Mouth Cancer Action Month highlights the importance of the prevention and detection of mouth cancer. Head, neck, and oral cancer is a disease of high mortality and high morbidity once at an advanced stage.
We recently shared a blog from Scottish dental student, Craig Smith, who is
developing an early detection model to help shape cancer prevention in the future: "I want the model to support and equip practitioners to help open a dialogue and start those (sometimes difficult) conversations with patients on behavioural change."
Great strides have been made in cancer awareness with high profile voices speaking out in recent years. We must continue to raise awareness and reach marginalised people in deprived areas.
12:24
Register for an NHS OpenAthens account
Dentists and dental students can
register for an NHS OpenAthens account to gain free access to a range of eBooks, study aids, clinical decision-making tools, journals, and databases.
You can start the registration process on the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence website.
You will need to complete a short online form and look out for an email to activate your account before you can use it.
09:16
BDJ: Increasing cancer awareness and detection
The
head and neck cancer themed issue explores the early detection and prevention of head and neck cancers, management pathways, and the rehabilitation of speech, swallowing, voice, and trismus.
Articles include:
