Advice centre

Surinder has worked in NHS and private practice in the UK and now practises as a general dental practitioner in Singapore. Holding a holistic view to healthcare she enjoys working with anxious patients, carrying out oral surgery and is involved with public oral health teaching.

Annalene Weston provides a brief guide to practising down under.

Alma Creavan is an Irish Young Dentist. In this article she shares her experience of being a newly qualified dentist in Australia.

Thomas Graydon graduated from the University of Western Australia in 2014. After graduating he moved to Bunbury, two hours south of Perth, to work as an associate dentist in a private practice.

Challenging interactions were found to impact on 88% of respondents’ practice working environment with 94% believing it causes stress and anxiety amongst the dental team, 73% feel it causes a fear of complaints and claims, and 67% reported it leads to delays in appointments.

With almost 5,000 complaints to the General Dental Council (GDC) and the Dental Complaints Service in the past year, dentists are understandably anxious about receiving a complaint. In addition, a Dental Protection survey of over 700 dental members earlier this year revealed that 72% of respondents are fearful of being sued by patients, with this fear impacting on the way 81% practise dentistry.

Like their medical counterparts, Dental Boards and Dental Councils around the world have been wrestling with this issue for some years now. Most regulatory bodies consider that when giving advice remotely in relation to the treatment of a specific patient, you are practising dentistry, even if you never actually meet the patient in person.

As an international organisation, Dental Protection will often have gained experience from one country, which can highlight potential problems to drive and support members, when a similar situation arises in another country. One such topic is the remote provision of professional dental services, sometimes referred to as 'teledentistry'.