Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

PUBLISHED IN LONDON EschmannCare FIVE year warranty protection now comes as standard with Little Sister products... Go Direct Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Direct.com Protected by Call 01903 875787 or visit EschmannDirect.com for details And, when you buy from EschmannDirect, the first two years of ServicePlan cover that protects your EC5 warranty are included. March 26-April 1, 2012 VOL. 6 NO. 8 A sweet finding New research has suggested that compared to 15 years ago, the children of today’s soci- ety are eating less chocolate and fewer sweets. The report from the NHS Information Centre revealed that between 1997 and 2010 chocolate and sweet consumption fell by 39 per cent among four to ten- year-olds and consumption by 11 to 18-years-olds fell by 35 per cent. The World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) said the fall in youngsters’ intake of chocolate and sweets was ‘‘good news for the health of children in the UK’. However, around three in 10 children are still either overweight or obese. Sugary drinks risk Recent research has suggested that men who drink a single fizzy drink each day may sig- nificantly increase their chanc- es of having a heart attack. The study, which was carried out by scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health in the US, looked at data on 42,883 men. They found that those who drank a can of fizzy drink a day had a 20 per cent higher risk of heart disease than those who didn’t have any fizzy drinks. According to lead author and professor of nutrition and epi- demiology Dr Frank Hu, the findings, which are published in Circulation Journal, add to a growing body of evidence ‘‘that sugary beverages are detrimental to cardiovascular health’’. Tracy Parker, a Brit- ish Heart Foundation dietician, said in a report that people should not have fizzy drinks every day. “Go for healthier alternatives such as water, low fat milk or unsweetened juices, which are kinder to our waistlines as well as our heart,” she advised. Dentistry on Radio 4 Bridge2Aid Founder and Clini- cal Director Dr Ian Wilson re- cently spoke to Radio 4’s Sandi Toksvig as part of a Medics Abroad feature during her Excess Baggage programme. Sandi also spoke to Dr Marie Charles who runs an organi- sation which places volunteer doctors and nurses in develop- ing countries to impart their skills to local medical workers. Ian talked about the challenges of access to basic dental ser- vices for people living in rural communities and how he used his dental skills and experi- ence to start the Bridge2Aid Dental Volunteer Programme in Tanzania. Both Ian and Dr Charles spoke about the im- portance of training local peo- ple in order to build capacity in the healthcare system. To hear the programme visit www.bbc. co.uk/programmes www.dental-tribune.co.uk What’s your Kolbe? Alun Rees asseses your team The fun of the show Dental Tribune looks back at The Dentistry Show Quick and predictable Biju Krishnan on short-term orthodontics News in Brief Event Review ClinicalPractice ManagementNews Shock Trauma Sim Man trains dental students page 2 pages 10-11 pages 14-15 pages 21-25 I n what has been called a move of “common sense” the Eu- ropean Court of Justice has ruled that dentists do not broad- cast music for profit and should be exempt from music royalties. The ruling came about after a case was brought against a Turin dentistbyanItalianagencythatcol- lects royalties. Reports on the case stated that the judges explained how patients do not go to surgeries to listen to music but “with the sole objective of receiv- ing treatment”, and the number of peopleinatypicaldentalsurgery“is not large, indeed it is insignifi- cant.” A BBC report stated that the ruling is legally binding across the 27-nation EU. Dental Tribune spoke to PRS for Music, who said: “PRS for Music is aware of the guidance given last week by the Court in Luxemburg on licensing music rights specifically for the rights of performers and record labels in dentists’ waiting rooms. “This judgement has no im- mediate impact on PRS for Mu- sic’s licences to dentists in the UK, and we have been advising our customers as such. “A PRS for Music licence pays royalties to those that have writ- ten, composed and published mu- sic as defined in UK law and we will be monitoring the next stage of the process in the Italian Court of Appeal. “This judgment is unhelpful and confusing to customers and runs contrary to the rights of crea- tors and performers to earn when their music is used in business, whatever that business is.” Commenting on the impact on dental practices in the UK of the ruling of the European Court of Justice in Società Consortile Fono- grafici (SCF) v Marco Del Corso, the British Dental Association’s Chief Executive, Peter Ward, said: “The European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision that dentists are exempt from paying music roy- alties is significant. The BDA be- lieves that this ruling paves the way towards removing red tape that impinges unnecessarily on the running of a dental practice. “We are seeking confirmation of our understanding that this decision applies equally to the United Kingdom and should take immediate effect. We also wish to clarify whether or not video per- formances are covered by the de- cision.” “We have sought assurances from both the Performing Rights Society and the Phonographic Performance Ltd that it will re- fund dentists who have already paid this year’s licence.” The change, if applied to UK dentists, will certainly make a big difference, as practice owner Neel Kothari, explained: “Finally a little bit of common sense from the Eu- ropean Court of Justice. Of course dentists don’t broadcast music for profit, nor do GP surgeries, hospi- tals, schools or the majority of pro- fessions and trades where listen- ing to background music makes everyone’s working days just that little bit more pleasant. Further- more, having background music is a great way to actually help the performers sell their live and re- corded music by allowing more people to actually listen to it. “I appreciate that the PRS are representing their members, but businesses up and down the UK are sick and tired of having every last penny squeezed from them at a time when the nation’s economy is in such dire straits (no pun in- tended). Unfortunately each little ‘fee’ like this one brings us one step closer to eventually having to pay for air. The late Luther Van- dross sang that the ‘best things in life are free’ hopefully this ruling will be a small victory for com- mon sense.” Jonathan Morrish, Director of PR and Corporate Communica- tions, PPL said: “We are aware of the decision and are currently considering the details of the judgement.” DT Music for nothing? EU court rules dentists should not pay music royalties