Dental Tribune United Kindom Edition

Do you have an opinion or some- thing 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 Editorial comment Colgate® Sensitive Pro-Relief™ desensitising polishing paste Clinically proven to give instant and lasting sensitivity relief in the dental chair2,3 ALSOAVAILABLE: www.colgateprofessional.co.uk1 Independent survey of dentists who recommend toothpastes, April 2011. 2 Schi T et al Am J Dent 2009; 22 (Spec Iss A): 8A-15A. 3 Hamlin D et al Am J Dent 2009; 22 (Spec Iss A): 16A-20A. CLINICALLY PROVEN 9OUTOF10 DENTISTS WHATAREYOU RECOMMENDING? WHOTRIEDCOLGATE®SENSITIVEPRO-RELIEF™ TOOTHPASTE WOULDRECOMMENDITFORSENSITIVETEETH1 I n the wake of the resigna- tion of the General Dental Council (GDC) Chair Ali- son Lockyer, questions have been asked in Parliament about the participation in the GDC of the Chief Dental Of- ficer (CDO). Natascha Engel MP (North East Derbyshire, Labour) is one of the most active MPs in asking dental questions in the House of Commons. Many of them are related to issues af- fecting the dental technician industry, however on this oc- casion she asked the Secretary of State for Health: “What assessment he has made of the participation in the General Dental Council of the Chief Dental Officer” for England, Barry Cockcroft. Minister of State for Health Simon Burns MP (Chelms- ford, Conservative) replied: “Meetings of the General Den- tal Council are undertaken in public and the Chief Dental Officer attends meetings as an observer. ‘‘There are clear benefits in ensuring an effective dialogue between the Chief Dental Offic- er as head of the dental profes- sion and the regulatory body for dentists. The Council for Health- care Regulatory Excellence (CHRE), which oversees the work of the regulatory bodies including the General Den- tal Council, has been asked to consider what constitutes good practice in terms of the process of making appointments to and the governance of the health professions’ regulatory bodies. In light of CHRE’s work, we will consider whether the ex- isting arrangements continue to be appropriate.” DT Role of CDO questioned in parliament 3NewsJuly 18-24, 2011United Kingdom Edition W ell what a furore! No, I’m not talking phone hacking, I’m talk- ing about the re- cent opinion piece by Dr Martin Kel- leher. The piece, published in the Faculty Dental Journal, emphasised Dr Kelle- her’s position on the overuse of destructive treatments such as porcelain veneers. What’s wrong with that, I hear you ask? Nothing. For me it was the ludicrous way in which the story was handled in national press, clearly angling for another ‘dentists rip you off’ story. Any fool with a brain cell, and I do actually include tabloid journalists in that (although recent news events have made me question my charity), can surely understand a heavy dose of irony when they see it. In a letter to the Metro (which funnily they didn’t print), I questioned the decision to claim dentists are actually diagnosing patients with ‘por- celain deficiency disease’ or ‘hyperenamelosis’. As a working journalist, I understand the mantra of ‘don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story’, but this kind of propa- ganda and agenda setting should not be standard practice, and frankly, as a journalist, it’s embar- rassing. DT