Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

F our endodontists were celebrated as finalists of the Young Dentist En- dodontic Award 2012, which were announced at an event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Harley Street Centre for Endodontics. Speaking at the event at the Royal Society of Medicine, Ju- lian Webber, owner of the Har- ley Street Centre for Endodon- tics and creator of the Young Dentist Endodontic Award, said: “The aim was to promote enthusiasm among dentists for endodontics and this had been amply demonstrated in the applications received. The quality of the entries was ex- ceptionally high and some ex- hibitedalevelofprofessionalism you might expect from a spe- cialist endodontist.” All the cases submitted by the finalists were worthy win- ners, said Dr Webber, but Rahul Bose, a graduate of Manchester University and an associate in Oxford and London, won first place by demonstrating his determination to master endo- dontics, a technique he used to dread when first in practice. Second place was awarded to Luis Fernandez Escaraba- jal and joint third place went to Michael Taylor and Thomas Hickley. Between them, they won £3,500 of prizes spon- sored by Dentsply, QED and SybronEndo. “By his own admission,” said Dr Webber, “Rahul admitted to being initially fearful of endo- dontics with minimal exposure to the field at dental school. He was willing to use new tech- niques integrating best evi- dence with clinical knowledge and patient preference. He is now no longer fearful of tack- ling endodontic cases.” Member of the judg- ing panel for the award and director of Education and CPD, UCL Eastman Dental Institute Professor Andrew Eder commented: “Having seen the quality of the entries submitted by recently qualified graduates, I am confident that the future of the dental profes- sion here in the UK is bright both clinically and academi- cally.” DT Young endodontists celebrated at event Rahul Bose (left) with Award founder Julian Webber A ccording to a new study in Implant Dentistry, aged titanium is less effective at bonding to bone than newly prepared titanium. The study authors, from the Yonsei Univer- sity College of Dentistry and the University of Califor- nia, Los A n g e l e s ( U C L A ) School of Dentistry, describe the phenomenon as “the time-dependent degradation of the biological capability of titanium.” In order to meet the stand- ard of new techniques of im- plant surface rejuvenation, a new guideline of titanium preservation expiration date will become an essential part of surgery in daily practice, Jae Hoon Lee, an assistant profes- sor in the department of pros- thodontics at Yonsei said. The osseointegration strength of aged titanium sur- faces is reduced to less than 50 per cent compared with newly prepared titanium surfaces, Dr Lee and his fellow researcher concluded. “Moreover, a higher than 90 per cent bone-implant contact (BIC) obtained for new tita- nium surfaces can be reduced to less than 60 per cent for the aged surfaces,” they wrote. “This degradation was primar- ily associated with consider- ably reduced capability of aged titanium surfaces to attract pro- teins and osteogenic cells.” Understanding why BIC does not reach an ideal 100 per cent is “a crucial unaddressed ques- tion,” the researchers noted. Titanium is an ideal mate- rial due to its myriad advanta- geous properties, such as cor- rosion resistance, strength, and the ability to apply surface modifications. The research outlined in the review should spur action and could lead to standardisation of titanium products, according to the study authors. “There is no regulation or expiration of manufacture, dis- tribution, and storage in these products, except for the expi- ration of sterilisation, which is normally five years,” the researchers wrote. Given the lag between manufacture and shipping, it can be assumed that many commercial prod- ucts are “uncontrollably and substantially damaged.” DT Age of titanium key to implant success T he European Commission has announced a revision of the legislation govern- ing medical devices in the EU dat- ing from the 1990s. According to the European consumer organi- sation BEUC, the plans will affect a wide range of products, includ- ing dental filling materials, X-ray machines and implants. To date, medical devices in the EU have not been subject to any pre-market approval by a regula- tory authority but to a conformity assessment that involves an inde- pendent third party known as a notified body. Recently, the existing direc- tives have seen criticism owing to the breast implants scandal caused by French manufacturer Poly Implant Prothèse. Earlier this year, it was found that the com- pany had used industrial silicone instead of medical grade silicone for its breast implants, contrary to the approval issued by the notified body, according to the European Commission. With the revision, the authori- ties aim to eradicate gaps in the EU legislation, increase consumer protection, reduce risk and avoid costly recalls, said Monique Goy- ens, Director-General of BEUC. The proposal includes stricter control of manufacturers and ex- tends the definition of medical devices to include more products within the scope of the legislation. Moreover, it recommends closer monitoring of the notified bodies. A scrutiny panel is to be estab- lished for this purpose in order to assess medical devices accord- ing to certain risk-based criteria. Overall, the proposal is aimed at better product traceability. Eucomed, a medical tech- nology industry association that represents 22,500 European de- signers, manufacturers and sup- pliers of medical technology, has raised some concerns about the proposal. Although the organisa- tion welcomes stricter control and monitoring, it believes that the measures would ultimately lead to a move towards a centralised pre-market authorisation system, which would affect European small and medium-sized compa- nies negatively. With a central- ised pre-market system, patients would have to wait three to five years longer on average for the release of a device, according to the association. Before the regulations can be introduced, the proposal has to be approved jointly by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, which rep- resents the governments of the member states. DT EU medical device laws to undergo revision B DA Scotland and NHS Scotland Counter Fraud Services (CFS) have signed a counter fraud Charter. The Charter will encourage a partnership between CFS and dental professionals, to help promote a counter fraud culture in the delivery of dental ser- vices. It will also enhance per- ceptions and attitudes towards combatting fraud. The reality of the Charter meansthatBDAScotlandandCFS will work together to meet a number of commitments: • Revising policies, procedures and systems to minimise any fraud risk; • Establish arrangements to maximise transparency and minimise conflicts of interest; • Clarify the crucial distinction between deliberate fraud and unintentional error, removing wherever possible any confu- sion or ambiguity. Peter MacIntyre, Director, CFS said: “We recognise the contribution that dental profes- sionals make to the health of the people of Scotland. We will work with the BDA to ensure that re- sources are not lost to fraud, and support any initiatives to pro- mote fraud awareness.” Martin Fallowfield, Chair, BDA PEC, added: “Fraud by dental professionals is very rare, but where it does occur it takes money away from where it is most needed: front-line patient care. The BDA is pleased to re- affirm the profession’s support for the work of NHS Scotland’s counter fraud activities.” DT Charter re-affirms anti- fraud culture in Scotland October 22 - 28, 20122 News United Kingdom Edition