admin ♦ July 15, 2011 ♦ Comments Off
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- School’s out - have something to smile about
Parents in Nottinghamshire are being encouraged to take their children to see an NHS dentist during the summer school holidays.
NHS Nottinghamshire County is reminding parents that under 18s receive free dental treatment. There are thousands of NHS places available across the area too.
It is important to take care of children’s teeth from an early age because it can prevent decay. A regular teeth cleaning routine is essential for good dental health. Also, taking children to the dentist means any health problems can be identified at an early stage.
Julie Theaker, Dentistry Lead for NHS Nottinghamshire County said: “Children should be brushing their teeth for at least two minutes twice a day; once in the morning and once before bedtime. Regular dental check-ups are vital and the school holidays are a great time to see an NHS dentist.”- Warning over dentists as waiting lists slashed
WAITING lists for an NHS dentist in the North-east have hit a five-year low.
The estimated figure is now below 19,000, having reached a high of 32,000 in 2009/10.
A report for the NHS Grampian board also showed the organisation was ahead of targets on recruitment for dentists and dental nurses.
But it also warned that major employment challenges still lay ahead. And it said dentists emerging from Aberdeen Dental School may quit the city because of a lack of accommodation.
Report author Ray Watkins, a consultant in Dental Public Health, said: "A lack of ability to provide new high quality premises may lead to a lack of local posts for emerging graduates from Aberdeen Dental School due to lack of training practice accommodation."
He also highlighted a "concern over unfilled senior academic consultant posts in Aberdeen Dental School".
Mr Watkins said the main challenges were in rural areas. He said: "Scottish Dental Access Initiative funding is now targeted at health board areas in most need and this includes Grampian.
"Recruitment has improved in the last thee years, but the majority of practitioners have chosen to be based within Aberdeen City."
An estimated 25,000 people are travelling to Aberdeen City for dental care.
Mr Watkins said: "Recruitment issues still remain within Aberdeenshire and Moray.
"These community health partnerships still have some of the lowest numbers of dental professionals per head of population in Scotland."
It is hoped all dental practices can be signed up to Childsmile care programme by the end of the year.
The initiative gives nursery and school pupils the opportunity to brush their teeth every day at school under supervision by teachers.
Currently, 71% of children are with an NHS dentist compared to a Scottish average of 84. For adults, the figures are 47% and 71% respectively.
The report said the 2012-2016 dental plan may need a dental registration target of an "additional 100,000" patients if Grampian is to catch up.
Mr Watkins said: "Despite being on target to achieve 124,000 additional registrations over four years of the dental plan, child registration figures are lower than planned and registration levels in all age groups are among the worst in Scotland."
Despite the difficulties, nearly 70% of children now start school in Grampian with no obvious dental decay compared with just less than half in 2003.
The report was to be considered by the board today.- Mobile dentist to look after care home elderly
A NEW doorstep dental service in Worcestershire is helping older people ensure their teeth are in tip top condition.
The mobile dental unit, funded by NHS Worcester-shire, was launched in November 2010.
It is now fully operational, serving nearly 50 care homes across the county.
The specialised unit provides a full range of dental care, from cleaning teeth to work on root canals.
The trust’s dental commissioning manager, Nigel Crew, said: “Nearly one per cent of Worcestershire’s ageing population now live in a care or residential home.
“NHS Worcestershire has invested in this new high quality, mobile dental service to serve the needs of this growing segment of the population.
“We are delighted we have already received positive feedback about the service from our patients.
"We know access to NHS dentistry is important to people in Worcestershire and we are continuing to invest to expand provision.”
Dr Imran Wadee, from Gentle Dental Surgery in London Road, Worcester, runs the service and has already treated more than 250 care home residents across the county.
He said: “Regular dental examinations for older people are vital in order to ensure that any oral diseases are caught in the early stages.
"We hope that by taking this new mobile dental service to care homes across the county and we will be able to help people in the county’s care homes take care of their oral health.”
Residents of Dunley Hall and Ryans Court in Stourport-on-Severn received a visit from the mobile dental van. Care home manager Lizzie Flood said: “This is an absolute essential service for meeting the needs of older people who reside in a care home environment.
"It will allow our residents to be supported by familiar staff when accessing the service.”
- Need a dentist? It’s okay, we’ll come to you
GETTING access to an NHS dentist is one of the biggest gripes about the health service.
But over recent years health officials have done all they can to improve dental accessibility.
And now their efforts have gone one step further in our area with the launch of a state-of-the-art mobile dental unit.
The new £150,000 vehicle – which is a fully-equipped dental surgery on wheels – is aimed at helping people who cannot easily access dental surgeries.
Havant Mayor Councillor Ken Smith officially opened the unit outside Waterlooville Health Centre yesterday.
He said: ‘Anything which increases dental access to the general public has got to be a good thing.
‘It’s wonderful we now have this unit. It will be a great benefit to the community.’
The specially-adapted unit, which will be run by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, will be based at Waterlooville Health Centre most of the time but will travel elsewhere in Hampshire, to schools, nursing homes, homeless shelters and other health centres.
The unit is aimed at catering for people who are wheelchair bound, disabled, have learning difficulties, mental health problems, people in nursing homes and those in homeless shelters.
The unit has everything a normal dental practice would have, with added features such as a platform lift and wheelchair recliner to enable disabled access.
The unit also enables patients to remain in the safety and comfort of their own wheelchair at all times throughout the treatment.
Natalie Jones, lead commissioning manager primary care dental services at NHS Hampshire, said: ‘The unit is fantastic addition to the dental services we provide already, such as the home-treatment.
‘It’s great that we can now provide dental access to those who cannot get to a high street practice.’- Sheffield dentist has plenty to smile about
A CITY dental surgery has been named among the top 100 apprenticeship employers in the country.
Michael and Margaret Naylor and Associates at High Green Dental Practice were honoured at the recent National Apprenticeship Awards.
Margaret Naylor said: “As an NHS Dental Practice, the recruitment of apprentices is integral to the policy of providing a first class service to our patients.”
The list was compiled by the National Apprenticeship Service and City & Guilds.
