Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

United Kingdom Edition March 25-31, 20136 News A chance encounter whilst on holiday in Burma in March 2012 was the starting point for UK dentistry’s newest Charity, Burmadent. Founded by practice own- ers Sharon Bierer and her husband, dentist Henrik Over- gaard-Nielsen, together with fellow Trustees, Brian Weath- erly and Lesley Naismith from Software of Excellence, Bur- madent has been established to provide dental care and promote oral health education in Burma. Initially a holiday in March 2012 took Sharon and Henrik to Inle Lake in Burma where they were granted access to the Mein Thauk orphanage. The levels of caries and de- cay they found in the mouths of such young children was shocking and motivated the couple to organise a return trip to the area in November last year, with the aim of providing a programme of dental care to the orphans. The couple were joined on the trip by the head nurse at their London practice, Zar Ni, and his wife May Myat San as well as Support Manager at Software of Excellence and trained dental nurse, Lesley Naismith. Burmadent aims to arrange for dentists to work in Burma with an English speaking nurse. Dentists will pay for their own flights and hotel (at £15pp per night). Burmadent will facili- tate this by providing informa- tion on useful contacts, advice on precautions that should be taken, how to get a visa, nec- essary injections, hotel details, travel arrangements etc. – in fact every resource needed to make your trip a reality. Burmadent has a number of events planned for the com- ing year and has a programme of presentations to local BDA groups already arranged. In ad- dition, a Burma Day was being held at Software of Excellence on 22nd March and don’t forget the Burmaball on 12th October at “Eight” – the private mem- bers’ club in London. DT Work in Burma with Burmadent Burmadent R egistration for BDTA Dental Showcase, the UK’s largest dental ex- hibition, is now officially open for 2013. Whatever your reason for attending the UK’s larg- est dental exhibition – to see the very latest technology, gain insight on the newest thinking, purchase equipment or to learn more and gain CPD – the new BDTA Dental Show- case website is the hub for everything you need! The online portal of the UK’s largest dental exhibition has a whole host of practical features, designed to ensure you maximise your visit to BDTA Dental Showcase. Visit www.dentalshowcase. com now to: • Register for free to benefit from BDTA Dental Showcase 2013. See what’s new in the world of dentistry • Find out the latest news and updates about the exhibition • Use the new ‘My Dental Showcase’ section, where visi- tors can plan their day, see who will be exhibiting and re- search travel options • Use the ‘Save The Date’ fa- cility which will automatically add BDTA Dental Showcase to your online calendar • Download your CPD from 2012 (if you have not already done so) • View highlights from last year’s BDTA Dental Show- case The latest news and up- dates in the build up to the show are also available direct to you by following @dental- showcase on Twitter or by lik- ing the ‘BDTA Dental Show- case’ Facebook page. This year, the exhibition will be held at Birmingham NEC from 17-19th October. To find out more about Dental Showcase 2013, register for tickets and per- sonalise your experience vis- it: www.dentalshowcase.com now! DT BDTA Dental Showcase launches new website M ore than 28 mil- lion people in the UK chose their cur- rent dentist through word of mouth, according to new re- search. In a poll conducted by Bray Leino, half of people ques- tioned (44.7 per cent) used friends and family recom- mendations for choosing their current dentist, while only 7.5 per cent of people used the in- ternet. Almost two thirds (63.7 per cent) would rely on rec- ommendations from friends and family to choose a new dentist. The trust people have in their dentist was also high- lighted as the survey found that two in every three people (66.3 per cent) would prefer to see the same dentist every time they visit. Tony Reed, Executive Di- rector of the British Dental Trade Association (BDTA) said: “New technologies have transformed the whole ex- perience of visiting the den- tist. There are now a wide range of largely non-invasive treatments including la- ser treatments, to target decay and disease, and digital scanning technology which allows dentists to make replacement teeth and crowns without taking silicon impres- sions. “Dental treatments have advanced significantly help- ing to make a visit to the dentist a much more relaxed experience and encouraging more patients to take care of their oral health which, in turn, benefits their overall health.” DT T he General Dental Council’s (GDC) Chair, Kevin O’Brien and Chief Executive, Evlynne Gil- varry will be appearing at this year’s BDA Conference, taking place at London ExCeL on 25- 27 April 2013. Together they will present a session on Friday 26 April in Theatre 4 at 2.15pm, entitled Radical changes ahead – the GDC prepares for the future. In the session they will be discussing the GDC’s work, future aims and strategy; cost effective regulation; and the importance of contributing to the GDC’s work. Kevin O’Brien will also be presenting the session Work- ing to deliver dentistry in line with patient expectations on Friday in the Training essen- tials theatre at 11am. In the session, Kevin will be explor- ing the aims and objectives of the GDC’s corporate strategy; the role of patient expecta- tions and safety; and how pro- gress in key projects such as direct access, the review of standards and CPD will im- pact dental professionals. For more information about the conference and to book a place, please go to: http://conference.bda.org/ DT Word of mouth strengthens oral health GDC’s Chair and Chief Executive speak at BDA Conference Personal reccommendations are key