Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

Published by Dental Tribune UK Ltd © 2011, 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. Editor Lisa Townshend Tel: 020 7400 8979 Lisa@dentaltribuneuk.com Advertising Director Joe Aspis Tel: 020 7400 8969 Joe@dentaltribuneuk.com Advertising Executive Joe Ackah Tel: 020 7400 8964 Joe.ackah@dentaltribuneuk. com Editorial Assistant Laura Hatton Tel: 020 7400 8981 Laura..hatton@dentaltribuneuk.com Design & Production Ellen Sawle Tel: 020 7400 8921 Ellen@dentaltribuneuk.com Clinical Editor Liviu Steier Dental Tribune UK Ltd 4th Floor, Treasure House, 19–21 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8BA A ccording to a recent report, Filligent has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marketing clearance for the BioFriend BioMask for sale in he US as a class II medi- cal device. The surgical facemask is both antimicrobial and antiviral and incorporates a hydrophilic plastic coating along with an antimicrobi- al inner layer; according to the company the coating and inner layer does not restrict air- flow and is totally safe. The white outer white shield is reportedly formulated from a mixture of food additives and the inner blue layer uses ingre- dients for biomedical use that are supported by the FDA. The masks are reportedly effective against 18 strains of human, avian, and animal in- fluenza. Filligent noted how they are also effective against tuberculosis, methicillin-re- sistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and other dangerous diseases. DT Antimicrobial surgical masks gain clearance Smoking ban to be revised A recent report has stated that three MPs have joined forces with cam- paigners to call for the smoking ban in UK pubs and clubs to be relaxed. The ban on smoking came into effect in 2007 to pro- tect pub staff and non-smokers and according to Conservative Greg Knight, Lib Dem John Hemming and Labour’s Rog- er Godsiff, the ban has had a devastating impact on the pub industry. Over the past few years thousands of pubs across the country have closed and many believe that the ban has played a huge role; the Save Our Pubs and Clubs campaign says that after three years, Scotland had lost 467 pubs (7.1 per cent of the total estate), Wales 274 (7.3 per cent) and England 4,148 (7.6 per cent). According to cer- tain campaign groups, working men’s clubs have been hit the hardest, with many closed and the remaining ones struggling to survive. However, the three MPs are appealing for a change in the law, exclaiming that the current law is excessive and should be relaxed. If it goes ahead it will mean that landlords will have the choice of how they man- age smoking on their premises, such as whether they want a smoking room. Chief Executive of the Brit- ish Dental Health Founda- tion, Dr Nigel Carter spoke out against any relaxation of the ban, saying: “The repercussions of a relaxation of the smok- ing ban would clearly have a detrimental effect on oral health and increase the risk of oral cancer. “The Foundation strongly suspects the reasons for the MP’s campaigning for such a move are driven by vested in- terests in the licensing trade. It is highly unlikely should this motion be brought to the House of Commons that it would be passed, as less than 12 months ago they voted on this issue and it was overwhelm- ingly defeated. “The reduction in levels of smoking since the ban was in- troduced and the health divi- dend that has already been seen would therefore represent a backward step in the oral health of millions.” Mick McGlasham, general secretary of the Clubs and In- stitute Union, which repre- sents more than 2,000 work- ing-men’s clubs, said in a BBC report: “The ban was passed because politicians wanted to protect staff and non-smokers, but there is no reason why we cannot have a separate smok- ing room in what are private premises, especially with mod- ern ventilation.” Other supporters of the campaign include the think tanks Progressive Vision and the Adam Smith Institute, and the campaign group Forest, which fights for greater free- dom for smokers. Continuing with the smok- ing debate, Alex Cunningham, MP for Stockton North, recently proposed a smoking ban in pri- vate vehicles when there are children present. According to one report, Stockton North ranks fifteenth in the UK according to Brit- ish Lung Foundation research, meaning the children in Mr Cunningham’s constituency are at high risk from the dangers of passive smoking. Mr Cunningham should be applaudedforhisconcernonthis serious health issue confront- ing children in Britain today. A study by Aberdeen Univer- sity showed that smoking in a car exposes children to levels of smoke comparable to levels in a smoke filled pub, meaning that children can be exposed to seriously dangerous concentra- tions of passive smoke. DT MPs are trying to pass a law for smoking in pubs July 11-17, 20112 News United Kingdom Edition O n the 28th June 2011, Care Quality Commis- sion (CQC) Chair Dame Jo Williams DBE was forced to defend the organisation’s han- dling of the registration of den- tal providers. After some intensive ques- tioning by the House of Com- mons Health Select Committee, Conservative MP David Tredin- nick (Bosworth) reminded the committee of the British Den- tal Association’s view that that registration had been “sham- bolic”; he also asked whether she thought that assessment was fair. Dame Williams acknowl- edged that there had been dif- ficulties with the application of CQC regulation to dentistry, and she explained that even though the organisation has a single process for registration, using it for dental practices had been cumbersome. Dental prac- tices are being faced with con- straints due to the regulations even though some of them ap- ply less to dental practices than to hospitals. Following sustained ques- tioning by Labour MP Rosie Cooper on CQC’s failure to publish up-to-date informa- tion about its investigations on its website, the CQC Chair also faced a suggestion from Select Committee Chair Rt Hon Stephen Dorrell MP that providing this information to the public should have been a higher priority than registering dentists. However there was no explanation behind why the registration of doctors has been delayed to 2014. Throughout other areas of healthcare, confidence in the industry regulator is also slip- ping fast. Workers in the resi- dential care home sector have recently signed a petition of no confidence in the CQC, say- ing they had no confidence the CQC could effectively “regu- late” health and social care. The issue was discussed after BBC Panorama alleged vulnerable adults at a unit near Bristol were being abused; however, the CQC said no reg- ulator “could stop all unaccept- able behaviour”. In one report, delegates were quoted saying that “robust and effective regulation” of the industry was essential but they had “concluded that they have no confidence that the CQC is capable of delivering an effec- tive system of regulation for health and social care”. DT CQC forced to defend dental registration Masks are currently used for any dental procedure by members of the dental team