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Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition No. 5, 2015

Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition | September-October 2015 39interview < Page 38 ried on playing on a semiprofes- sionalbasiswithCheshireuntila back operation on his 30th birth- day put an end to his paid play- ing days. He still turns out for the veterans on a regular basis and he believes there are definite parallels to be drawn from his cricketing career and his dental career. He said: “I think it is all down to hard work really. As a cricketer you have to put in the hard work, you are practising all the time – if you don’t, you don’t get anywhere. And it is the same with dentistry – you have to practise it, work hard at it and go on lots of courses. That’s the same as a cricketer having lots of sessions in the nets. “The great parallel is that I worked really hard to get to the top of cricket by sheer hard work and I probably took that same work ethic into dentistry.” Paul has used this formidable work ethic in order to bring about the establishment of BARD and he has already spoken at study clubs in Stoke-on-Trent, Mid- Cheshire, Liverpool and, most recently, in Edinburgh at the end of May. The chairman of the Edinburgh branch, Midlo- thian GDP Stuart Campbell, ex- plained that it is Paul’s ability to distil complex techniques into easy-to-digest talks and courses that makes him stand out. Stuart said: “He makes the complex simple and he brings things back to first principles so that, while some of his slides and the treatment plans he is carrying out appear to be very complex, he is able to break them down into their component parts. “A further advantage of his teaching is that he relates the scientific literature to clinical dentistry, which really reinforc- es evidence-based practice. And he puts just as much effort ex- plaining the simpler techniques as he does the complex ones.” Stuart got to know Paul after at- tending three of his year-long restorative courses in Manches- ter over the past few years and joined the academy in autumn last year as the chairman of the Edinburgh section. He said: “I think the aim is to widen and deepen knowledge of restora- tive dentistry among the profes- sion and therefore improve our clinical practice. We would like to encourage like-minded den- tists to get together at meetings on a regular basis to discuss and chat about our needs and wants. “As well as that, we plan on hav- ing highquality speakers, such as Paul and other affiliates of BARD, come to talk to us. So we aim to get them up to Scotland and learn from them.” Paul explained that, although there is already a British Society for Restorative Dentistry (BSRD) that has been around for more than 40 years, its membership is predominantly hospital dentists and academics. He said: “We wanted to make this a bit more wet-fingered and practical as opposed to hospital based. We wanted to get away from hospital consultants be- ing there lecturing to GDPs. We wanted wet-fingered dentists themselves to be lecturing to each other and in the organisa- tion of the academy. “The BSRD has been around for some years, so we are the new kids on the block. We aim to put on proper courses and CPD, do certificates and diplomas even- tually as well. We want to give people a pathway that is not via the hospitals or the Royal Col- lege of Surgeons, but another pathway where they can get de- cent accreditation.” And Stuart explained that meeting up with peers and colleagues at events such as study clubs is a vital learning tool. He said: “I think it is important simply because you can learn so much from your fellow practitioners. Most clinicians will have faced simi- lar challenges in general den- tal practice. The way we man- age and deal with them can be helped immensely by chatting with others. “But we shouldn’t lose sight of what the scientific data is telling us and meetings such as these are important in encouraging practitioners to use the dental literature for solutions to clini- cal questions. Having clinicians like Paul critically reviewing the dental literature is extremely helpful.” One of the main benefits of the Edinburgh study club – if it proves successful – is the fact that Scottish dentists will have access to top-quality courses and qualifications without trav- elling down south. As Stuart said: “The main aim of the study club is to share knowledge and promote understanding of re- storative dentistry. If we can en- courage people through BARD to gain further qualifications then I think that would be great. “However, at the moment that would involve attending courses down south. But, if we do get enough interest I know Paul would be keen to look into the possibility of doing something in Scotland.” By training dentists in the “sci- ence of restorative dentistry and occlusion” Paul explained that the wider BARD ‘mission’ is to help the nation’s teeth. He said: “The nation’s teeth are in a shocking mess. We see it day in and day out. Many dentists out there are trying their best, but they don’t really have the skillset to know or do what is required. So we are aiming to give den- tists some of these abilities using good-quality materials that last. “Cosmetic dentistry can be fan- tastic, but there is no way cos- metic dentistry lasts as long as restorative dentistry. Talking to graduates, very few of them have the ability to do three quar- ter crowns or gold onlays. These are the sort of restorations that last the longest and it is some- thing of a dying art.” And despite the rise in cosmetic procedures, Paul and his colleagues in BARD believe that there is a real need for goodquality alternatives. He said: “What we are trying to say is that not everyone in the world wants cosmetic dentistry. There is a certain age group – late 40s into the 50s and 60s – who want something that will last. They want longevity rather than a white filling that will need re- placing in seven or eight years. But those people don’t really seem to be catered for.” The BARD is open to anyone in the UK who is interested in re- storative dentistry and who want to learn more about the disci- pline. But, as well as UK dentists, BARDhasattractedinterestfrom Europe and Africa. Through his lecturing and teaching over- seas, Paul has come into contact with many dentists who wanted to know more about the new academy. So far they have four worldwide affiliates in Greece, Poland, Cyprus and Sudan. Paul explained: “It came about from me flying off here, there and everywhere and finding out that dentists in other countries have exactly the same problems, their undergraduate curriculum is maybe not as good as it should be, or as good as it was. “It is just a worldwide move- ment to try to get quality den- tistry done for patients and not necessarily cosmetic dentistry. Cosmetic dentistry is very good in the right situation, but you can’t overplay cosmetic den- tistry. Sometimes you need to go back to quality long-term mate- rials.” The academy actively espouses a back-to-basics approach, but Paul said the system down in England means that restorative dentistry is becoming increas- ingly rare. He said: “With the NHS system of UDAs there is less and less re- storative dentistry being done on the NHS. You get the same UDA for a root filling as you do for taking a tooth out, so you take the tooth out. “I did crown and bridge work on the NHS and I like to think that, in the nine years I spent in the NHS, I helped many patients using some quality restorative work on the NHS. But nowadays it just doesn’t get done.” © 2015, Align Technology (BV), All Rights Reserved. Invisalign® is a registered trade mark of Align Technology, Inc. in the United States and other countries. SEE WHAT INVISALIGN® CAN DO FOR YOU Certification Courses at The Palace Hotel - DUBAI, UAE December 9, 2015 - General Practitioners December 10, 2015 - Orthodontists Science in Every Smile WHEN THE MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED ORTHODONTIC SYSTEM IS ALSO A MOST ATTRACTIVE NEW REVENUE GENERATOR, info@invisaligngcc.com FOR REGISTRATION AND MORE INFORMATION VISIT register.invisaligngcc.com THE CHOICE IS CLEAR. INVISALIGN® +971 4 552 0278 Paul Tipton, President of the British Academy of Restorative Dentistry +97145520278

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